WSJ: Sequoia Capital Reduces Its Crypto Fund

Reports by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reveal venture capital giants Sequoia Capital reduced its crypto fund by over 65%.

Venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital, has cut its cryptocurrency fund by over 65% from $585 million to $200 million, the WSJ reports citing persons familiar with the matter.

According to the WSJ, which cites persons familiar with the matter, the venture capital firm reduced the size of two of its funds, including its Sequoia Crypto Fund. The Silicon Valley-based tech-focused venture capital firm informed investors it would reduce its crypto and ecosystem fund.

According to the firm, the adjustments reflect a changed market, with the crypto fund now more focused on investing in newer startups after the market slump reduced its chances to invest in larger projects. The VC firm had invested a sizeable $150 million in the now-collapsed FTX exchange.

The WSJ report indicates the Sequoia Crypto Fund has been reduced from $585 million to $200 million.

The WSJ also reports Sequoia’s ecosystem fund was reduced from $900 million to $450 million. The firm’s ecosystem fund, reduced by 50%, invests in other smaller venture funds and solo investors.

A further report by the Financial Times (FT) states Sequoia returned over “$15 billion to its investors over the past three years.” According to the FT, the firm said:

“We made these changes to sharpen our focus on seed-stage opportunities and to provide liquidity to our limited partners.”

Sequoia first announced its crypto fund in February 2022 and said it was looking to raise around a $500-600 million crypto fund which invests exclusively in the crypto space.

Sequoia Capital India was also the majority investor in a Polygon funding round which saw the Ethereum scaling platform raise a total of $450 million.

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