Lightspeed Faction raises $285M crypto fund despite broader VC decline

80% of the capital remains uncommitted as the firm looks primarily to invest in infrastructure and protocol-level projects, the fund’s co-founders said

article-image

Relight Motion / Shutterstock, modified by Blockworks

share

Lightspeed Faction has raised $285 million in capital for investment in early-stage crypto projects, the Menlo Park-based fund announced Thursday. 

Faction has already inked twenty deals, most of which are yet to be made public, but around 80% of the $285 million remains uncommitted, the fund’s co-founder told Blockworks. 

Lightspeed Faction is a blockchain-focused joint venture with Lightspeed Venture Partners that first came to light in mid-2022. This is the firm’s first venture fund.

Faction co-founder Samuel Harrison said the fund is interested in projects at the infrastructure and protocol level, mentioning wallets and brokerages, developer tooling platforms, and remittance services as a few examples. 

“The TL;DR is we’ve been really focused on the plumbing,” Banafsheh Fathieh, Faction’s other co-founder, said. 

The fund closed in July 2023, Fathieh said. 

Faction’s announcement comes as VC sentiment towards crypto seems dour — the sum of crypto venture capital has declined in five of the six quarters since the first of 2022. 

“There’s a lot of narrative around capital having dried up…we remain very firmly committed to crypto. We’re not a fund that’s investing in frontier tech or something. We are investing specifically [in] all things blockchain related, and we’re not going to deviate from that,” Fathieh said.


Don’t miss the next big story – join our free daily newsletter.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Hilton Metropole | 225 Edgware Rd, London

MON - WED, MARCH 18 - 20, 2024

Crypto’s premier institutional conference returns to London in March 2024. The DAS: London Experience:  Attend expert-led panel discussions and fireside chats  Hear the latest developments regarding the crypto and digital asset regulatory environment directly from policymakers and experts   Grow your network […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Pack your bags, anon — we’re heading west! Join us in the beautiful Salt Lake City for the third installment of Permissionless. Come for the alpha, stay for the fresh air. Permissionless III promises unforgettable panels, killer networking opportunities, and mountains […]

recent research

Frax report cover.jpg

Research

Frax saw continued development in its frxETH liquid staking derivative and Fraxlend money market throughout 2023. Frax V3 introduces an RWA strategy to drive utility to the protocol's cornerstone product, the FRAX stablecoin.

article-image

Accredited and non-accredited investors worldwide will be able to purchase the Note starting Dec. 6 on US-regulated trading platform INX

article-image

Bitcoin’s next halving is less than five months away. History says they’re bullish but will this time be different?

article-image

Merger is set to allow the combined business to “flex between our different lines of business,” Hut 8 CEO says

article-image

Agency’s decision to start comment window earlier than expected could be bullish for spot bitcoin ETF approval in January, industry watchers say

article-image

Jump Crypto is the trading firm at the center of Terra-related market manipulation allegations

article-image

Funds tied to Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam have made the most of the COIN rollercoaster