Blockchain Capital, an investor in Ripple and Coinbase, raises $150M for its fourth fund, which appears to be the largest fund focused on crypto and blockchain
Dan Primack / Axios :
Context & Ripple Effects
Blockchain Capital has closed the fund it telegraphed six months earlier, when SEC filings showed roughly $85M raised against a $150M target across two vehicles. The firm built its reputation on early bets on Ripple and Coinbase, so the raise marks the moment a crypto-native investor graduated to a full-size institutional vehicle rather than a side bet.
The timing matters: this was, per Axios, the largest fund focused on crypto and blockchain at the time, and the firm quickly put native assets on the balance sheet too, accepting $25M of Ripple's XRP alongside the dollar commitments.
First-order effects
- Blockchain Capital gains fresh dry powder to make new crypto and blockchain bets while holding existing positions in Ripple and Coinbase, with LPs getting a dedicated vehicle instead of generalist exposure.
- The $150M close sets a new size benchmark for crypto-only funds, raising the bar every subsequent crypto fundraiser is measured against.
Second-order effects
- Generalist firms are forced to decide whether crypto deserves its own fund: Andreessen Horowitz answers within two years with a $515M second crypto-dedicated fund, more than tripling Blockchain Capital's mark.
- Accepting XRP alongside dollar LP money signals that token-denominated commitments can sit next to traditional fund structures, giving crypto-native projects a new way to capitalize investors.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, crypto venture capital institutionalizes into sector-dedicated franchises whose fund sizes ratchet up each cycle — Blockchain Capital itself returns in 2023 with $580M across two funds targeting DeFi, gaming, and consumer/social.
- Fund-of-record status concentrates follow-on capital and board influence around a few crypto-specialist firms, shaping which protocols and exchanges get funded through subsequent market cycles.
The trend: Crypto venture capital is scaling from opportunistic side funds into large sector-dedicated franchises, with each cycle's flagship fund resetting the size benchmark for the next.