Pantera Capital Already Raises Over $70 Million for Its Third Crypto Fund

Pantera Capital, one of the largest US-based institutional holders of cryptocurrencies, has already raised more than $70 million for its third crypto fund. And the first investment by Pantera Venture Fund III went to Intercontinental Exchange’s Bakkt.

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$175 Million Crypto Venture Fund

Pantera Capital, a Menlo Park, California based cryptocurrency investment fund, is reportedly looking to raise up to $175 million for its third venture fund. This will make Pantera Venture Fund III much bigger than its predecessors, which were closed at just $25 million and $13 million respectively.

And SEC filings show the firm already got $71,445,000 in capital commitments from ninety investors. Pantera partner Paul Veradittakit told Techcrunch that this figure is just a “first close,” and explained that the much larger target amount is a “function of how fast the space is moving, the talent coming in, the opportunities, and the sizing of rounds. With more interesting later-stage investments [on our radar], too, we want to be flexible and able to move with the market.”

Bullish on Bakkt

The company also revealed that on its blog that, Pantera Venture Fund III’s first investment “could result in one of the most important developments in blockchain history.” The fund is one of the founding investors in Bakkt, the recently-announced subsidiary of the parent of the New York Stock Exchange — Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE).

Pantera Capital wrote: “The potential ripple effect of Bakkt’s success could reverberate across the Blockchain ecosystem by expediting commercial use and widespread institutional adoption. This is the first of several exciting projects the Pantera investment team has identified for Venture Fund III. In alignment with our Venture Funds I and II investment strategies, Bakkt, as well as the two other projects in our pipeline, reflect a continued focus on infrastructure.”

Last month it was reported that Pantera Capital has generated a more than 10,000% lifetime return since launching in 2013. Its past portfolio includes many exchanges such as Bitstamp, Bitoasis, Bitpagos, Bitpesa, Coins.ph, Coinsuper, Koinex, Korbit, Paradex, and Ripio.

Is this a sign that investors are expecting a strong market recovery? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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