Nikolas Sargeant
Paper Venture announced on Monday, January 22nd, that it has launched as a new blockchain venture capital fund with support from leading industry figures.
In a press release shared with Cryptowisser, the team said they have created an initial $25 million fund to be used for investment in early-stage web3 and blockchain projects.
Founders Danish Chaudhry, Oliver Blakey and Ivailo Jordanov have vast experience in web3 investment from a venture capital perspective and are now focusing on early-stage projects. They believe that they can have the most impact by investing in those projects.
Paper Ventures partners will give portfolio projects the resources and connections to succeed. The initial $25M fund was raised with the participation of traditional hedge funds, family offices, exchanges, founders and other HNW crypto OGs.
The founders have been in the crypto space for more than a decade and have provided funding for numerous projects that are now dominant within their respective sectors. These include Frax Finance, SEI, Polygon, Injective, Polkadot, Moonbeam and Cosmos. Paper Ventures founders also have experience in funding GameFi projects such as Merit Circle/Beam, Illuvium, and YGG.
Paper Ventures founder Oliver Blakey was co-founder and managing partner at Ascensive Assets, which grew to over $1B in AUM during his tenure. While commenting on this latest development, Oliver said,
“We are more than just investors. Our mission at Paper Ventures is to be at the very forefront of innovation, fostering groundbreaking ideas that redefine the boundaries of technology and finance. We believe in the transformative power of blockchain and are committed to supporting those who are as passionate about its potential as we are.”
Danish Chaudhry and Ivailo Jordanov have also cofounded Paper Ventures along with Oliver. Danish has a background in traditional finance, including a spell at Ernst & Young where he was involved in many of the largest transactions during the financial crisis. He then joined BlackRock in their Equities team and was also responsible for building out the analytics and risk models within Aladdin. He went on to found and launch FMFW.io (previously the Bitcoin.com Exchange), rapidly growing it to 1.5 million users. Ivailo Jordanov is a successful entrepreneur and founding member of Altitude.fi and Deadalus Collective.
Danish Chaudhry commented that,
“Having navigated the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, I’m thrilled to embark on this next step in this journey. Our commitment is to empower visionary entrepreneurs, catalyze disruptive technologies, and drive the next wave of impactful change. With Paper Ventures, I’m excited to invest in groundbreaking ideas and also to use my experience to elevate the brilliant minds behind them, fostering a collaborative ecosystem that propels innovation to unprecedented heights.”
Paper Ventures is a springboard for visionary entrepreneurs, providing them with the capital, resources and strategic mentorship required to thrive in the web3 landscape. The company was built on the shared belief that decentralized technologies can unlock value across multiple sectors, with the experienced founders sharing a deep-rooted passion for supporting under-the-radar projects capable of shaping tomorrow’s digital world.
