MoonPay, a popular Web3 infrastructure company, is launching an investment arm to support startups in Web3 and FinTech.
MoonPay Ventures, as the fund is being called, aims to provide promising new startups access to capital and resources, as well as mentorship for early-stage companies. The goal is to promote the broader adoption of Web3 technology around the world.
MoonPay can offer exposure to its network of over 500 industry partners that include NFT marketplaces, exchanges, wallets, and blockchains. Access to MoonPay’s vast network can help companies accelerate growth and the speed at which they scale revenues and improve product strategies.
MoonPay Ventures will be led by Abhay Mavalankar, whose background is in venture capital and investment banking. Mavalankar said that the time was right for the company to become an “accelerant” in the Web3 space. He added that one of the main focuses will be on finding teams with the capacity to execute their visions.
So far, the fund has already invested in nearly 25 companies, including Mythical Games, absolute labs, BridgeTower Capital, BeatClub, BCB Group, and BRUT. Investments range between $100,000 to $1 million in seed and Series A rounds, and are made with a focus on commercial ROI.
CEO and co-founder of MoonPay, Ivan Soto-Wright, said that the creation of MoonPay Ventures was an historic moment for the company, as it will let MoonPay “leverage its resources to support our portfolio companies, and in turn, the Web3 industry as a whole.”
Currently, MoonPay, valued at $3.4 billion, supports over 80 assets and has more than 5 million customers. The company often makes Web3 news for being the conduit behind major NFT sales.
Investment Funds in Web3 Continue to Be Born
The latest fund from MoonPay could be exactly what some startups in Web3 need to make it to the next step. But MoonPay isn’t the only company in the space that’s investing resources. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered several recent articles about new investments funds in Web3. Here are the top three.
First, on August 21st, the NFT marketplace Magic Eden announced that it was launching a Polygon Creator Fund. The $1 million dollar fund will focus on NFT projects that have thrived on Polygon recently. Applications are currently open.
Next, about three weeks ago, Singapore launched a $111 million fund over the next three years to support innovation technologies in the country. The news came with an open call for builders in Web3 to show new use cases for the technology.
Finally, about five months ago, Bitget, a Seychelles-based crypto exchange, launched a $100 million Web3 fund to support projects based in or focused on Asia. The fund will prioritize projects that use Web3 technologies to solve real-world problems.
While the bear market has been long and brutal, it hasn’t stopped money from coming into the space. The latest move from MoonPay to create a venture capital fund is more good news for Web3 startups and businesses. At Rarity Sniper, we’ll keep you in the loop if there are any updates to the story.