North Island Ventures Announces $125 Million Investment Fund

North Island Ventures, a crypto-centered investment firm, has announced a $125 million investment fund with the goal of investing in 30 to 40 early-stage and emerging crypto and Web3 service providers and protocols.

In a Tuesday announcement, the venture capital firm based in New York confirmed that it will make initial investments ranging from $250,000 to $3 million. This is North Island Ventures second such fund within the past year, bringing the firm's total assets under management (AUM) to approximately $300 million.

"We launched NIV in 2020 based on our belief that crypto is the next great enabling technology - that it offers a set of new capabilities that entrepreneurs can leverage and combine to create applications and experiences that could not previously exist," said Travis Scher, co-founder and managing partner at North Island Ventures. "We're thrilled to have this new capital to finance the innovation that will carry crypto across the chasm over the coming years."

Scher believes that since 2020, the crypto industry has "advanced tremendously" and added that "the real potential of this technology has barely been realized."

Interestingly, North Island Ventures earlier invested in Immunefi, a crypto startup focused on helping projects launch bug bounty program; Axelar, a cross-chain communication platform for Web3; and BCB Group, Europe's leading crypto business banking partner.

"NIV Fund II empowers us to continue partnering with extraordinary entrepreneurs aiming to build transcendent businesses. Supporting early-stage founders in their journeys is our true passion – and our broad network, honed research capabilities, and depth of experience enables us to add real value, helping founders take their businesses from the idea stage to launch, product-market fit, and maturity," said James Hutchins, co-founder and managing partner at the firm.

Hutchins further believes that "crypto has the potential to solve some of the world's greatest challenges."

There has been an increase in crypto investments lately, including VC firm Caerus Ventures introducing a $100 million fund in partnership with NEAR Foundation.