Valkyrie Explores Venture Capital Space; Focuses on Israeli Crypto Startups
- Valkyrie rose to fame after it became the first company whose bitcoin futures ETF was approved by the US SEC.
Crypto asset manager, Valkyrie, is moving into another asset class – Venture Capital. Lluis Pedragosa will head Valkyrie’s new asset class (Valkyrie Ventures). He has decades of experience as a Venture Capitalist in Israel’s investment scene. He is also the founder and ex-partner at Team8 (an Israel-based cybersecurity firm).
Valkyrie rose to fame after it became the first company whose Bitcoin futures ETF was approved by the US SEC. In a recent interview with a popular media outlet, Pedragosa said there is a big ‘vacuum’ in Israel’s crypto startup market. Many founders, builders, and funders always avoid this space despite the increasing interest in Israel’s tech entrepreneurship sector.
The veteran Venture Capitalist (VC) explained that many VCs are staying away from the crypto space because of their bad experiences during 2017 and 2018 initial coin offering scams. However, Pedragosa said many investors have been exploring the blockchain investment space in the last 18 months. Hence, many VCs are starting to have a change of heart.
He said Valkyrie Ventures will invest in early-stage crypto-related firms and has set aside up to $1 million for this purpose. However, Pedragosa added that the current focus of the Venture would be on crypto companies with solutions related to storage, data management, security and authentication, and networking.
Also, the Venture will seek to invest in technology that allows the development of decentralized applications. The veteran VC said the Venture has already made its first investment. It has invested in bunches, a web3 team developing a messaging platform for wallets.
Valkyrie Explorers Markets Outside Israel
Pedragosa added that any firm Valkyrie Ventures invests in will be exposed to the US market. The Tennessee-based firm will use its influence of contacts and customers to expose these Israel-based firms to the US market. The Spaniard also said that one factor the Venture considers before investing in any firm is the mass-market potential of their product.
According to Pedragosa, Valkyrie wants to invest in crypto firms whose products can be helpful to billions of users. He said that was his vision when he accepted to head Valkyrie Ventures, and this vision hasn’t changed now. The only thing that has changed is the valuation for the firms intending to develop the desired on-chain future.
There has been a reduction in startup valuations due to the current crypto winter and the uncertainties in the global economic space. Israel’s startup market scene is also feeling the heat. However, Pedragosa argues that now is the best time to start this fund.
He said crisis periods usually bring out the best innovations. Also, the Venture can get better deals despite the lower valuations. The veteran VC also said he is discussing with investors and institutions to raise between $25 million and $30 million to fund the Venture’s investments. He said Valkyrie Ventures would be completely independent of its parent company, Valkyrie.
Rebecca is a Senior Staff Writer at BitcoinWisdom, working hard to bring you the latest breaking news in the cryptocurrency market. In the words of Elon Musk “Buy stock in several companies that make products & services that *you* believe in. Only sell if you think their products & services are trending worse. Don’t panic when the market does. This will serve you well in the long-term.”
