Even as crypto companies line up in droves to go public, venture capital firms that back blockchain startups have struggled to drum up cash amid a broader dry spell for funds. One exception is Chicago-based CMT Digital, which has managed to secure a sizable new stash of capital, investment partner Sam Hallene told Fortune.
The digital assets-focused VC has raised $136 million for its fourth venture fund, he said. The fundraise closed in early October and attracted a mix of family offices, high-net worth individuals, and some larger institutions. Hallene declined to name specific contributors.
“It was a difficult environment, but we got a lot of trust from our LPs—existing LPs and new LPs,” he said.
CMT Digital is no stranger to crypto’s ups and downs. The firm is an offshoot of the Chicago-based CMT Group, a quantitative trading firm founded in 1997. In the mid-2010s, the company established its digital assets arm, which has since become CMT Group’s biggest vertical, said Halllene.
“I would hope that we would see one or two new categories that pop up and have a very compelling reason to exist,” he said, “and we are looked back on—when this vintage is all wrapped up—as one of the earliest backers of that new category.”
