Paradigm Capital raises $2.5bn for new crypto/web3 fund

The crypto gravy train looks set to continue as three-year-old investment company Paradigm Capital raised $2.5bn for its first ever venture capital fund called Paradigm One.

It is the largest new venture capital fund in history.

Competition between investors to put their money into the fund was fierce, resulting in the initial target being doubled.

Crypto is “poised to be one of the most important technical and economic shifts over the coming decades with the potential to fundamentally change money, the financial system (DeFi), and the internet more broadly (Web3),” said co-founders of Paradigm Matt Huang and Fred Ehrsam in a joint statement.

Amid the exciting news, which closely follows all-time-highs reached by a number of cryptos, there is talk of a possible bubble, specifically in areas where Paradigm Capital has excelled so far.

The fund raise resembles that of fellow VC company Andreessen Horowitz which outperformed expectations by raising $2.2bn for its own crypto fund.

But Huang and Ehrsam are of the view that we are at the beginning of a paradigm shift.

"This new fund and its size are reflective of crypto being the most exciting frontier in technology," the co-founders said.

"Web3 applications have grown to reach tens of millions of users, yet are still a far cry from the billions of Web2 users. The journey is just beginning, and the potential of crypto has never been more clear."