Crypto Venture Firm Dragonfly Acquires Hedge Fund Backed By A16z, Sequoia

Dragonfly buys early Ethereum, Algorand investor

article-image

Dragonfly Capital Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi | Photo by Lauren Sopourn

share

key takeaways

  • Dragonfly purchases early Ethereum investor in undisclosed deal
  • Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi formerly worked as a partner at the hedge fund firm

Cryptocurrency-focused venture capitalist Dragonfly has purchased its first digital assets hedge fund firm backed by Sequoia and a16z. 

The acquisition, MetaStable, founded in 2014, is one of the oldest and highest-performing crypto hedge funds. MetaStable was an early investor in Ethereum, Filecoin and Algorand — at one point raking in a return in excess of 500%

More recently, the fund has invested in trading platform Floating Point Group and layer-1 protocol Iron Fish. 

Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi, who formerly worked as a partner at MetaStable, in a blog post Monday said the firm is now “more expansive than it’s ever been.” 

The news comes months after Dragonfly, based in San Francisco, CA, closed its third crypto venture fund at an oversubscribed $650 million. Its second fund, closed in 2021, cleared $250 million. The company remains interested in native protocols, Web3 initiatives and tokens that aim to create new digital economies, General Partner Tom Schmidt said in May

Dragonfly will also soon be the new owner of 10 million LDO tokens — equal to 1% of the total supply — after the Lido DAO approved the sale earlier this month. Lido is a liquidity platform where traders can earn yields on staked assets. LDO token holders came to an agreement after floating different versions of the proposal. 

Dragonfly committed to buying the LDO tokens at $1.45 apiece, or at the two-week average price as of the vote plus a 5% premium, whichever is higher. There is a one-year lockup period.

As part of a brand overhaul, also announced Monday, the firm has dropped “Capital” from its name. 

The acquisitions and rebranding effort fit into Dragonfly’s broader goal to reintegrate itself as a crypto-native brand. Its new look is affectionately inspired by the “hacker” and “weirdo” culture often displayed throughout the space, according to Qureshi. 

“It’s time for a refresh,” Qureshi said.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (6).png

Research

In recent months, a number of highly accretive developments were implemented across the protocol to improve fee capture, expand product functionality, and ultimately drive value accrual to the RUNE token, with more upgrades on the immediate horizon. These developments include hiking the minimum swap fee parameter to increase revenue, adding a Burn System Income Lever to reduce the RUNE supply, the addition of COSM-WASM smart contracting and IBC to enable an application layer, new chain integrations, and more.

article-image

Former IRS agent and Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan will remain imprisoned in Nigeria’s Kuje prison

article-image

When Permissionless III wraps on Friday, there will be 26 days left until the 2024 presidential election

article-image

Plus, an update from the ground in Salt Lake City at Permissionless III

article-image

The US regulator accused the crypto market-making firm of acting as an unregistered dealer

article-image

Customers can pay merchants in USDC or USDP on Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon, while US-based merchants are paid in dollars