Former Binance Exec Looks to raise $100M Crypto Venture Fund to Back Web3 Firms


Bill Qian, the former global head of fundraising of Binance
Labs, the venture capital arm of Binance exchange, is seeking
to raise over $100 million for a crypto venture capital fund that he recently established.
Qian, who departed from Binance in June last year, currently
serves as the chairman of his Dubai-based venture capital fund Cipher Capital.
According to Bloomberg media, Qian wants to invest more than $100 million in Web3 startups. His
crypto venture capital fund is looking to invest only in the firms that can
deliver Web3 mass adoption. Qian is looking to deploy funds to firms that can
bring the most internet users to Web3.
Based on his plan, he wants to approach Asian technology
tycoons to invest capital into his venture capital fund.
As per official documentation, Cypher Capital has invested a
range of $250,000 and $1 million in several forward-thinking firms. The company
operates in Dubai, a city making efforts to become a crypto hub.
Why venture funds pour
money into web3 businesses
After the fall of the once second-largest cryptocurrency exchange
FTX, crypto transactions hit new lows, and major Web3 companies collapsed due
to fear that gripped the market.
However, 2023 has brought more hope for crypto investors as
the broad market has recovered
from its lows. As a result, VCs have shown renewed interest in deploying funds
in Web3 companies as mass adoption of Web3 is their ultimate objective.
While Web3 is one area where investors have deployed a lot of
funds over the last six months, VC funding has been moving away from centralized
crypto services into decentralized platforms.
Such decentralized services include blockchain-based technologies
such as the Metaverse, play-to-earn games, and many more.
Last year, VCs investing in centralized platforms (such as exchanges,
custodial wallets, and crypto on-ramps) dropped by about 85% due to the failure
of several centralized companies like Celsius Network, BlockFi, FTX, and
others.
In the third quarter of last year, VCs invested about $1.5
billion into Web3 firms. Of course, venture capitalists are pouringmoney into web3 because they are convinced that the token economies underpinning
several web3 projects can generate more massive returns than Web2 investments.
This is particularly true in the current climate of increased market volatility,
interest rate hikes, surging inflation, and startup valuation markdowns.
Last December, PtichBook, a venture capital company, predicted
that by 2027 Web3-based content platforms would generate an estimated $39
billion in revenue, compared to the $3.4 billion earned by the end of last
year.
While venture investments remain low into 2023, they may
begin to increase again in the second half of the year.

Nicholas Otieno
CBW - External Analyst
KENYA