Ledger and Cathay Innovation just announced the launch of a €100M ($110M) early-stage venture fund dedicated to unlocking the opportunities of Web3 worldwide, covering cryptocurrencies, decentralized finance (DeFI), blockchains, NFTs, DAOs and the tokenization of everything. Supported by French public investment bank Bpifrance, Ledger Cathay Capital is a partnership between Ledger, the leading crypto-security platform securing 20% of the world’s cryptocurrencies, NFTs and tokens, and global venture capital firm Cathay Innovation.
By combining Ledger’s world-leading experts in Web3, blockchain and security, with an established global venture capital platform – including Cathay’s extensive ecosystem, the new fund gives creators and founders the capital, tools and unmatched direct industry access needed to innovate at scale from the very start.
“In the next 15 years, we’ll see the tokenization of everything as blockchain transforms existing asset classes with programmability, trust, security and digital ownership – but this can’t happen in silos,” said Denis Barrier, Co-Founder of Cathay Innovation. “As an early investor in Ledger, we saw a unique opportunity to connect the wider ecosystem building tomorrow’s tokenized world. Ledger Cathay Capital is not only deeply ingrained in crypto and blockchain, but it unlocks global resources, networks and potential partnership opportunities that will accelerate the growth of Web3 innovation with the highest security standards to better serve the next billion people.”
“A decentralized future, with countless digital assets and services, hinges on the ability to ensure security and trust,” said Pascal Gauthier, CEO and Chairman of Ledger. “At Ledger, we’ve built our company around providing protection and verifiable trust across people, hardware and software – becoming a world leader in securing, buying and exchanging crypto. Now, with Ledger Cathay Capital, we want to help crypto and Web3 builders by granting access to our unique digital security ecosystem, and support building on our security technology platform, thanks to the technical know-how from over 700 blockchain experts and distribution channels to scale the innovative, secure, decentralized services of tomorrow.”
The partnership, already counting various French and international leaders, looks to better connect and stimulate a global Web3 ecosystem while bringing greater opportunities to entrepreneurs across Europe, North America, Asia and beyond. The fund will bring a collaborative and community-based approach that helps crypto and Web3 builders meet talent and potential partners, innovate, reach customers and share business strategies to capitalize on major trends and scale products and services worldwide.
Led by Cathay Innovation’s Denis Barrier and Ledger’s Pascal Gauthier and Michael Louzado, Ledger Cathay Capital brings a strong team of investors with extensive knowledge of global venture investing, crypto and Web3. The fund will invest globally in Seed to Series A companies focused on emerging DeFi, security, infrastructure, digital ownership technologies, protocols and more. Ledger has also made direct early investments in startups that will be managed by the Ledger Cathay Capital team.
Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash
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