British venture firm Northzone has raised €1bn for a fund focused on investing in cryptocurrency and fintech startups.
We @northzoneVC are so excited to announce that we’ve raised $1bn to continue to partner with founders building the next reality ✨✨✨✨https://t.co/BCmbACzHJh
— Wendy Xiao Schadeck (@wen_xs) September 13, 2022
The firm, founded in 1996, backed a broad range of projects including Spotify, iZettle, Klarna, Trustpilot, Kahoot!, Tier, Personio, Zopa, Forto, TrueLayer and Spring Health.
Northzone also invested in the developer of a decentralized-identity solution Magic Labs, the European Bitcoin exchange Cryex, and the streaming video platform Livepeer built on the Ethereum blockchain.
In an interview with The Block, venture partner Wendy Xiao Schadeck called the Web3-sector ‘a key’ for Northzone. According to her, the firm has the infrastructure to support startups both through equity investments and through token sales, in which it already has experience participating.
Xiao Schadeck suggested that, under certain conditions, the firm could invest in structures such as decentralised autonomous organisations.
She stressed that Northzone has not decided to launch a dedicated crypto fund. Xiao Schadeck acknowledged that such a move would facilitate the firm’s participation in trading liquid tokens.
We will discuss and assess the timeliness of such a move with our liquidity providers. I think, most likely, we will continue to invest in Web3 companies from our core funds. And if they decide to launch tokens, we will keep them in the portfolio. This does not constrain us
As a reminder, venture investments in blockchain startups amounted to $30.3 billion in the first half. Despite a market downturn, the amount exceeded the figure for all of 2021 ($30.2 billion), according to Messari and Dove Metrics.
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