If you’re interested in the world of cryptocurrency investments, you’ve likely come across the name Pantera Crypto Capital. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at Pantera Crypto Capital’s portfolio and highlight some of the top companies in which they’ve invested.
As one of the largest and most influential crypto-focused investment firms, Pantera Crypto Capital has a portfolio of investments in some of the most promising and innovative companies in the industry.
Whether you’re a seasoned crypto investor or simply looking to learn more about the industry, this blog post is packed with valuable information that can help you stay informed about Pantera Crypto Capital. So, without further ado, let’s dive in and explore the world of Pantera Crypto Capital’s portfolio.
Background on Pantera Crypto Capital’s Investment Strategy
Pantera Crypto Capital is a California-based asset management firm that was established in 2003. It was the first US-based institutional asset manager to focus solely on blockchain technology. Additionally, in 2013, it formed the first blockchain venture and hedge fund in the US.
Pantera Crypto Capital offers 5 funds to its clients, including Pantera Fund V, Bitcoin Fund, Venture Funds, Early-Stage Token, and Liquid-Token Funds. Pantera hedge fund manages $4.5 billion in assets and invests in 100 venture companies and 110 early-stage token investments.
In total, Pantera Crypto Capital has invested in 210 companies, with the firm serving as the lead investor in approximately half of these ventures.
Pantera Crypto Capital’s Investment Focus Last 2022
The crypto market experienced significant turbulence in the first half of 2022, largely due to the collapse of the $60 billion Terra ecosystem in May. This collapse also had an impact on Three Arrows Capital, a $10 billion crypto fund that had leveraged exposure to Terra.
Despite the challenges faced by the crypto market, 2022 has been a busy year for Pantera Crypto Capital. In fact, as of November 30, 2022, the company has completed 43 deals, which is more than the 39 deals completed in the entirety of 2021. Pantera Crypto Capital’s investment strategy primarily focuses on early-stage crypto firms.
However, in the third quarter of 2022, the number of deals entered into by Pantera Crypto Capital dropped by 38% compared to the second quarter. This may be due to a lack of attractive deals in a tough crypto market, where Bitcoin has experienced a 63.07% year-to-date (YTD) decline, while Ethereum has declined by 65.22% YTD against the US dollar.
Gaming was the most popular use case for funding deals, accounting for 26% of all deals in 2022. Decentralized finance (DeFi) followed at 23%, while blockchain development platforms and infrastructure tools accounted for 14% of the deals in 2022 YTD.
Top 7 Companies in Pantera Crypto Capital’s Portfolio
Here are the top seven companies of Pantera Crypto Capital’s Portfolio as of 2023 that you might wanna consider knowing and investing in:
#1. BAKKT
Bakkt is a secure custody service that stores Bitcoin in cold storage to protect it from unauthorized access. The company was initially created to serve retail customers, but it discontinued this service in February 2023. Instead, they will focus on providing crypto and loyalty experiences for businesses through SaaS and API solutions.
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), owns Bakkt. ICE offers a Bakkt-branded Bitcoin futures product, where traders can speculate on the price movement of Bitcoin. Bakkt’s secure custody holds all the Bitcoin used to back these trades.
Although relatively new, Bakkt has been touted as the platform that could take Bitcoin mainstream. Even tech titans such as Microsoft and Starbucks have expressed their support for Bakkt.
How Does Bakkt Work?
Bakkt is a global platform designed specifically for institutional investors, offering the ability to buy, sell, and store digital asset funds. The goal of Bakkt is to provide investors with a way to trade assets and futures based on Bitcoin in the same way as traditional currencies and commodities.
In addition to trading and storage, Bakkt also provides warehouse storage for Bitcoin, keeping customers’ private keys “offline” for added security. This helps to mitigate the risk of hacking, which is particularly appealing to traditional investors who value peace of mind.
Bakkt has tackled one of the biggest issues with blockchain technology, which is its slow speed. Since many transactions on Bakkt will occur between customers who already have assets stored in the warehouse, not every transaction needs to be recorded on the blockchain.
Instead, Bakkt has its own separate ledger to record transactions that occur within the warehouse. Only transactions involving the movement of assets in and out of the warehouse are recorded on the blockchain.
#2. Bitso
Founded in 2014 by Ben Peters, Daniel Vogel, and Pablo Gonzalez, Bitso is a trailblazing cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in Mexico City. The exchange was the first to offer cryptocurrency trading in Mexican Pesos and has expanded its services to include Bitcoin payment options from Mexican retailers.
Bitso is a unique cryptocurrency exchange based in Mexico that welcomes US investors to its platform despite the political tensions between the two countries. However, US investors are advised to conduct independent research into any potential difficulties that may arise due to their citizenship or place of residence.
Bitso exchange is known for several standout features, this includes:
- Firstly, its exchange process is straightforward and easy to navigate.
- Secondly, customers can easily fund and withdraw money from their accounts.
- Thirdly, the platform boasts advanced security features powered by the latest technology, including the use of multi-sig wallets.
- Fourthly, Bitso offers a range of options for storing cryptocurrencies, including both online and offline wallets.
- Lastly, Bitso’s powerful APIs make it possible for users to develop effective apps and add to the exchange’s credibility.
Bitso’s advanced security features are a key element of its platform, leveraging cutting-edge technology to keep users’ funds safe. Additionally, the platform’s powerful APIs allow for the creation of innovative and effective apps, adding to its overall credibility.
How Does Bitso Work?
Bitso is a user-friendly platform, and the process of initiating a trade is relatively straightforward. First, users must register on the site, and then complete their KYC. Once this is complete, users can deposit their selected amount into the Bitso exchange and begin trading.
#3. Polkadot
Polkadot is a protocol that connects previously incompatible blockchains, allowing for the transfer of value and data between networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The platform is designed for speed and scalability and uses the DOT token for staking and governance, which can be traded on various exchanges including Coinbase.
How Does Polkadot Work?
Polkadot’s unique architecture allows the network to process large volumes of information by leveraging the many parachains to assist the main relay chain.
This enables the Polkadot network to process over 1,000 transactions per second, significantly more than Bitcoin’s seven transactions per second and Ethereum’s 30 transactions per second.
As more parachains are added to the network, Polkadot is expected to become even faster, potentially processing up to one million transactions per second.
#4. ShapeShift
ShapeShift is a cryptocurrency trading exchange website established in 2013 by Erik Voorhees, a passionate advocate of blockchain technology.
His vision was to simplify the process of purchasing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin by creating a user-friendly platform, akin to a “vending machine”. Initially, only a few cryptocurrencies were available for trading.
As the number of registered users increased, ShapeShift expanded its offering, and by 2015, users could trade 40 cryptocurrencies across 940 trading pairs.
By July 2018, the platform supported 103 cryptocurrencies and today, users can trade more than 750 cryptocurrencies, including popular coins such as Bitcoin, ETC, BlackCoin, Augur, and Gnosis.
ShapeShift prioritizes the safety and security of its users’ funds, regularly updating its protocols to comply with changing regulations. This emphasis on safety has attracted investment from prominent firms such as Digital Currency Group, Access Venture Partners, and LakeStar.
How Does ShapeShift Work?
ShapeShift is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that does not allow users to purchase cryptocurrencies using fiat currency. While wallets such as JAXX can integrate crypto-to-crypto trading via ShapeShift’s API, ShapeShift operates as an independent platform, offering real-time trading that makes it a potential competitor of other trading platforms.
The ShapeShift beta platform provides users with a comprehensive cryptocurrency exchange and security solution, offering a web-based interface for managing ShapeShift swaps and a cold crypto wallet.
KeepKey, a hardware wallet developed by ShapeShift, incorporates cold storage asset management into the system. Additionally, users can utilize ShapeShift’s hardware wallet interface to trade cryptocurrencies.
#5. Circle
Circle is a financial services company based in Boston that leverages blockchain technology for its peer-to-peer payments and cryptocurrency-related products. The company was founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire, who previously founded Brightcove, a video platform company, and Sean Neville.
Initially, Circle functioned as a consumer peer-to-peer cryptocurrency payments and exchange platform, sponsoring the popular cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex after it faced difficulties in 2017. However, in October 2019, Poloniex was spun out into a separate entity.
Circle ceased offering its cryptocurrency wallet services in 2016, and in June 2019, it was announced that Circle Pay mobile and related web apps would be discontinued. In 2020, the company shifted its focus to its stablecoin, which serves as “programmable dollars” for business use.
In 2021, Circle was acquired by Concord Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a deal valued at $4.5 billion, with plans to go public later that year under the ticker symbol ‘CRCL’.
How Does Circle Work?
According to its website, Circle aims to transform the global economy. The company’s first product was a bitcoin trading exchange app called Circle Pay, which was granted a BitLicense, New York state’s license for operating bitcoin exchanges, in September 2015.
Circle Pay later introduced a cryptocurrency called USD Coin (USDC), which is backed by U.S. dollars.
#6. Coinbase
Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to buy popular coins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
While Coinbase does not support every coin, there are over 120 different types of cryptocurrencies available on the platform, which is still a significant number considering that thousands of different cryptocurrencies exist worldwide.
Coinbase is ideal for trading the most popular types of crypto and is suitable for most purposes.
#7. Near Protocol
NEAR is a blockchain protocol that has its own native token called NEAR. The token is used to pay for transaction fees and storage, and can also be staked by token holders to participate in achieving network consensus as transaction validators.
NEAR Protocol’s focus is on creating a platform that is friendly for both developers and users. To achieve this, NEAR has introduced features like human-readable account names instead of just cryptographic wallet addresses, and the ability for new users to interact with dApps and smart contracts without requiring a wallet.
In addition to its blockchain protocol and native token, NEAR has also developed a non-fungible token (NFT) minting platform and Flux, a protocol that allows developers to create markets based on assets, commodities, real-world events, and more.
Nightshade
Sharding is a type of blockchain architecture that divides the platform’s data into smaller subsets, which allows for more efficient scaling, greater transaction volume, and reduced transaction fees.
Nightshade enables NEAR Protocol to maintain a single chain of data while dividing the computational workload into manageable “chunks.” Nodes are responsible for processing the data and adding it to the main chain, resulting in a more distributed and secure network.
With Nightshade, NEAR Protocol minimizes potential security risks by distributing the data across multiple nodes, each responsible for smaller sections of the chain. This approach ensures that the network has fewer potential points of failure, enhancing security and resilience.
Rainbow Bridge
NEAR Protocol has developed the Rainbow Bridge app that facilitates the smooth transfer of Ethereum tokens between NEAR and Ethereum.
To move tokens from Ethereum to NEAR, the user would deposit their tokens in an Ethereum smart contract, which will then be locked. Subsequently, new tokens will be created on NEAR’s platform that represents the original tokens.
As the original funds are stored in the smart contract, the process can be reversed when the user wants to retrieve their original tokens.
Aurora
NEAR Protocol’s Aurora is a scaling solution created for developers to deploy their Ethereum decentralized applications on NEAR’s network at Layer 2.
Aurora is constructed using Ethereum’s programming technology, the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), alongside a cross-chain bridge that facilitates developers in connecting their Ethereum smart contracts and assets smoothly.
Aurora empowers developers to experience NEAR Protocol’s low fees and high throughput benefits while leveraging the network of applications and ease of use of Ethereum.
How Does Near Protocol Work?
NEAR Protocol is a blockchain network that implements the Proof of Stake consensus mechanism. It uses sharding, a unique solution known as Nightshade, to make the platform more competitive among other blockchain platforms.
What’s in Store for Pantera Crypto Capital’s Future?
Pantera Crypto Capital is anticipating a rise in market volatility in the crypto industry over the near future following the bankruptcy of FTX, which could result in stricter regulatory measures. The company predicts that retail investors may stay away from crypto assets, at least in the short run, due to the fallout.
Despite this, the company maintains a cautious optimism that medium and long-term benefits will ensue. They hope that regulators will shift their focus away from regulating DeFi, which is more transparent, and instead concentrate on regulating centralized institutions.
What is Pantera Crypto Capital’s Investment Strategy Moving Forward?
Pantera Crypto Capital plans to invest in companies in its portfolio that have seen a decline in their valuations. The firm sees potential in these companies and wants to take advantage of the opportunity presented by their decreased values.
New Fund Launches for Pantera Crypto Capital
Pantera Blockchain Fund exceeded its initial goal, raising $1.3B this year. The fund will be utilized to invest in early-stage, venture capital, and private token investments.
Pantera Crypto Capital has raised $1.25B for its second blockchain fund, which will focus on investing in digital tokens and equity.
In addition to investing in new companies, Pantera Crypto Capital is considering purchasing more shares in some of the companies in which it is already invested, particularly those that have seen a decrease in their valuations. These companies include Coinbase, Amber Group, Flashbots, and Anchorage Digital.
Pantera Crypto Capital’s Investments Will Increase in Number in the Future
Pantera Crypto Capital’s portfolio represents some of the most promising and innovative companies in the cryptocurrency industry. From blockchain-based solutions to decentralized finance platforms, these companies are at the forefront of shaping the future of finance and technology.
As the crypto landscape continues to evolve, it’s important to stay informed and make smart investment decisions. By understanding the investment strategy of firms like Pantera Crypto Capital and the companies in their portfolio, you can better position yourself for success in this dynamic and exciting market.
So, keep an eye on Pantera Crypto Capital and the companies in their portfolio. Who knows – you may just find the next big thing in the world of crypto investments.
