Funding Roundup: The secret formula to Portal Ventures’ success

Portal Ventures founders Evan Fisher and Catrina Wang discussed their newest fund with Blockworks

article-image

Julia Manga/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Portal Ventures unveiled that it raised $75 million for an oversubscribed second fund earlier this week. 

Evan Fisher and Catrina Wang told Blockworks there was a lot of demand for the fund — which could come in slightly over $90 million. The firm, which focuses on pre-seed investing, has carved out a niche of being high conviction, Wang said. 

The fund only invests in one project per category, which allows for the fund to lend full support to its investment.

The secret formula that’s worked for Portal, Wang said, is a combination of three elements: the “best” founder and tracking down a thesis that’s only just emerging and the third is the “network to king make.”

For Fisher, there’s “something very special about being someone’s first believer” and watching them execute on an idea. 

The two launched their first fund in early 2022, which may not have started in rough waters but certainly ended in them as crypto struggled to survive the collapse of FTX and the depegging of Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin. 

This time around, it was also difficult for Fisher and Wang to raise their fund. They started at the beginning of the year, which was well before bitcoin was carving out new daily all-time highs. Though, clearly, they’re facing a different environment as they look to put the money to work. 

The second fund is bigger than the first — which was a $40 million fund — and it speaks to their overall high-risk, high-reward strategy, Fisher said.

“We try to really generate signal for the industry,” Fisher told Blockworks. 

Other notable news:

  • Notabene said it raised $14.5 million in a Series B round. Apollo, Nextblock and Wintermute all participated in the rounds. 
  • Arca announced its intent to merge with Blocktower
  • Alluvial said it raised $4.3 million in a round led by Variant. Brevan Howard Digital, Ethereal Ventures and F-Prime Capital all participated in the round. 
  • Kaiko announced that it acquired European crypto index provider Vinter for an undisclosed amount.
  • Eidon said it raised $3.5 million in a seed round led by Framework Ventures. Cyberfund participated in the round.

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 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.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (1).jpg

Research

Jupiter has emerged as the undisputed liquidity backbone of Solana, commanding over 90% of spot DEX aggregation and 80% of perp trading volume. But behind the numbers lies a far more ambitious play: a cross-chain, vertically integrated super-app spanning swaps, synthetics, NFTs, memecoins, and launchpads. This report explores Jupiter’s rapid rise, the monetization upgrades reshaping its revenue profile, and the risks that could unwind its dominance, from token dilution to competition. With annualized revenues nearing $300M, the upside is undeniable, if it can navigate the turbulence.

article-image

Zora’s announcement that its token is for “fun only” sparked a debate about the need for such tokens

article-image

In recent weeks, Helium has hit new all-time highs while passing major protocol milestones

article-image

Financial advisers in a January survey said equity ETFs were their top choice for gaining crypto exposure in 2025

article-image

“Why put a target out there that’s really speculative, not knowing exactly where this environment is going to go?” CarMax CEO Bill Nash said

article-image

While the head of Base may support legal sex work, Coinbase policies prohibit said workers from using its exchange.

article-image

EVM bottlenecks fundamentally hold back Ethereum’s scalability