Key Takeaways
- • The hosts of the Bankless podcast, David Hoffman and Ryan Sean Adams, are reportedly raising a $35 million venture capital fund to invest in seed-stage Web3 companies, according to CoinDesk.
- • Hoffman and Adams, along with Ben Lakoff, will serve as general partners and form the fund's investment committee.
- • The fund will be a separate legal entity from the Bankless podcast but will share its brand, which a VC source said could generate "incredible deal flow."
- • Bankless will halt the hosts' individual angel investments once the fund launches with outside capital, consolidating all deals under the fund.
- • The move extends Bankless's crypto investing activity, following its November acquisition of DeFi project Earnifi under the Bankless Labs vertical.
Summary
The hosts of the popular crypto podcast and newsletter Bankless are reportedly raising a $35 million venture capital fund focused on seed-stage Web3 companies, according to CoinDesk. Show hosts David Hoffman and Ryan Sean Adams are set to serve as general partners, and Ben Lakoff, also a general partner, told CoinDesk that the trio will make up the fund's investment committee.
The fund will be structured as a separate legal entity from the Bankless podcast but will share its brand, giving it the visibility of one of crypto media's better-known platforms. A venture capital source told CoinDesk that the combination of a media platform and an investing arm would generate "incredible deal flow" for the new fund. According to a preliminary website, the fund will focus on early-stage crypto companies and on "empowering pioneers to explore the frontier of Web3." CoinDesk reported that Hoffman was in Denver at ETHDenver discussing the fund.
Founded in 2020 by Adams and Hoffman, Bankless has built a multimedia presence that includes its flagship podcast, newsletters, a YouTube channel, and a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with a BANK governance token. The hosts have been outspoken supporters of Ethereum, decentralized finance (DeFi), and self-custody.
The venture effort continues a crypto investing push that began in November 2022, when Bankless acquired DeFi software project Earnifi under a new vertical called Bankless Labs. According to Lakoff, Hoffman and Adams will end their individual private venture deals once the fund launches with outside capital, after which all investments will run through the fund. Lakoff said the team had "been angel investing individually for years" and would now channel that effort into Bankless Ventures, bringing in select limited partners.
The fund will be structured as a separate legal entity from the Bankless podcast but will share its brand, giving it the visibility of one of crypto media's better-known platforms. A venture capital source told CoinDesk that the combination of a media platform and an investing arm would generate "incredible deal flow" for the new fund. According to a preliminary website, the fund will focus on early-stage crypto companies and on "empowering pioneers to explore the frontier of Web3." CoinDesk reported that Hoffman was in Denver at ETHDenver discussing the fund.
Founded in 2020 by Adams and Hoffman, Bankless has built a multimedia presence that includes its flagship podcast, newsletters, a YouTube channel, and a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with a BANK governance token. The hosts have been outspoken supporters of Ethereum, decentralized finance (DeFi), and self-custody.
The venture effort continues a crypto investing push that began in November 2022, when Bankless acquired DeFi software project Earnifi under a new vertical called Bankless Labs. According to Lakoff, Hoffman and Adams will end their individual private venture deals once the fund launches with outside capital, after which all investments will run through the fund. Lakoff said the team had "been angel investing individually for years" and would now channel that effort into Bankless Ventures, bringing in select limited partners.
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