Polina is an undergraduate student at Belarusian State Economic University (BSEU) where she is studying at the faculty of International Business Communication for a degree specializing in Intercultural Communication. In her spare time she enjoys drawing, music and travelling.
The San Francisco-based venture capital company Blockchain Capital has completed its second fund of more than $13 million for bitcoin and blockchain startups. The investment exceeded the company’s primary goal of $10 million.
“We are excited to announce the closing of our second fund so that we can continue to support world-class entrepreneurs who are leveraging Blockchain technology to disrupt legacy industries and create new products and services around the globe,” Brad Stephens, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Blockchain Capital, said in a press-release.
Opened in 2013, Blockchain Capital has become a leading investment company focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology startups. The company’s founders include Brock Pierce, Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, and professional investors Brad Stephens and Bart Stephens.
Blockchain Capital’s portfolio includes such companies as bitcoin company Coinbase, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, blockchain startup Ripple, distributed ledger platform Chain, Kenya-based bitcoin exchange BitPesa and others.
Blockchain Capital has already used the second fund to finance 23 blockchain technology companies in 2015. The company’s first fund was also destined for startups within the blockchain sector.
Blockchain Capital has recently announced the launch of the Blockchain Capital Flight.vc syndicate, the result of a partnership between Gil Penchina’s Flight.vc and Blockchain Capital’s AngelList syndicate. Currently, it is the biggest syndicate investing in bitcoin and blockchain companies. Blockchain Capital Flight.vc has already invested in 7 startups, securing more than $2 million dollars.
“Equity crowdfunding is a disruptive innovation in financial services that democratizes and decentralizes venture capital. As an early adopter of platforms like AngelList, we are thrilled to combine forces with Gil Penchina who is the leading investor on AngelList,” said Blockchain Capital’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner Brock Pierce.
“The pace of innovation we are seeing in Fintech, in general, and Blockchain technology in particular, is staggering. We are profoundly grateful for the support from our limited partners who are CEOs, family offices, technology executives, hedge fund managers, entrepreneurs and other venture capitalists. Sophisticated investors appreciate that this industry is complex and moving quickly, that specialization is important. They value our focus, deal flow, expertise and unparalleled network of advisors,” said Bart Stephens, Co-Founder and Managing Partner.
Meantime, Blockchain Capital has announced that new members from financial and technology industries joined its Advisory Board. They include Bobby Lee, CEO of BTCC, Simon McNamara, CAO of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Vinny Lingham, Gyft’s Chairman, Will O’Brien, Co-founder of BitGo, John Wolpert, IBM’s Global Blockchain Offering Director, and Charlie Lee, Director of Engineering at Coinbase and Founder of Litecoin.