• Fund to focus on blockchain infrastructure, DeFi and regulatory technology tools in Europe and Southeast Asia
  • SBI estimated up to 10% of global GDP projected will be stored and transacted using DLT infrastructure by 2027

Japan’s largest FinTech conglomerate, SBI Group, joins the world’s first digital asset bank Sygnum and Azimut Group a leading independent asset manager in Europe to launch a venture capital fund of up to $75 million which will invest in start-up companies in the digital asset sector.

The Singapore-incorporated fund, dubbed Variable Capital Company, aims to “accelerate the growth of promising companies in this sector, while providing qualifying investors with unrivalled access to the fast-growing digital asset economy,” according to a Sygnum press release.

The investment strategy will focus on early stage start-ups developing blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) infrastructure, decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions and regulatory technology tools.

This year has seen a tremendous influx of funding into crypto, Sygnum notes, through the first half of 2021 along, over $17 billion of investments have flooded the space including seven of the ten largest blockchain/DLT and cryptocurrency funding rounds of all time.

“DLT and digital assets are at the inflection point of mainstream adoption, and they have the potential to reduce inefficiencies and unlock new capabilities across several sectors, such as financial services and supply chain management,” said Ryosuke Hayashi, CEO and Managing Director of SBI Ven Capital.

Funds are almost routinely raising hundreds of millions of dollars to invest in new technology startups. Earlier this month, Pantera Capital announced a new $600 million blockchain fund. In fact, Blockworks previously reported that crypto venture capital is at an all-time high.

Regulatory technology (or reg tech) is another major theme of the new fund. The trio of companies believes that increased oversight by regulators of the digital asset sector will require new tools for digital asset service providers and their clients.

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  • Macauley has been an editor and content creator in the professional chess world for 14 years. In 2020 he graduated from Bucerius Law School (Hamburg, Germany) with a Master in Law and Business, where he researched stablecoins, decentralized finance and central bank digital currencies. He also holds an MA in Film Studies and his film credits include Associate Producer of the 2016 feature documentary, "Magnus" about World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen.