L1 Digital, a Zurich-based company that specializes in investing in blockchain and crypto projects, has announced the closing of its second venture capital fund, raising $152 million from institutional and private investors. The fund will focus on supporting early-stage startups that are building innovative solutions in the decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 sectors.

The company, which was founded in 2017 by former UBS executives, has already invested in some of the leading projects in the crypto space, such as Aave, Compound, MakerDAO, Uniswap, and 1inch. L1 Digital aims to provide not only capital, but also strategic guidance, industry connections, and regulatory expertise to its portfolio companies.

L1 Digital’s second fund is one of the largest crypto-focused venture funds in Europe, reflecting the growing interest and adoption of digital assets and blockchain technology in the region. According to a recent report by PwC, Europe accounted for 40% of the global crypto fundraising and merger and acquisition activity in 2020.

“We are very grateful for the trust and support from our investors, who share our vision of a more open, transparent, and efficient financial system powered by blockchain and crypto,” said Philipp Cottier, founder and chairman of L1 Digital. “We are excited to partner with some of the most talented and visionary entrepreneurs in the industry and help them scale their businesses globally.”

L1 Digital is also planning to launch a third fund later this year, which will target later-stage crypto companies with proven traction and growth potential. The company expects to raise up to $500 million for this fund, which will be open to institutional investors only. L1 Digital believes crypto is the next major wave of innovation and disruption on the internet and finance sectors. He said that L1 Digital’s mission is to support the best entrepreneurs who are creating the future of money and the web.

“We are very excited to launch our second fund and continue to partner with the most talented founders in the crypto space. We have seen tremendous growth and innovation in the crypto ecosystem in the past few years, and we are confident that this trend will continue and accelerate. We are grateful for the trust and support from our investors and portfolio companies, and we look forward to working with them to build the next generation of crypto companies’’.

L1 Digital’s second fund will focus on seed and Series A investments, with an average check size of $2 million to $5 million. The firm will also provide strategic guidance, operational support, and network access to its portfolio companies. L1 Digital’s current portfolio includes some of the leading projects in DeFi, NFTs, Web3, and infrastructure, such as Aave, Audius, Axie Infinity, Balancer, Blockdaemon, Dapper Labs, dYdX, Immutable X, Instadapp, Kyber Network, Nansen, OpenSea, Polygon, Solana, The Graph, Zapper, and many more.

Generative Art Platform FXHash Raises $5 Million in Seed Funding

FXHash, a platform that allows users to create and sell generative art using blockchain technology, has announced that it has raised $5 million in a seed funding round led by Placeholder, a venture capital firm that focuses on decentralized networks. Other investors include Fabric Ventures, 1kx, Divergence Ventures, Tezos, Tane Labs, USV, Bright Oppurtunites, PUNKDAO and several prominent artists and collectors in the crypto art space.

Generative art is a form of art that is created by an algorithm or a set of rules, often involving randomness, noise, or data. The resulting artworks are unique and unpredictable, reflecting the creativity and expression of the artist and the code. FXHash enables artists to create generative art using a web-based editor that supports various programming languages, such as JavaScript, Python, and GLSL. The platform also allows artists to mint their artworks as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain and sell them on FXHash’s marketplace or other NFT platforms.

FXHash’s vision is to democratize generative art and make it accessible to anyone, regardless of their coding skills or artistic background. The platform aims to foster a community of artists and collectors who share a passion for generative art and its potential to explore new forms of expression and creativity. FXHash also plans to use the seed funding to expand its team, develop new features and tools for its platform, and support more artists and collectors in the generative art space.

“We are thrilled to have the support of Placeholder and other investors who share our vision for generative art and its role in the future of digital culture,” said, co-founder and CEO of FXHash. “We believe that generative art is not only a new medium of artistic expression, but also a new way of thinking and creating. We want to empower artists to experiment with code and algorithms and unleash their imagination and creativity.”

“Generative art is one of the most exciting and innovative domains in the crypto art space, and FXHash is at the forefront of it,” said Joel Monegro, partner at Placeholder. “We are impressed by the quality and diversity of the artworks created on FXHash, as well as the vibrant and engaged community around it. We are excited to partner with FXHash and help them grow their platform and ecosystem.”