Ben Strack

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 <li>The layer-1 protocol is “the best blockchain technology and software available in the market,” Borderless Capital’s founding managing partner says</li>
 <li>The Miami-based venture capital firm’s first Alogorand-focused fund initially raised $200 million and invested in more than100 companies</li>
 </ul>
 
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Venture capital firm Borderless Capital has launched a $500 million fund investing in digital assets powering the next generation of decentralized applications on top of <a href="https://www.algorand.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Algorand</a> (ALGO). 



Founded by cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand developed a blockchain infrastructure that offers the interoperability and capacity to handle high volumes of transactions necessary for financial institutions and governments to transition to decentralized finance, the firm said in its announcement.&nbsp;



Along with other layer-1 protocols, such as Solana, Cardano and Avalanche, Algorand has emerged as a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/das-2021-are-layer-1s-better-than-layer-2s/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">competitor</a> to Ethereum this year amid higher demand for transaction prices and throughput that are lower and faster than what the Ethereum network provides.  



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“Algorand is the best blockchain technology and software available in the market and the momentum in the ecosystem validates that this is just the beginning,” David Garcia, Borderless Capital’s founding managing partner, told Blockworks in an email. “There is a huge room to grow from here.”</blockquote>



The Borderless ALGO Fund II comes after the Miami-based company started its first Alogorand-focused fund in June 2019. The Borderless ALGO Fund I initially raised $200 million and invested in more than 100 companies, including <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/blockdaemon-ceo-staking-and-lending-will-make-defi-mainstream/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BlockDaemon</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/paypal-alums-launch-decentralized-payment-network-that-connects-fiat-and-digital-currencies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Six Clovers</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/osprey-funds-to-launch-nft-focused-investment-vehicle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Osprey Funds</a>.



“Besides investing in Algorand-native projects and apps, we will bootstrap what we call the GDP of the Algorand Borderless economy by participating in DeFi liquidity mining, yield farming, lending, borrowing and trading,” Garcia added.&nbsp;



The firm will be announcing specific investments of the new fund in the coming months, a spokesperson said.&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“The Borderless Capital team has been a longtime supporter of many entrepreneurs, founders, and developers who have built the foundational Algorand ecosystem we have today,&#8221; Algorand CEO Steve Kokinos said in a statement. &#8220;As accelerated adoption of Algorand&#8217;s technology continues, we are excited to see [this] Borderless fund coming to fruition to support the next wave of DeFi on Algorand.”</blockquote>



Algorand Virtual Machine <a href="https://www.algorand.com/resources/algorand-announcements/june2021_protocolupgrade_avm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">was released</a> in June in an effort to improve smart contract development and allow developers to create powerful digital apps while making blockchain application development more accessible.



<a href="https://www.skybridge.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SkyBridge Capital</a> and <a href="https://www.naxgrp.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NAX</a> revealed a partnership in September to offer decentralized applications and institutional investment opportunities as part of an initiative using Algorand. 



SkyBridge CEO Anthony Scaramucci said in a statement at the time that he was impressed by Algorand’s technology and that his firm planned to bring Algorand to the forefront of regulated products, digital securities, currencies and payments.&nbsp;



Garcia said Borderless would look to offer funds for specific initiatives within the Algorand ecosystem in the future.  The firm <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/borderless-capital-closed-a-10m-planetsfund-to-build-green-data-economy-on-algorand-301430965.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">last week announced</a> the closing of a $10 million fund that will invest in the ecosystem surrounding PlanetWatch, the world&#8217;s first decentralized indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring network built on Algorand.



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