Portal Ventures has successfully closed its second fund, securing $75 million to back pre-seed investments in Web3 startups. The fund is supported by notable investors, including Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon of a16z, along with contributions from investment groups like Accolade Partners, Theta Capital, and CrossLayer Capital.
Based in New York City, Portal Ventures is known for its early-stage involvement, often investing in crypto projects before a white paper or pitch deck is even created. The firm’s portfolio includes innovative companies like Plume Network, specializing in real-world asset tokenization, and Arch, a crypto lending platform.
The newly raised fund emphasizes supporting startups in specific areas of the crypto ecosystem. Portal Ventures prioritizes Bitcoin programmability, decentralized infrastructure (DePIN), and maximal extractable value (MEV) models, committing to invest in only one founder per category.
This strategy aligns with the broader venture capital trend of targeting early-stage blockchain startups, particularly in 2024. Despite an overall 20% decline in crypto funding between quarters, early-stage investments—including angel, pre-seed, and seed rounds—accounted for 85% of all capital deployed to crypto projects in the third quarter of 2024, according to Galaxy Research.
Portal Ventures joins other major firms raising substantial funds for blockchain initiatives. Pantera Capital, for instance, announced plans to secure $1 billion for a diversified blockchain fund, while Dragonfly Capital is raising $500 million for its fourth crypto-focused fund. Earlier this year, Paradigm sought $850 million for its latest fund, following its record-breaking $2.5 billion fund in 2021.
These investments reflect growing optimism about blockchain’s potential, even as the crypto industry navigates regulatory and market challenges. With $8 billion already invested in crypto startups year-to-date, the sector appears poised to match or slightly exceed 2023’s total, driven largely by early-stage activity.
Portal Ventures’ new fund reinforces the sustained interest in Web3 innovation and the vital role early-stage funding plays in nurturing groundbreaking blockchain projects.
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