TL;DR
- The VC firm raised $136 million for its fourth fund, below the initial target of $150 million.
- The capital comes from family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and large institutions.
- CMT Digital has already deployed 25% of the fund, investing in stablecoin startups like Coinflow and Codex.
The digital asset-focused venture capital (VC) firm, CMT Digital, has closed its fourth investment fund after raising $136 million. The company, a subsidiary of the renowned quantitative trading firm CMT Group, will allocate the capital to back the next wave of Web3 startups.
The announcement comes amid a complex market context. Despite major assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum setting new record prices, general venture capital activity has experienced a “significant slowdown.”
Sam Hallene, an investment partner at the firm, confirmed to Fortune that the fund did not reach its initial target of $150 million, according to a June statement.
Nonetheless, Hallene indicated that the fundraising attracted participation from a mix of family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and some larger institutions. The backers’ names were not disclosed.
History of Success and Future Bets
CMT Digital, launched in the mid-2010s, is considered the largest vertical of its parent company, CMT Group.The firm has a notable history of backing projects that have become pillars of the industry.
Among its most successful past investments are Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, and the blockchain lending platform Figure, both of which went public this year. They also invested in Consensys, the blockchain software developer, which is reportedly also eyeing an IPO.
The new CMT Digital fund is already active. Hallene revealed that the firm has distributed 25% of the new capital, with notable bets on stablecoin startups Coinflow and Codex.
Hallene stated that the company will continue to back projects seeking to displace traditional finance. “I would hope that we would see one or two new categories that pop up and have a very compelling reason to exist,” he said, adding that he hopes CMT Digital will be remembered as “one of the earliest backers of that new category” when the new CMT Digital fund concludes.
