Golden Gate Ventures, a venture capital investor in Southeast Asia, is spinning out a dedicated fund for global blockchain investments. LuneX Ventures is a partnership between the firm and its former Head of Growth, Kenrick Drijkoningen, now Founding Partner of LuneX.
LuneX Ventures is a spin-out from the early-stage VC firm, Golden Gate Ventures. LuneX is a Venture Capital firm with a global mandate to invest exclusively in high-growth blockchain companies and cryptocurrency assets.
Drijkoningen says: “We view blockchain as a foundational technology, on a par with or possibly exceeding the Internet in disruptive potential. Right now valuations have come down to more reasonable levels and the industry is moving from pioneers to early adopters, which is a great time to start investing.”
ICOs worldwide raised USD9 billion in the first half of 2018, triple the rate of just USD6 billion in all of 2017. Golden Gate Ventures is already a player in this emerging wave. So far its portfolio companies have raised over USD35 million through ICOs, with others soon to follow. Singapore is a prime location for a dedicated fund as the city-state has a burgeoning base of tech talent for crypto/blockchain projects, plus a supportive government: The Monetary Authority of Singapore has made clear it will not regulate pure utility tokens while taking a pro-innovation stance.
LuneX Ventures is Southeast Asia’s first dedicated crypto/blockchain fund with traditional VC backing. It will invest globally in companies that are building out services to grow the new crypto ecosystem. Since the adoption curve is still in the early-stage, LuneX will take a long-term view.
Drijkoningen says: “Traditional investors currently struggle to access this new asset class: there are legal, custodian, banking, tax and other operating obstacles to overcome. LuneX Ventures has been been built from the ground up to address all these. We have gone the extra mile to make sure the fund is fully compliant while providing easy access to accredited investors. Our mandate allows us to invest in tokens of promising startups. For us, it’s important that our interests are aligned with those of founders. In the end this is how we all benefit.”
LuneX is looking for entrepreneurs and companies who are able to bring the industry to the next level. Qualities favoured include scalable infrastructure and interoperability, along with practical solutions to issues such as custody and security, and institutional services that will drive the next wave of adoption.
In addition to Drijkoningen and support from Golden Gate Ventures, LuneX Ventures has just hired its first full-time associate. Tushar Aggarwal runs the popular blockchain podcast “Decrypt Asia.” Tu Aggarwal shar also has experience as a mentor to young fintech companies, and he will finish a master’s degree in digital currency and blockchain while working at LuneX.
