More bullish news has emerged today as Union Square Ventures, the New York based venture capital firm, have announced that they are expanding their investment base in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. USV is one of the largest and best returning funds in the world, and handles in the region of $1 billion in assets. The firm have a history of supporting the blockchain sector, perhaps most notably with their early investment in Coinbase in 2013.
Managing Partner Albert Wenger, who joined the firm in 2007, made the far-reaching statements in an interview with CNBC. Wenger described the nature of the USV investments as “long-term” and relating to cryptocurrencies themselves as well as blockchain tech and the technology underlying the sector more generally. He said that “investors are rationally pouring a lot of money” into crypto and that “the winning blockchain here might be worth a trillion, or a couple of trillion dollars.” He also acknowledged that it’s possible the whole sector could fail, but described this as “a pretty small chance.”
The announcement comes soon after another major venture capital fund, Andreessen Horowitz, announced their intention to launch a dedicated crypto investment fund. Wenger denies that USV will be going the same route, however. Whilst clearly optimistic regarding the potential of crypto and blockchain, he noted the benefits of “keeping it under the same roof” and stated categorically that the firm are “not planning to do it.”
The comments come as there is at least some respite in the beleaguered crypto markets, with Bitcoin bouncing near 10% at the start of the weekend and many of the largest altcoins following suit. As markets tip the scales above $250 billion it’s unclear whether this latest short squeeze can bounce into the next bull run or whether the bears are still in the ascendency.
