Seven Seven Six Launches $177M Crypto Fund

A digital asset-focused venture capital firm led by Reddit’s co-founder is reportedly planning to raise $177.6 million for a new fund likely to 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 start operations in October.

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

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

Cryptocurrency prices and blockchain startup values ​​have fallen since the collapse of TerraUSD in May. Crunchbase data shows that crypto investment fell 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 in the business for a very long time,” Holloway told The Information. “It’s on sale. Everything is on sale.”

776 isn’t the only venture capitalist who appears to be buying the dip. Earlier today, Animoca Brands – Asia’s largest blockchain investment company – received $100 million from Temasek, a Singaporean state-owned investment firm, Bloomberg reported.

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

776 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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