Sequoia Capital Signals Web3 Embrace with Rebrand and NFT Auction
Sporting a new Twitter bio and NFT auction, one of the world’s largest and most successful venture funds signals a new focus
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key takeaways
- The fund also auctioned off their 2005 YouTube memo as a NFT for $884,776 worth of ether
- Sequoia reportedly co-led a $100 million investment round for crypto firm LayerZero Labs
“Mainnet faucet. We help the daring buidl legendary DAOs from idea to token airdrops. LFG,” reads the Twitter bio of Sequoia Capital, one of the world’s largest and most successful venture funds.
Although the megafund did not respond to Blockworks’ request for comment by press time, the change is being interpreted by many as an increasing embrace of Web3. “Buidl” is a reference to the infamous “hodl” phrase used by supporters of cryptocurrencies, and DAOs are a reference to “decentralized autonomous organizations.”
Sequoia India followed suit, changing their Twitter account location to “the metaverse” on Tuesday. “Sequoia India helps shadowy super coders across India & Southeast Asia buidl legendary DAOs from discord to metaverse and beyond,” Sequoia India’s bio now says.
The potential rebrand follows reports of the fund co-leading a $100 million investment round in LayerZero Labs, a crypto firm that has yet to launch, The Information first reported on Nov. 31, citing two sources familiar with the deal.
Sequoia Capital India may also be in talks to back Polygon, an Ethereum scaling ecosystem, via token purchases worth $50 million to $150 million, according to TechCrunch on Monday, who cited three sources familiar with the matter.
The venture fund auctioned off their 2005 YouTube memo as a non-fungible token (NFT) on OpenSea for $884,776 worth of ether on Tuesday.
“The YouTube Memo NFT is a chance to own a piece of internet history, for a good cause. This 2005 seed stage investment memo is a time capsule from the advent of Web 2.0, so it seemed fitting to auction it at the precipice of Web 3.0,” Sequoia wrote of the blockchain-based digital collectible.
Part of a growing trend
Sequoia isn’t the first fund to potentially embrace crypto (and memes.)
Venture capital firm, Andreesen Horowitz (a16z), filed to become a RIA in March to seek greater flexibility in its investments, particularly crypto. The change allows the 11-year-old firm to now invest in liquid tokens.
Following a16z’s filing, Sam Bankman-Fried’s global cryptocurrency exchange FTX announced a Series B-1 funding round of $420 million with 69 investors in October.
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