Former Citi banker launches $1.5B crypto fund, taps Algorand as first partner

A Wall Street veteran with more than 14 years of experience has launched a new venture fund dedicated to cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups, offering further evidence that smart money investors are pivoting to the emerging world of digital assets.

On Monday, former Citi executive Matt Zhang unveiled Hivemind Capital Partners, a $ 1.5 billion multi-strategy fund designed to start promising crypto games and “institutionalize crypto investments”. The fund will prioritize projects focused on building crypto infrastructure, virtual worlds and programmable money, and will also trade digital assets as part of its underlying strategy.

Hivemind’s first technology partner is Algorand, an interest-proof protocol that is increasingly focused on creating infrastructure for the global financial industry. Algorand is a top-20 blockchain project, with its indigenous ALGA token valued at $ 11.2 billion in total market capitalization, according to Coingecko.

Zhang described blockchain technology as a “paradigm shift” and said his company will provide crypto entrepreneurs with infrastructure support that is not currently available within traditional asset management models. However, the company has not yet announced any major funding.

venture capital has flooded the cryptocurrency industry this year, with significant funding is allocating billions of dollars to promising startups. Consecutive financial circles have spawned at least a dozen cryptic unicorns, a term used to describe start-ups with a valuation of $ 1 billion or more.

Zhang’s Hivemind is one of a small handful of multi-billion crypto funds. As reported by Cointelegraph, a Silicon Valley business company Andreessen Horowitz launched a $ 2.2 billion cryptocurrency fund in June, which was the largest ever at the time. In November, crypto investment firm Paradigm unveiled a $ 2.5 billion portfolio dedicated to crypto companies.