Subscribe To Our Newsletter

    Get the latest crypto news right into your email box. No spamming. We hate it too. Only pertinent news you need to know

    Latest News

    Coinbase Fixing Problem That Halted Payments From US Banks

    October 9, 2022

    Binance May Spend Over $1 Billion This Year on Deals, CZ Says

    October 9, 2022

    Crypto Real Estate Is Here – Bitcoin Mortgages Are Just The Beginning

    May 1, 2022
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
    RareHippo – Crypto, Bitcoin, Blockchain News & Views
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
    • Home
    • Bitcoin
    • NewsWire
      1. Latest News
      2. Top Stories
      3. Features
      4. What’s Hot
      5. Must Read
      6. Trending
      7. Spotlight
      8. Editors’ Picks
      9. View All

      Coinbase Fixing Problem That Halted Payments From US Banks

      October 9, 2022

      Binance May Spend Over $1 Billion This Year on Deals, CZ Says

      October 9, 2022

      El Salvador’s Companies Barely Bother With Bitcoin

      March 19, 2022

      New Jersey legislation aims to prevent public officials from being gifted NFTs

      March 18, 2022

      Coinbase Fixing Problem That Halted Payments From US Banks

      October 9, 2022

      Crypto Real Estate Is Here – Bitcoin Mortgages Are Just The Beginning

      May 1, 2022

      Crypto’s Preferred Currency for Political Donations Isn’t Bitcoin. It’s Dollars

      March 19, 2022

      Meta Sued by Australian Watchdog Over Scam Crypto Advertisements

      March 18, 2022

      Binance May Spend Over $1 Billion This Year on Deals, CZ Says

      October 9, 2022

      Two Senators propose crypto legislation for tax exemption on capital gains

      May 1, 2022

      Wall Street Reluctantly Embraces Crypto

      May 1, 2022

      Warren bill draws outcry over broad terms, but seems unlikely to pass

      March 20, 2022

      Crypto Real Estate Is Here – Bitcoin Mortgages Are Just The Beginning

      May 1, 2022

      Russia-Ukraine War Is Bringing Out the Good, Bad, & Ugly of Cryptocurrencies

      March 18, 2022

      The ‘world’s most advanced’ digital human wants you to buy her NFT art

      March 15, 2022

      FTX crypto exchange wins license in Dubai to open regional headquarters

      March 15, 2022

      Crypto Startup Founded by Ex-Meta Employees Raises $200 Million

      March 16, 2022

      U.K. Crime Agency Wants to Regulate Crypto Transaction Mixers

      March 15, 2022

      A Wall Street Quant Turns His Crypto Firm Into a Unicorn

      March 14, 2022

      Standard Chartered’s crypto custodian to help clients earn yield on token holdings

      March 14, 2022

      Man passing as UN affiliate convicted for crypto scheme

      March 18, 2022

      The Future of Crypto Is Boring — and Bright

      March 15, 2022

      Investors turn to crypto funds, companies as Russia-Ukraine crisis escalates

      March 15, 2022

      Binance Wins Crypto Licenses From Dubai, Bahrain

      March 15, 2022

      Why Bitcoin’s Environmental Problems Are So Hard to Fix

      March 16, 2022

      Americans Want Crypto From Their Banks

      March 15, 2022

      Why Decentralized Exchanges Are Important in the Crypto Economy

      March 10, 2022

      Binance plots M&A spree as regulators scrutinize crypto trading unit

      March 10, 2022

      Amid New Executive Order, White House Director Sheds Light On Crypto Policy

      March 16, 2022

      Bitcoin Evangelist Saylor Tells Economists Why They’re Wrong

      March 15, 2022

      Crypto Mania in Texas Risks New Costs and Strains on Shaky Grid

      March 15, 2022

      Bitcoin’s scared of commitment, Mr. Biden

      March 15, 2022

      Coinbase Fixing Problem That Halted Payments From US Banks

      October 9, 2022

      Binance May Spend Over $1 Billion This Year on Deals, CZ Says

      October 9, 2022

      Crypto Real Estate Is Here – Bitcoin Mortgages Are Just The Beginning

      May 1, 2022

      Two Senators propose crypto legislation for tax exemption on capital gains

      May 1, 2022
    • Altcoins
      • Ethereum
      • XRP-Ripple
      • Solana
      • Dogecoin
      • Cardano
      • Shiba Inu
    • Topics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Investments
      • Markets
      • NFTs
      • DeFi
      • ETFs
      • DAOs
      • Crypto Regulation
      • Metaverse
      • Blockchain & Web3
      • Blockchain Gaming
      • Crypto Exchanges
      • Crypto Mining
      • Stablecoins
      • Cybersecurity
      • Digital Currencies – CBDC
      • Crypto Book Reviews
      • Technology
      • Internet of Things
    • Opinions
    • Explainers
    • Press Releases

      Former Uber LatAm Head of Policy Leads Crypto Ride-Hailer Drife Toward Planned Global Expansion

      March 7, 2022

      European index provider for crypto assets Vinter raises $3.4m funding

      February 22, 2022

      PR – British crypto processor brings in $60 million for expansion in Europe

      January 25, 2022

      PR – CoinMENA obtains 2nd crypt0 license from European Union

      January 25, 2022

      NFT investment specialist looks to acquire Pluto Digital for £96m

      January 24, 2022
    RareHippo – Crypto, Bitcoin, Blockchain News & Views
    Home»Cryptocurrencies»Venture Firm Electric Capital Raises $1 Billion To Invest In Crypto Startups
    Cryptocurrencies

    Venture Firm Electric Capital Raises $1 Billion To Invest In Crypto Startups

    by Jeff Kauflin
    March 1, 2022By Bloomberg4 Mins ReadNo Comments
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email Tumblr VKontakte Telegram
    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email LinkedIn Tumblr Telegram

    Following a year when startups raised record amounts of venture funding and cryptocurrency prices hit historical highs, Palo Alto-based Electric Capital has raised $1 billion to place bets on crypto startups.

    That total includes a $400 million fund closed last year (unannounced until today) to make equity and crypto token investments, plus a $600 million fund closed last month to make token-only purchases. Prior to these, Electric had raised just $125 million across its first two funds.

    Donate to RareHippo Now!

    Electric was founded by entrepreneur Avichal Garg, 39, and software engineer Curtis Spencer, 40. In 2001, while he was still in high school, Garg began his tech career by cofounding an education technology startup.

    He went on to major in computer science at Stanford and later worked as a product manager at Google. Then he and Spencer cofounded Spool, a bookmarking startup that let consumers save articles and videos to their phones.

    Facebook bought Spool in a small acquisition in 2012, and Garg and Spencer stayed at the social media giant for several years before starting Electric Capital in 2018. 

    The pair aims to differentiate Electric from other crypto investment funds by stuffing its ranks with engineers. That way it can better understand and assist with its portfolio companies’ technical operations. Of Electric’s 15 employees, eight are software developers and two are graphic designers, Garg says.

    He thinks engineers will eventually dominate all of the biggest businesses. “If you look at the most successful commerce companies in the world, they’re basically run by software engineers,” he says.

    “If you look at the most successful media platforms, they’re run by engineers. We think the same thing happens to venture capital and all capital markets.” Crypto funds Paradigm and Hack VC, which recently raised $200 million, also have engineering teams on staff.   

    One way Electric uses its technical knowledge is by creating an annual “Developer Report,” which analyzes vast amounts of open source code published on the repository GitHub. The research estimates how many engineers are working on different cryptocurrency platforms and which ecosystems are growing the fastest, and it helps inform Electric’s investment decisions.  

    One of Electric’s best investments so far is Near Protocol, an Ethereum competitor that serves as a cryptocurrency platform other applications can run on top of. After launching in 2017, Near grew to become the third-fastest growing crypto ecosystem in 2021, attracting more than 100 full time developers.

    Garg and Spencer invested $500,000 in Near in 2018 and sunk in more in the years following. Its $500,000 bet is now worth more than $60 million, and Electric’s total stake in Near is in the “low hundreds of millions.” 

    Electric has also made many investments in decentralized finance, or DeFi, the catchall for crypto products trying to build financial systems outside the control of any single company or government. It was an early investor in Dydx, a 27-person crypto derivatives trading application that surpassed Coinbase in daily trading volume last fall.

    It owns a stake in Zeta, an options-trading service. And it has backed Syndicate, a Silicon Valley software startup that makes it easier for people to pool crypto capital together and create investment DAOs, or decentralized autonomous organizations.

    To deploy its new $1 billion, Electric plans to make both equity and token investments of $1 million to $20 million. It will continue investing in crypto infrastructure and decentralized finance, and it wants to lean into the nonfungible token (NFT) market.

    Garg isn’t yet ready to invest directly in NFTs like digital art or in NFT investment DAOs through his fund. “How do you value this stuff?” he says. “Are you speculating on some fundamental asset or just speculating?”

    But he and Spencer are planning to make bets on “picks and shovels,” such as NFT marketplaces, digital wallets and financial tools that let you borrow money and use your NFTs as collateral.

    Read full story on Bloomberg

    Cryptocurrencies Investment
    Previous ArticleBitcoin to hit $50,000 this month: deVere CEO
    Next Article Authentic Brands Eyes Push Into Clothing, NFTs to Boost Reebok

    Related Posts

    Coinbase Fixing Problem That Halted Payments From US Banks

    October 9, 20221 Min Read

    Binance May Spend Over $1 Billion This Year on Deals, CZ Says

    October 9, 20223 Mins Read

    Two Senators propose crypto legislation for tax exemption on capital gains

    May 1, 20225 Mins Read

    Wall Street Reluctantly Embraces Crypto

    May 1, 20225 Mins Read

    Warren bill draws outcry over broad terms, but seems unlikely to pass

    March 20, 20225 Mins Read

    Bored Ape’s New ApeCoin Puts NFTs’ Power Problem on Display

    March 20, 20225 Mins Read
    Add A Comment

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Donate to RareHippo Now!
    Latest News

    Coinbase Fixing Problem That Halted Payments From US Banks

    October 9, 2022

    Binance May Spend Over $1 Billion This Year on Deals, CZ Says

    October 9, 2022

    Crypto Real Estate Is Here – Bitcoin Mortgages Are Just The Beginning

    May 1, 2022

    Two Senators propose crypto legislation for tax exemption on capital gains

    May 1, 2022

    Wall Street Reluctantly Embraces Crypto

    May 1, 2022
    Follow US & Win Prizes
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    Don't Miss
    Crypto Regulation

    Block Faces Consumer Protection Probes Over Cash App

    March 5, 20221 Min Read

    Block Inc., the digital payments company run by Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey, is under…

    Web3 infrastructure startup WalletConnect raises $11 million in Series A funding

    March 8, 2022

    Crypto Options Trading Volume Surged in January as Prices Fell

    February 4, 2022

    Terraform Labs argues SEC lacks jurisdiction to compel cooperation in its investigation

    December 21, 2021

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter

    Get the latest crypto news right into your email box. No spamming. We hate it too. Only pertinent news you need to know

    Crypto news & Views
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
    • Home
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
    • Donate to RareHippo
    • Get In Touch
    • NewsWire
    © 2023 RareHippo. Powered by 8 Dimensions

    The content of this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for investment or financial advice.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.