Jacquelyn Melinek

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 <li>The fund will target investments in founders from underrepresented groups such as women, Black and Indigenous people</li>
 <li>Stronghold’s SHX token has fallen about 42% on the month to .00392 cents as of 11:08 am ET on Wednesday</li>
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Stronghold, a payments and financial infrastructure firm, has launched Stronghold Capital to deploy a $100 million fund to expand into early-stage startups in <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/andrew-yang-we-must-avoid-politicizing-crypto-web3/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Web3</a>, blockchain and fintech ecosystems.



The fund will focus on investing in “overlooked” companies and fund managers, the company said in a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220215005035/en/Stronghold-Launches-100-Million-Investment-Fund" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>. The capital firm has previously invested in Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research and Precursor Ventures, which backs seed-stage investors and aims to deploy capital to founders who are women, LGBTQ and people of color.



The firm’s CEO and Co-founder Tammy Camp will serve as fund manager for the capital arm. Camp told Blockworks she has been involved in the blockchain space since 2013, so investing in this space felt natural.



“We’re not looking to reinvent the wheel in venture capital,” she said. “But more diversity in the ecosystem is something that is better for the ecosystem…the more capital that goes into the market, the more it should be allocated for diverse groups.”



“Identifying and investing in emerging talent — especially underrepresented and undervalued founders — stands to benefit the developer community, the fintech industry, and even society as a whole,” Camp said in a statement.



Stronghold’s SHX token has fallen about 42% on the month to .00392 cents as of 11:08 am ET on Wednesday. SHX has a market capitalization of $22.95 million, CoinMarketCap <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/stronghold-token/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a> shows.



A handful of <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/sovereign-wealth-fund-vet-eyes-150m-for-crypto-fund-of-funds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">funds</a> have been announced in recent weeks as firms continue to pool money into the crypto ecosystem. Funds launched last week include Hartmann Capital’s for $30 million, Infinity Ventures Crypto’s for $70 million and XYO’s for $20 million with partner Outliers Fund.



While they focus on different subsectors within the crypto world, the funds all carry an objective to further invest in the space, pointing to long-term growth of the industry.



“These new ecosystems must be built sustainably to last, and they must be built decentralized to matter,” Felix Hartmann, managing partner at Hartmann Capital, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/1-19-billion-invested-in-crypto-companies-this-week/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previously told</a> Blockworks. “Taking a venture approach helps us make sure of that.”



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