Cadenza Ventures Launches $50M Crypto Fund for DeFi and Blockchain Projects

Cadenza Ventures has raised a $50 million crypto venture fund to invest in early-stage digital finance and blockchain technology companies. Van Eck Associates anchored the fund with participation from Solana, Dapper Labs and WorldQuant Ventures, among others.

• Cadenza Ventures will invest globally in crypto platforms and blockchain technologies. The initial investments will include Middle Eastern cryptocurrency exchange Rain, Singapore-based crypto platform Vauld, Latin American digital wallet Lemon Cash, Solana blockchain-based project Tulip Protocol and bitcoin-based game payments system Zebedee.

• “Advancements in blockchain technologies and decentralized finance are creating opportunities for products, platforms and services that have a massive addressable market,” Kumar Dandapani, a managing partner at Cadenza Capital Management, said in the press release announcing the fund.

• The fund is led by Cadenza Capital Management co-founders and managing partners Dandapani, who was formerly the data science head at Norwest Venture Partners, and Max Shapiro, a veteran of Blue Line Advisors. Founded in 2018, Cadenza Capital Management has previously invested in seed and Series A funding rounds of crytpo companies FalconX, BlockFi, CoinDCX and crypto derivative exchange FTX’s Blockfolio.

• “Venture and private investments like this help VanEck better understand technology trends and to stay ahead of the curve in this rapidly developing area of finance. This enables us to develop and deliver best in class crypto and blockchain focused investment products for our clients,” said VanEck CEO Jan van Eck in the release.