An executive at electronics giant HTC is leading a new $50 million blockchain-focused venture capital fund, Proof of Capital, that includes a partnership with the firm, TechCrunch reports on April 17.
The new blockchain fund is reportedly held in fiat currency and focused on “regular VC deals, as opposed to token-based investments.” The fund will reportedly mainly target early stage blockchain firms in fintech, as well as the consumer sphere of blockchain ecosystem.
According to the firm’s LinkedIn profile, the San Francisco-based fund will have a particular focus on Asian markets and emerging economies.
Proof of Capital fund is led by three tech and VC figures, Phil Chen, who is currently developing HTC’s Exodus blockchain smartphone as the firm’s decentralized chief officer; Edith Yeung, partner at Silicon Valley-based global VC firm 500 Startups; and Chris McCann, who served as community lead at Greylock Partners, an early investor in Facebook, Airbnb, Linkedin and others.
According to TechCrunch, the fund includes a partnership with HTC, which will allegedly allow Proof of Capital portfolio companies to work with HTC directly to develop services or products for Exodus and potentially other HTC blockchain ventures.
Yeung, who has invested in more than 50 tech startups, stressed that the setup of Proof of Capital is traditional, noting that the team comes from a “more traditional VC background.”
Recently, Ripple’s investment arm project Xpring and Bain Capital Ventures invested in early-stage blockchain firm Robot Ventures.
Previously, the New York Times reported that Facebook was seeking support from various VC firms to develop its reported stablecoin. Following the reports, venture capitalist and well-known bitcoin (BTC) bull Tim Draper confirmed to Cointelegraph that he is planning to meet with Facebook to discuss the investment.