Bain Capital launches a first crypto-dedicated fund worth $560 million

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Bain Capital launches a first crypto-dedicated fund worth $560 million

By Sam Grant - min read
  • The BCV Fund I has already invested $100 million into some unnamed crypto projects
  • The Fund aims for active participation in crypto start-ups

The venture arm of Massachusetts-based investment firm Bain Capital, Bain Capital Ventures (BCV), has announced the launch of a first dedicated crypto-focused fund, called the BCV Fund I.

With a $560 million 'armoury,' BCV will aim to advance its crypto endeavours even further, as it has been a player in the crypto scene for seven years now. Notably, it holds investments in some prominent names in the space, including Grayscale's parent company, the Digital Currency Group, Compound, and BlockFi.

Since the Fund closed last November, Bain Capital Crypto, which runs it, has already invested $100 million into a slew of yet unrevealed crypto initiatives.

"We [have] quite high conviction we are at the beginning of a multi-decade technology shift. We really needed a dedicated team and a dedicated fund structure. That's really what led to the addition of Bain Capital Crypto," Stefan Cohen, a managing partner at Bain Capital Crypto, said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Cohen expounded that the Fund would invest in projects all around blockchain innovation, including crypto start-ups, decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), and Ethereum layer one alternatives.

The capital will be allocated to up to 30 companies in two to three years. Cohen promises more active investment to fund innovative projects, with participation in treasuries and governance.

"They are looking for firms who are able to actively participate in governance, firms that can provide liquidity into the protocols," he added.

The venture capital arm has long term ambitions

Though the Fund is launching into a fundamentally bear environment for crypto (the impact of impending governmental policies and geopolitical tensions in the world today), Alex Evans, also a managing partner at Bain Capital Crypto, insists the Fund isn't concerned with the short term.

He revealed during the Bloomberg interview that they took a 10-year outlook as they could not await market certainty, which might come when it is already late.

"We are fundamentally a long-term oriented, 10-year fund. We are taking a very long view. We are unfazed and, in some ways, uninterested in short-term market gyrations. We embrace the uncertainty of this market; we are long-term believers. When the certainty is there, it might be too late for this market," he said.

Bain Capital's venture into crypto comes hardly weeks after fellow investment firm Sequoia Capital dedicated $600 million into a crypto fund.