The venture capital crypto fund, C1 Fund, has recently been reaching out to various Australian businesses with offers to purchase private holdings from investors. According to the Australian Financial Review, C1 Fund is a $500 million fund managed by investors from Silicon Valley and the United Arab Emirates. The fund specializes in investing in blockchain, crypto, and Web3 companies.
C1 Fund’s management team, comprised of co-founders Dr. Najamul Kidwai, Michael Lempress, Michael (Xu) Zhao, David Hytha, and Cheriyl Lakshmy, is actively engaging with potential investment opportunities. Recent meetings have included discussions with prominent blockchain-based gaming firm Animoca Brands and Chainalysis in Australia. C1 Fund has expressed interest in purchasing private holdings from investors at a discount of 50 to 80% compared to their last valuation.
While reports suggest that C1 Fund aims to write checks ranging from $20 million to $50 million for businesses, co-founder Dr. Najamul Kidwai denies these claims. In a statement to CoinDesk, he said, “C1 did not authorize this article, and we have not met with either company directly as of this time.”
The Current State of Venture Capital in Crypto
The past few years have witnessed a slowdown in venture capital activity within the crypto industry. Since the onset of the crypto winter in 2022, there has been a noticeable decline in investment. According to FundStrat, venture capital funding for crypto firms has contracted for a sixth consecutive quarter, reaching $1.4 billion in Q3 2023. Additionally, the number of individual deals has dropped by 30%, totaling 214.
