Following the recent US$3 million investment round announcement, first reported in Coindesk, the Clearpool team wanted to bring attention to the various investment funds that have backed Clearpool.
In total, our last round included 23 venture firms.
Read on to get the highlights of the firms that support the project.
In the weeks ahead, we’ll be going deeper with features on many of them and how their partnership and expertise will accelerate the development of Clearpool’s decentralized capital markets ecosystem.
Clearpool VC Investor Landscape
1. Sequoia Capital India
For an idea of the expectations of our first investor on the list, their homepage says it all.
“We help the daring build legendary companies.” — Sequoia Capital India
Clearpool aims not to disappoint as our team dares to disrupt and create a legend in the DeFi space.
With Sequoia’s backing, Clearpool’s mission to build a decentralized capital market ecosystem will only accelerate by the partnership.
Sequoia Capital, a legend in its own right, is known worldwide for early-stage investment in high-growth industry-changing companies — too many to list here; their portfolio speaks for itself and is filled with what they call…
The creative spirits. The underdogs. The resolute. The determined. The indefatigable. The defiant. The outsiders. The independent thinkers. The fighters. The true believers. — Sequoia Portfolio Page Header
For the Clearpool team, we are hard at work to build a legend worthy of Sequoia’s expectations and, even more, to push the limits and unlock the value and emergent properties that DeFi has yet to see as we enable uncollateralized lending, tokenized credit, and more for our users.
2. HashKey Capital
HashKey Capital both builds and invests in world-class financial technology. Notable investments include Polkadot, Blockfolio, Blockstack, and BlockFi.
A few stats about HashKey Capital:
- 550+ opportunities evaluated per year
- 93 Portfolio Companies
- 14 Countries and Regions
From more than 550 opportunities, Clearpool made the cut. We are excited to be a part of HashKey’s portfolio.
Clearpool Trading is Live, Details Linked Here: Clearpool Listing and Staking Details — AscendEX, Uniswap, KuCoin, Gate.io
3. Wintermute
Wintermute is a leading global algorithmic market maker in digital assets to enhance liquidity with cumulative trading volume in billions (USD).
Wintermute provides liquidity to some exchanges you may know:
- Binance
- Huobi
- Coinbase
- Kraken
- FTX
- Bitfinex
- Bitstamp
- Uniswap
- DYDX
An interesting fact, Wintermute is an AI character from the 1984 Neuromancer book written by William Gibson.
To learn more about Wintermute, check out the recent interview with their CEO on the Blockchain.com podcast, linked in the tweet below.
4. Arrington Capital
Arrington Capital takes its name from Partner Michael Arrington, who in 2005 founded TechCrunch.
Arrington Capital is a digital asset management firm focused on blockchain-based capital markets.
“Keep a close eye on crypto-lending companies that are experiencing rapid growth with compelling interest earning rates and low cost loans for crypto and digital dollars, aka stablecoins. We’re seeing growth trajectories in the sector that mirror some of the most successful fintech companies’ like PayPal’s early days.” — Michael Arrington on crypto lending as reported by Cointelegraph.
The funds extensive portfolio includes:
- XRP
- Arweave
- Algorand
- Kava
- Casper Labs
- Bitclout
And now Clearpool.
5. Kenetic Capital
Kenetic Capital is a Hong Kong-based blockchain technology VC.
- They have an exceptional background in risk management
- investing in the digital asset space for over six years
- Asia focused, investing globally
6. Hex Trust
Hex Trust is Asia’s leading digital asset custodian, which maintains a close relationship with Clearpool because Hex Trust is incubating the Clearpool project.
Led by veteran banking technologists and award-winning financial services experts, Hex Trust has built a proprietary bank-grade platform — Hex Safe™ — that delivers a custody solution for banks, financial institutions, asset managers, exchanges, and corporations.
Through Hex Safe™, clients can access liquidity providers, exchanges, and lending & staking platforms, enabling seamless access to services while assets are held in our highly secure and regulated platform.
In Hong Kong, Hex Trust is registered as a Trust Company under the Hong Kong Trust Ordinance and holds a Trust or Company Service Provider (TCSP) license under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance. In Singapore, Hex Trust holds a Capital Markets Services (CMS) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), allowing the company to provide custodial services regulated under Singapore’s Securities and Futures Act.
7. GBV Capital
GBV Capital is a blockchain-focused investment company
“We believe in people. Success in the blockchain space comes from constant iteration, community involvement and hustle. We like gritty, resilient teams who can move at the pace of innovation that this industry demands.” — GBV Capital
GBV Capital has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the development of blockchain technology. Since its formation, it has invested in groundbreaking applications of blockchain technology, contributing to groundbreaking research.
“To better utilise our knowledge and experience, we have established GBV Capital, an investment arm focused primarily on early-stage projects. By leveraging our network, expertise and range of capabilities, we endeavour to add value and catalyze growth for projects and founders in the space.” — GBV Capital
GBV Capital By the Numbers:
- 200 + companies invested
- 2 B+ in market value
- 100M under management
- 400+ Jobs created
8. BCW Group
BCW Group is a global strategy consulting firm specializing in inter-connecting digital payments, digital assets, and distributed ledger technology.
9. Huobi Ventures
Huobi Ventures, Focus on Huobi’s venture investment portfolio and supporting innovative blockchain projects through long-term strategies.
Portfolio includes:
- Acala
- Animoca Brands
- Linear
- Oasis
- Lithium
- Multiverse
10. Sino Global Capital
Sino Global Capital focuses on ‘Investing in the Blockchain Revolution.’
Leveraging their mainland China expertise, they are strategic investors for best-of-class international blockchain projects.
Recent investments include:
- Serum
- Mask Network
- Mintbase
- Bonfida
- Delta Exchange
- Wintermute
- FTX
“Our Difference
We stand at the intersection of finance and technology — East and West.
We leverage our network to help our portfolio companies enter one of the most idiosyncratic, but important, markets in blockchain — Asia.”
— Sino Global Capital
Examples of recent support Sino Global Capital has offered their portfolio companies includes:
- Asia market entry strategy
- Product localization & translation
- Asia talent acquisition and team building
- C-level strategic partner introductions
- Formation of Asia community channels
- Tokenomics design and feedback
Joining the portfolio, Clearpool will benefit from the expertise and experience of Sino Global Capital.
11. ZBS Capital
ZBS Capital is a trading agency and VC fund dedicated to building a decentralized world; founded in 2017 with the ICO boom and continues today.
“We have assembled the right team from all over the world with diverse experience in the main areas of blockchain, marketing and finance. ZBS CAPITAL supports promising early-stage projects & companies with finance and advisory help.” — ZBS Capital
A Sample of the ZBS Portfolio includes:
- Matic
- Band Protocol
- DIA
- Cere Network
- DAO Maker
- Kylin
12. Unknown VC
UNKNOWN VC is Asia’s premier venture capital firm focused solely on decentralized finance.
“We seek to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns to our investors by backing the most promising blockchain projects in the DeFi and web3.0 space.
Early-stage venture investment firm backing the most promising blockchain projects in the DeFi and web3.0 space.” — Unknown VC
Investments include:
- SushiSwap
- MantraDao
- Parallel
- Sentinel
- Soma
13. Skynet Trading
Skynet Trading is a licensed boutique firm focused on trading strategies for the digital assets market.
Skynet Trading is institutional-grade:
“Skynet Trading provides institutional-grade liquidity solutions and advisory services to token issuers and cryptocurrency exchanges that meet our vision for compliance and innovation.
Skynet Trading in Numbers 100M+ USD Daily Trading Volume 20+ Exchanges 24/7 Support 25M+ USD Invested Market Making Services Our algorithmic trading solutions provide deep liquidity and allow for large quantities of digital assets to be traded.” — Skynet Trading
Skynet Trading focuses on strategic investments:
“We offer advisory services to provide valuable insight into token economics, listing strategies, and market conditions.
Skynet Trading is an avid investor in the early-stage blockchain ecosystem, working with prominent companies, funds, and exchanges in the digital assets industry.
Skynet Trading is focused on early-stage strategic investments in blockchain infrastructure and decentralized finance projects.”
— Skynet Trading
14. AcendEX
AscendEX (formerly BitMax) is a global cryptocurrency financial platform with a comprehensive product suite including spot, margin, and futures trading, wallet services, and staking support for over 150 blockchain projects such as bitcoin, ether, and ripple.
Launched in 2018, AscendEX services over 1 million retail and institutional clients globally with a highly liquid trading platform and secure custody solutions.
AscendEX has emerged as a leading platform by ROI on its “initial exchange offerings” by supporting some of the industry’s most innovative projects from the DeFi ecosystem, such as Thorchain, xDai Stake, and Serum.
AscendEX users receive exclusive access to token airdrops and the ability to purchase tokens at the earliest possible stage.
15. PARSIQ
PARSIQ is a modular blockchain analytics and monitoring platform offering comprehensive tools for analyzing, detecting, and preventing cryptocurrency fraud and other illicit activities on the blockchain.
The transparent nature of most blockchains allows PARSIQ to transform massive amounts of data into actionable information.
16. FBG Capital
FBG Capital is a digital asset management firm in blockchain-based capital market.
“We believe that decentralized undercollateralized loan market is key to increase capital efficiency and bring DeFi lending to the next level. Clearpool has strong background in both TraFi and DeFi. They are the team we want to work in long term.
This is why we made the investment.” — FBG Capital
17. Panony
PANONY was established in March 2018 with operations in Greater China, South Korea, and the U.S.. Both founders are Forbes Asia 30 under 30 honorees.
The PANONY Portfolio Includes:
- Flare
- Gate.io
- KuCoin
- Onchain
- RNDR
- Terra
- Trust Token
18. Folkvang
Folkvang is a quantitative trading firm and liquidity provider active in all leading crypto markets, trading all major coins on all major exchanges with a constant global presence; a quant trading firm and liquidity provider active in all top crypto markets.
19. Mentha Partners
Mentha Partners is a community of people with deep experience and an extensive network that offers more than just capital.
Mentha’s portfolio includes:
- Serum
- Solana
- Luxfi
- Deribit
20. Moonvault Capital
Moonvault Capital invest at the heart of decentralized finance, a DeFi-focused digital asset platform focusing on fundamental value as well as arbitrage across the DeFi stack.
Moonvault Partners invest in blockchain projects through Moonvault Capital, a DeFi-focused digital asset platform focusing on fundamental value as well as arbitrage across the DeFi stack.
21. One Block Capital
One Block Capital is a blockchain investment and advisory company based in Hong Kong. Founded in 2017.
“One Block firmly believes in the transformational nature of the blockchain & cryptocurrencies, in (i) bringing about a more transparent and effective financial system; and (ii) pushing forward a decentralized, trustless Internet (Web 3.0). One Block is active across the blockchain ecosystem — from investment, advisory, brokerage to education in the blockchain space — with a mission to bridge the gap between cryptocurrencies and traditional financial markets.” — One Block Capital
Backing projects since early 2017, investments include:
DeFi & App Layer:
- Saber
- Hedgehog
- Oxygen
- Clearpool
- Synthetify
- Solanium
- Serum
- Maple
Infrastructure:
- Nakji
- Solana
- Marlin,
- Arweave
- Zilliqa,
- Fantom
- Razor
Liquidity:
- FTX
- Deribit
- OmiseGo
22. MANTRA DAO
MANTRA DAO is a community-governed DeFi platform focusing on staking, lending, and multi-chain DeFi services.
MANTRA DAO leverages the wisdom of the crowd to create a community-governed, transparent, and decentralized ecosystem for web 3.0. Built on Parity Substrate for the Polkadot ecosystem, MANTRA DAO gives financial control back to the people to grow wealth together.
MANTRA DAO is a community-governed DeFi platform focusing on Staking, Lending,
Interesting fact, MANTRA DAO recently launched a YouTube series called “A Week in the Life,” a reality show documenting the lives of their team. If you ever wondered what it was like to work in a DeFi project, check it out at the link below:
23. Plutus VC
Plutus VC is a next-generation Innovation Venture Fund.
“PLUTUS.VC fund primarily focused in China and USA innovations, but we do seek deals Worldwide.
PLUTUS.VC targets at the *TMT sector –Telecommunications Mobile Technology, but is open to any new innovative business concepts.
PLUTUS.VC invests in Angel, Pre-A and A-Round. Anything from $500,000 to $5 Million.
$200 million fund reserved for investment into promising technology, internet, mobile, gaming and innovation companies in China, USA and globally.” — Plutus VC
Wrapping Up: Clearpool Investors Roundup
What a list.
We’ve covered the 23 pre-IDO investors who continue opening doors, providing advice and insight to help Clearpool build the future.
About Clearpool
Clearpool is a decentralized capital markets ecosystem where institutional borrowers can access unsecured liquidity and where liquidity providers can earn attractive risk-adjusted returns.
The first decentralized dynamic marketplace for unsecured liquidity, where supply and demand always ensure each pool reaches a state of equilibrium in terms of size and interest rate.
A paradigm shift in how institutions borrow uncollateralized liquidity is upon us.
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