Polychain Capital

Polychain Capital, founded in 2016 and based in San Francisco, is a venture capital firm focused on investing in blockchain technologies and digital assets. The firm actively manages portfolios that encompass various blockchain assets, aiming to deliver exceptional returns for its investors. By investing in protocols and companies within the blockchain space, Polychain seeks to promote the global adoption of cryptocurrencies. As a Registered Investment Adviser, the firm utilizes a strategic approach to capitalize on the unique properties of blockchain technology, which allows for the creation, issuance, and transmission of digital assets through cryptographic verification and game-theoretic principles.

Bobby Beniers

Partner

Jeffrey Maganis

Investor

Niraj Pant

General Partner

Ben Perszyk

Partner

Josh Rosenthal

Partner and Portfolio Manager

Alexa Smith

Beacon Fund Manager

Michael Waldmann

Investor

Past deals in ASIC

Yellow Card

Series B in 2022
Yellow Card Financial, LLC operates an online cryptocurrency trading platform that facilitates the buying and selling of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without the need for a bank account. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Chamblee, Georgia, the company offers a range of services including over-the-counter cryptocurrency trading, payment solutions, and currency exchange. Additionally, Yellow Card provides gift cards for cryptocurrency, aiming to transform the traditional remittance market in Nigeria and other countries. The company also has physical locations in Nigeria, Tanzania, Cameroon, Kenya, and South Africa, enhancing its accessibility for customers seeking to engage in cryptocurrency transactions.

AltLayer

Seed Round in 2022
AltLayer is a developer of a rollups-as-a-service platform that aims to enhance Web3 projects by providing a scalable and customizable blockchain infrastructure. The company's system consists of application-dedicated execution layers that leverage the security of underlying layer 1 and layer 2 blockchains. By offering an elastic scaling protocol, AltLayer facilitates the rapid deployment of innovative applications, allowing users to create on-demand rollups tailored to their specific needs. This approach not only accelerates time-to-market for developers but also transforms the way blockchain applications are built and managed, making it easier for projects to achieve scalability and efficiency in the evolving Web3 landscape.

Anoma

Series A in 2021
Developer of a blockchain protocol designed to facilitate private and asset-agnostic cash. The company's protocol handles the cryptocurrency exchange automatically and at the market rate with private bartering among any number of parties, enabling users to transact and trade in cryptocurrency securely and privately.

Agoric

Funding Round in 2021
Agoric Systems Operating Company, founded in 2018 and based in San Francisco, California, develops a framework designed to enhance the programming of smart contracts across various blockchain environments. This platform allows developers to create and deploy smart contracts using JavaScript, making the process more accessible and secure for millions of programmers globally. Agoric's framework emphasizes composability, enabling rapid development and competitive advantages in the blockchain ecosystem. By facilitating secure execution of transactions and the establishment of new markets, Agoric aims to foster innovative business models and global cooperation through digital assets. The team comprises experienced technologists and economists who have collaborated in smart contract technology for over three decades, and the company has formed partnerships with notable projects and received backing from several prominent investment firms.

Spectral

Venture Round in 2021
Developer of an AI-powered platform designed to generate and deploy smart contracts. The company's platform enables developers to create complex smart contracts with ease by using natural language, accelerating development time, and reducing errors.

AscendEX

Series B in 2021
Developer of a global digital asset trading platform designed to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. The company's platform provides facilities such as financial derivatives, cash, margin and later-stage leveraged trading on various tokens, enabling investors with liquidity provision, and growth opportunities within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

AscendEX

Series B in 2021
BitMax is global operator of digital asset exchanges for diverse groups of clients from retail to institutions.

Yellow Card

Series A in 2021
Yellow Card Financial, LLC operates an online cryptocurrency trading platform that facilitates the buying and selling of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without the need for a bank account. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Chamblee, Georgia, the company offers a range of services including over-the-counter cryptocurrency trading, payment solutions, and currency exchange. Additionally, Yellow Card provides gift cards for cryptocurrency, aiming to transform the traditional remittance market in Nigeria and other countries. The company also has physical locations in Nigeria, Tanzania, Cameroon, Kenya, and South Africa, enhancing its accessibility for customers seeking to engage in cryptocurrency transactions.

Ava Labs

Initial Coin Offering in 2021
Ava Labs specializes in providing a platform for launching finance applications through blockchain technology. The company focuses on highly scalable and efficient networks, offering customizable public and private blockchains and enabling the creation of various digital assets. Its innovative approach includes a novel probabilistic consensus protocol that enhances transaction speed and reduces deployment costs. This technology simplifies the creation, trading, and discovery of both existing and new asset types. Ava Labs aims to empower individuals to participate in an open and accessible digital finance landscape.

Offchain Labs

Series B in 2021
Offchain Labs, Inc., based in Princeton, New Jersey, was founded in 2018 to enhance the development of scalable and secure smart contracts, particularly for applications in the gaming industry and financial services. The company's platform enables developers to create decentralized applications with greater efficiency by providing tools that facilitate the integration of a flexible second layer to their architecture. This approach allows for increased transaction capacity while maintaining privacy and reducing costs, combining the benefits of off-chain solutions with the security of on-chain methods. Offchain Labs aims to simplify the smart contract development process, enabling developers to focus on business logic and user experience.

Thesis

Series A in 2021
Thesis, Inc. is a cryptocurrency venture studio that specializes in developing and funding decentralized products and protocols. Founded in 2014 and based in San Francisco, California, the company aims to bridge the gap between Bitcoin and real-world purchases while facilitating the use of private data on public blockchains. One of its notable developments is the tBTC protocol, which operates on the Keep network. Through its initiatives, Thesis seeks to empower individuals by creating innovative solutions within the cryptocurrency and decentralized technology sectors.

ORIGYN Foundation

Venture Round in 2021
Developer of financial governance platform designed to provide security and transparency in exchanges. The company's platform leverages decentralized technologies, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to revolutionize the fight against counterfeiting, thereby helping its clients by authenticating objects of value instantly and on-device by ensembling a range of technologies.

Aleo

Venture Round in 2021
Aleo is building the world's leading developer platform for enabling absolute privacy on blockchains. With their vocal advocacy for privacy tech in the blockchain ecosystem, they are playing a major part in mainstream awareness and industry adoption of privacy-preserving technologies. they are proud to offer a platform of services that exemplify privacy.

Badger DAO

Venture Round in 2021
Badger is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) building products and infrastructure to accelerate Bitcoin as collateral across other blockchains. It’s meant to be an ecosystem DAO where projects and people from across DeFi can come together to collaborate and build the products our space needs. Shared ownership in the DAO will allow builders to have aligned incentives while decentralized governance can ensure those incentives remain fair to all parties. The idea is less competing and more collaborating.

Anoma

Funding Round in 2021
Developer of a blockchain protocol designed to facilitate private and asset-agnostic cash. The company's protocol handles the cryptocurrency exchange automatically and at the market rate with private bartering among any number of parties, enabling users to transact and trade in cryptocurrency securely and privately.

Findora

Venture Round in 2020
Findora Foundation is a ledger technology company based in Stanford, California, founded in 2017. It operates a public, decentralized, and multi-purpose transactional system that supports a wide variety of assets, including traditional currencies, cryptocurrencies, equities, debts, and derivatives. The company's network is designed to facilitate transactions with privacy-preserving transparency, addressing the challenges of diverse financial applications. By enabling interconnectivity, native privacy, and compliance, Findora aims to provide tools for individuals and enterprises to engage in secure and efficient financial operations on its blockchain network.

Yellow Card

Seed Round in 2020
Yellow Card Financial, LLC operates an online cryptocurrency trading platform that facilitates the buying and selling of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without the need for a bank account. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Chamblee, Georgia, the company offers a range of services including over-the-counter cryptocurrency trading, payment solutions, and currency exchange. Additionally, Yellow Card provides gift cards for cryptocurrency, aiming to transform the traditional remittance market in Nigeria and other countries. The company also has physical locations in Nigeria, Tanzania, Cameroon, Kenya, and South Africa, enhancing its accessibility for customers seeking to engage in cryptocurrency transactions.

Acala Network

Series A in 2020
Acala Network is a decentralized finance hub that operates on a blockchain-based platform, facilitating cryptocurrency transactions across blockchains linked to the Polkadot network. The platform enables users to send and receive USD while providing a suite of financial tools, including a multi-collateralized stablecoin backed by various cross-chain assets, a trustless staking derivative, and a decentralized exchange. These features enhance liquidity and support the development of innovative financial applications. Acala Network is headquartered in the United States.

DerivaDEX

Seed Round in 2020
Developer of a community-governed derivatives exchange intended to unite performance and autonomy. The company develops an ethereum-based exchange that uses a liquidity-mining token model along with open order book and on-chain settlements for the trades, enabling traders to participate in the governance and operations of the exchange.

Acala Network

Seed Round in 2020
Acala Network is a decentralized finance hub that operates on a blockchain-based platform, facilitating cryptocurrency transactions across blockchains linked to the Polkadot network. The platform enables users to send and receive USD while providing a suite of financial tools, including a multi-collateralized stablecoin backed by various cross-chain assets, a trustless staking derivative, and a decentralized exchange. These features enhance liquidity and support the development of innovative financial applications. Acala Network is headquartered in the United States.

StakerDAO

Series A in 2020
StakerDao, Inc. develops platform for governing financial assets in a decentralized, secure, and compliant manner. The company builds and manages products for on-chain governance, cross-chain synthetics, and tokenized real-world assets. It offers STKR that governs financial asset decision making and BLND, a synthetic token that tracks a governed basket of proof-of-stakes tokens. StakerDao, Inc. was founded in 2019 and is based in Palo Alto, California.

Amber Group

Series A in 2020
Amber Group is a prominent cryptocurrency financial services provider headquartered in Hong Kong, established in 2017 by finance professionals with backgrounds from major institutions. The company facilitates the buying and selling of cryptocurrency products and offers a range of services including yield enhancement, collateralized lending, decentralized finance, execution services, and electronic market making. Operating globally, Amber Group serves over 200 institutional clients, engaging in significant trading activity across numerous electronic exchanges with an average daily trading volume between $100 million and $200 million. The firm is dedicated to optimizing investment flexibility and maximizing returns for its clients by leveraging advanced technology and quantitative research, thereby enhancing the overall crypto finance experience. In 2019, Amber Group secured $28 million in a Series A funding round, attracting investment from notable players in the cryptocurrency sector.

Matrixport

Venture Round in 2019
Matrixport is a comprehensive platform that facilitates the trading, custody, investment, and borrowing of cryptocurrency assets. Headquartered in Singapore, the company leverages advanced technology and industry expertise to provide a range of services, including digital currency trading, institutional custody, and cryptocurrency lending. Matrixport's mission is to foster a more open and equitable financial system by utilizing blockchain technologies. With a focus on client empowerment, the platform aims to offer innovative financial products to users worldwide, thereby enabling them to take control of their finances and capital.

Compound

Series A in 2019
Compound Labs, Inc. is a company that designs and develops a decentralized finance protocol on the Ethereum blockchain, aimed at creating efficient money markets. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, the firm offers an open-source software platform that enables individuals, businesses, and developers to engage in borrowing and lending activities. The protocol features a web interface that dynamically adjusts interest rates based on the supply and demand of various assets, ensuring liquid and transparent financial transactions. With a significant user base and numerous applications integrating its technology, Compound serves as a foundation for innovative financial applications, promoting a more open and accessible financial system.

StakerDAO

Seed Round in 2019
StakerDao, Inc. develops platform for governing financial assets in a decentralized, secure, and compliant manner. The company builds and manages products for on-chain governance, cross-chain synthetics, and tokenized real-world assets. It offers STKR that governs financial asset decision making and BLND, a synthetic token that tracks a governed basket of proof-of-stakes tokens. StakerDao, Inc. was founded in 2019 and is based in Palo Alto, California.

Altonomy

Seed Round in 2019
Altonomy Pte. Ltd. is a Singapore-based firm that specializes in cryptocurrency and digital assets, offering a comprehensive range of services, including over-the-counter (OTC) trading, advisory, and asset management. Established in 2018, the company features a dedicated sell-side trading desk that provides institutional-grade liquidity solutions, enabling investors to engage in both crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto transactions. Altonomy's platform facilitates the management of digital assets, allowing seamless movement of funds between exchanges, wallets, and counterparties. The firm also supports aspiring token issuers and cryptocurrency exchanges with liquidity management and public listing requirements. In addition, Altonomy offers a cloud-based mining product, AltMiner, tailored for institutions and accredited investors seeking exposure to bitcoin without the overhead costs associated with direct mining ownership. With a strong network of partnerships across the crypto industry, Altonomy aims to legitimize the crypto asset class for institutional investors and provide them with investment opportunities that are uncorrelated with traditional financial markets.

o1Labs

Series A in 2019
O(1) Labs is a software development company working on Mina Protocol, a tiny, portable blockchain. The company uses cryptography and cryptocurrency to build computing systems that put people back in control of their digital lives. It addresses one of the fundamental challenges in cryptocurrency by creating the first succinct blockchain that enables decentralization at scale. O(1) Labs was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California by Evan Shapiro and Izaak Meckler.

Ava Labs

Series A in 2019
Ava Labs specializes in providing a platform for launching finance applications through blockchain technology. The company focuses on highly scalable and efficient networks, offering customizable public and private blockchains and enabling the creation of various digital assets. Its innovative approach includes a novel probabilistic consensus protocol that enhances transaction speed and reduces deployment costs. This technology simplifies the creation, trading, and discovery of both existing and new asset types. Ava Labs aims to empower individuals to participate in an open and accessible digital finance landscape.

Anchorage Digital

Series A in 2019
Anchorage is a crypto-native Qualified Custodian catering to institutional investors, providing a secure platform for trading, staking, and governance of digital assets. Founded in 2017 by former security engineers from Square and Docker, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Anchorage has developed a regulated platform that emphasizes security and usability, facilitating simple participation in digital assets while ensuring robust custody solutions. The firm has attracted significant funding from prominent investors and serves a clientele that includes many of the largest and most recognized names in the cryptocurrency industry, positioning itself as a leader in the space.

MyCrypto

Series A in 2018
MyCrypto, Inc. is a developer of an open-source, client-side platform that enables users to securely store, send, receive, and manage digital assets. Founded in 2015 and based in Redondo Beach, California, the platform allows cryptocurrency users to generate ether wallets, handle ERC-20 tokens, and interact with the blockchain without relying on online services. By focusing on security features, MyCrypto protects users from phishing attacks and malicious extensions, making it easier for traders and investors to manage their virtual currencies safely. The application is designed to provide a straightforward and secure way to engage with various cryptocurrencies.

Terra

Seed Round in 2018
Terra is a price-stable cryptocurrency designed for mass adoption. It builds financial infrastructure for the next generation of decentralized applications. Terra is backed by Luna, a decentralized asset that derives its value from transaction fees collected on the Terra network. Much like the moon stabilizes the earth’s rotation, Luna is Terra's eternal guardian of stability.

DFINITY

Venture Round in 2018
DFINITY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization based in Zurich, Switzerland, established in 2016. It is dedicated to developing the Internet Computer, a groundbreaking platform that enhances the functionality of the internet by providing a public computing environment for developers and entrepreneurs. This platform allows for the creation and hosting of decentralized applications and services, promoting a new, open method for building websites and enterprise systems. DFINITY employs a decentralized protocol known as Internet Computer Protocol (ICP), which enables independent data centers worldwide to collaborate and deliver scalable, secure, and serverless cloud computing resources. The foundation operates research centers in several global locations, including Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Tokyo, and aims to restore the internet's original open nature, challenging the dominance of major tech companies. Through its innovative technologies and approach, DFINITY seeks to enhance the overall internet experience and empower users in the digital landscape.

Agoric

Seed Round in 2018
Agoric Systems Operating Company, founded in 2018 and based in San Francisco, California, develops a framework designed to enhance the programming of smart contracts across various blockchain environments. This platform allows developers to create and deploy smart contracts using JavaScript, making the process more accessible and secure for millions of programmers globally. Agoric's framework emphasizes composability, enabling rapid development and competitive advantages in the blockchain ecosystem. By facilitating secure execution of transactions and the establishment of new markets, Agoric aims to foster innovative business models and global cooperation through digital assets. The team comprises experienced technologists and economists who have collaborated in smart contract technology for over three decades, and the company has formed partnerships with notable projects and received backing from several prominent investment firms.

Compound

Seed Round in 2018
Compound Labs, Inc. is a company that designs and develops a decentralized finance protocol on the Ethereum blockchain, aimed at creating efficient money markets. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, the firm offers an open-source software platform that enables individuals, businesses, and developers to engage in borrowing and lending activities. The protocol features a web interface that dynamically adjusts interest rates based on the supply and demand of various assets, ensuring liquid and transparent financial transactions. With a significant user base and numerous applications integrating its technology, Compound serves as a foundation for innovative financial applications, promoting a more open and accessible financial system.

Basis

Initial Coin Offering in 2018
Basis is a company based in Hoboken, New Jersey, that develops an algorithmic cryptocurrency protocol aimed at stabilizing purchasing power. Founded in 2017, Basis operates a decentralized platform that algorithmically adjusts the supply of its cryptocurrency, similar to how central banks manage fiscal policy by buying and selling debt. This system allows for automatic supply adjustments without direct human intervention, effectively functioning as an algorithmic central bank. The primary goal of Basis is to maintain price stability in the cryptocurrency market, enabling users to better understand and utilize the currency.

DFINITY

Venture Round in 2018
DFINITY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization based in Zurich, Switzerland, established in 2016. It is dedicated to developing the Internet Computer, a groundbreaking platform that enhances the functionality of the internet by providing a public computing environment for developers and entrepreneurs. This platform allows for the creation and hosting of decentralized applications and services, promoting a new, open method for building websites and enterprise systems. DFINITY employs a decentralized protocol known as Internet Computer Protocol (ICP), which enables independent data centers worldwide to collaborate and deliver scalable, secure, and serverless cloud computing resources. The foundation operates research centers in several global locations, including Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Tokyo, and aims to restore the internet's original open nature, challenging the dominance of major tech companies. Through its innovative technologies and approach, DFINITY seeks to enhance the overall internet experience and empower users in the digital landscape.

o1Labs

Seed Round in 2018
O(1) Labs is a software development company working on Mina Protocol, a tiny, portable blockchain. The company uses cryptography and cryptocurrency to build computing systems that put people back in control of their digital lives. It addresses one of the fundamental challenges in cryptocurrency by creating the first succinct blockchain that enables decentralization at scale. O(1) Labs was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California by Evan Shapiro and Izaak Meckler.

StarkWare

Seed Round in 2018
StarkWare Industries Ltd, founded in 2017 and based in Netanya, Israel, specializes in developing software and hardware for generating and verifying computational integrity proofs. The company has created STARK, a zero-knowledge proof protocol that enhances scalability and privacy in blockchain applications. This technology allows for increased transaction throughput and enables off-chain computation while ensuring that sensitive underlying data remains confidential. StarkWare's solutions are designed to improve the efficiency, security, and overall user experience of blockchain systems, making them a key player in the field of cryptographic proof platforms.

MakerDAO

Venture Round in 2017
MakerDAO is a decentralized autonomous organization that operates on the Ethereum blockchain, primarily focused on creating a stable cryptocurrency known as Dai. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, the organization seeks to minimize price volatility by backing Dai with collateralized debt positions and utilizing autonomous feedback mechanisms. This stablecoin system is designed to maintain its value against a basket of international currencies, providing users with a reliable digital currency for various financial services. MakerDAO also offers MKR, a governance token that plays a role in the utility and recapitalization of the Maker system, thereby enabling participants to have a say in its operations and future development.
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