Menu

Search

  |   Digital Currency

Menu

  |   Digital Currency

Search

Life.Sreda launches new venture fund to invest in blockchain startups

Life.Sreda (EconoTimes)

Singapore-based venture fund Life.Sreda is launching a new venture fund to help banks invest in blockchain startups which will provide start-up capital for early stage blockchain companies.

The venture fund named ‘Banking on Blockchain Fund,’ or ‘BB Fund,’ has initial capital infusion of $5 million from Life.Sreda. The fund seeks additional backing from financial institutions in order to expand its capital base to $50 million by the end of 2016 and later to $100 million by 2017.

Talking about the fund, Life.Sreda believes that, “This year will see a big shift to acceptance and adoption of blockchain technologies with people using it without realizing it.” It added, “You’ll do a money transfer and you won’t realize that the company sending that money is actually using a blockchain trail.”

According to East-West Digital News, a Life.Sreda partner and CFO of the new fund Igor Pesin said that the fund will start investing after first closure in Q3 2016. This new fund will be headquartered in London and will target mainly on European and Asian companies.

In addition to investment analytics and returns, the banks backing the fund will be provided with research outputs and knowledge from the portfolio companies said Chris Skinner, the author and blogger who founded the Financial Services Club.

Life.Sreda stated saying, ““Banks need to know which of the startups have the best business model; which ones are developing relevant use cases — and finally, which ones they should invest in and partner with.” It added saying, “The new fund will give all banks an avenue through which they can gain exposure to the rapidly-growing blockchain space.”

Life.Sreda was launched in 2012 as the venture arm of Russian financial group Life. The company closed a first fund in late 2014 and then launched a second fund targeting exclusively foreign startups.

  • Market Data
Close

Welcome to EconoTimes

Sign up for daily updates for the most important
stories unfolding in the global economy.