CRYPTO currency-focused venture capital (VC) firm Haun Ventures is adding to its roster of investors as the price of crypto trends upward. Anchorage Digital president and co-founder Diogo Monica is joining the firm as a general partner, the firm said on Wednesday (Mar 20).
Haun Ventures chief executive officer Katie Haun met Monica seven years ago at a San Francisco coffee shop as he was building Anchorage, she said, adding that his experience as a founder will bring new insights to the firm. Monica will be the only general partner aside from Haun.
“It adds an entirely new flank of capabilities to what our fund can offer other founders,” she said.
Monica said he was familiar with the VC industry, having done close to 125 angel investments while working at San Francisco-based Anchorage. “I’ve always enjoyed deploying capital, staying close with investor updates and seeing founders succeed,” he said in an interview.
Monica will take on the role of executive chairman of the board at Anchorage, which became the first federally chartered crypto bank in 2021. He will still be involved with strategy, hiring and working with key clients.
Anchorage has more than US$50 billion on its platform from clients that include Haun Ventures, and its revenue is climbing to new highs, Monica said.
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However, during the crypto market downturn last year, Anchorage laid off 20 per cent of its staff, citing regulatory uncertainty in the US as a factor in its decision.
Monica said he was interested in backing projects that use crypto solutions to protect data as well as startups working on stablecoins, including ones that bear interest. A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency pegged to a fixed asset like the US dollar.
Haun Ventures is one of the crypto world’s best-known firms. It launched a US$500 million investment vehicle for early-stage startups and a US$1 billion fund for more mature companies in 2022.
Haun, who started Haun Ventures after leaving investment firm Andreessen Horowitz, said she was drawn to areas like digital identity, digitally scarce goods and decentralised social networks.
Haun Ventures, which has backed companies like non-fungible token marketplace OpenSea and blockchain developer Aptos Labs, saw a lower venture deal count than some of its rivals in 2023, but Haun said the firm has been highly opportunistic during the changing crypto market.
“Founders building at the earliest stages should really be coming to us now,” she said. BLOOMBERG
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