Seven Seven Six To Launch $177M Crypto Fund

A digital assets-focused venture capital firm led by Reddit’s co-founder is reportedly planning on raising $177.6 million for a new fund that will likely invest in early-stage Web3 startups, plus related cryptocurrencies. 

Seven Seven Six (776), run by Alexis Ohanian, started fundraising relatively recently, according to The Information.

Following the likes of Sequoia and Bessemer Venture Partners, 776 has registered as an investment adviser with the SEC. The new fund, Kryptós, plans to commence operations in October.

The latest fund charges investors a 2.5% management fee — above the industry average of 2% or so. 

The venture capital firm currently has 56 portfolio companies, including Yuga Labs — the creators behind the exclusive non-fungible token (NFT) collection Bored Ape Yacht Club and QuickNode, blockchain API and node infrastructure startup. It currently has $904 million of gross assets, according to regulatory filings. 

Cryptocurrency prices and blockchain startup valuations have plummeted since the collapse of TerraUSD in May. Crunchbase data reveals crypto investments dropped from $6.1 billion in Q4 2021 to $5.1 billion in Q1 2022 and $4.2 billion in Q2 2022, but 776 partner Katelin Holloway remains optimistic. 

“This is the best time to buy if you’re really long on the industry,” Holloway told The Information. “It’s on sale. Everything is on sale.”

776 is not the only venture capitalist appearing to buy the dip. Earlier today, Animoca Brands — Asia’s largest blockchain investment firm — received $100 million from Temasek, a Singaporean state-owned investment company, Bloomberg reported.

Other venture capital firms pouring money into the space this past month include Brevan Howard Asset Management — which raised $1 billion from institutional investors to launch the largest crypto hedge fund ever, digital assets investment firm CoinFund, which raised $300 million to focus on investing in early-stage Web3 startups and Shima Capital, which put aside $200 million to bet on early-stage private crypto companies.

776 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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