Protagonist launches $ 100 million blockchain protocol focused fund
By Riley Kaminer
The crypto landscape is terrible. BTC down 52.7% so far this year. ETH down 68% YTD. STC down 95% from all-time high (OK, well, what did you expect with it?).
In the midst of the ruins, an enterprising group of Miami-based HODLrs stand ready to go through the deep depths of the crypto winter.
Crypto Fund and Incubation Laboratory Protagonist today announced the launch of its $ 100 million fund dedicated to investing in and incubating core web3 protocols. This fund – Protagonist’s debut – plans to invest in a wide range of verticals, including games, infrastructure, new blockchains and ecosystems, security and privacy.
In an interview with TechCrunch, co-founder George Bousis claimed that this is an excellent time to invest in web3 – not despite the current situation, but because of them.
“In bear markets and out of financial crises and what not, you see some of the best businesses and returns coming from those markets,” Bousis said. “This is where legends are born, and you can really make a name for yourself … we believe this is where the real builders and investors will thrive.”
Bousis is a series founder and angel investor who founded the gift card and payment company Raise and Slide. Alongside Bousis, co-founders Ian and Dylan Macalinao, founders of Solana stablecoin exchange Saber Labs, and Harry Hurst, co-founder and co-CEO of Pipe, are a recurring revenue trading platform.
“Some of the things I’m very passionate about personally is bridging the gap between digital and physical assets, and actually leveraging crypto, DeFi and blockchain as a technology without consumers realizing or understanding that they are using it,” Bousis said. TechCrunch.
“I think that’s where the future is headed, a world where human behavior and experience are not changing, but should only be improved,” Bousis continued. “The whole idea of interoperability should never have been an issue or a problem in the first place if you really want this industry to scale and affect the next billions of users.”
Protagonist also announced three of their first portfolio companies: Aptos, a Layer 1 blockchain; Cardinal, a Solana protocol that enables conditional ownership of NFTs; and Cogni, a digital banking and lifestyle platform.
The fund’s co – founders emphasized that their USP comes from their background as successful founders. Mo Shaikh, CEO of the portfolio company Aptos and former head of Strategic Partnerships for Novi, Facebook’s wallet, emphasized this benefit in a statement.
“We are excited to be working with the Protagonist team,” said Shaikh. “Their deep experience and history of building applications in Web3 is unique and valuable.”
“They have proactively made technical contributions to improve our roadmap and technology stack to bring Web3 to the masses,” Shaikh continued. “Their deep commitment to the Aptos ecosystem and dedication to our mission have helped accelerate global adoption of blockchain infrastructure and consumer applications.”
Bousis stressed that this “is not just about building a VC company or anything like that, it’s really about investing in entrepreneurs who build amazing things.”
“The protagonist is more reflective of who we are and the people we want to invest in,” he said.
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