Paper Ventures launches early stage Web3 fund with industry veterans

PAPER Ventures has today launched a blockchain venture capital fund with support from leading industry figures.

An initial fund of $25 million has been created to be used for investment in early stage Web3 and blockchain projects.

Its founders - Danish Chaudhry, Oliver Blakey and Ivailo Jordanov - say they elected to cap their fund at $25m with a view to focusing on projects where they believe they can have the most impact financially and also by drawing on their experience and nurturing projects.

Paper Ventures partners will also provide portfolio projects with resources and connections. The fund was raised with the participation of traditional hedge funds, family offices, exchanges, founders and other HNW crypto OGs.

The trio have worked in the industry since 2010, and have experienced several market cycles while providing early funding for projects that are now dominant within their respective sectors, including Frax Finance, SEI, Polygon, Injective, Polkadot, Moonbeam and Cosmos. GameFi projects include MeritCircle/Beam, Illuvium, and YGG.

“We are more than just investors,” said former professional poker player Oliver Blakey who was also co-founder and managing partner at Ascensive Assets.

“Our mission at Paper Ventures is to be at the very forefront of innovation, fostering ground-breaking ideas that redefine the boundaries of technology and finance. We believe in the transformative power of blockchain and are committed to supporting those who are as passionate about its potential as we are.”

Chaudhry has a background in traditional finance, including a spell at Ernst & Young where he was involved in many of the largest transactions during the financial crisis. He then joined BlackRock in their Equities team and was also responsible for building out the analytics and risk models within Aladdin.

He went on to found and launch FMFW.io (previously the Bitcoin.com exchange), rapidly growing it to 1.5 million users. Ivailo Jordanov is a successful entrepreneur and founding member of Altitude.fi and Deadalus Collective.

“Having navigated the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, I’m thrilled to embark on this next step in this journey,” Danish said.

“Our commitment is to empower visionary entrepreneurs, catalyse disruptive technologies, and drive the next wave of impactful change.

“With Paper Ventures, I’m excited to invest in ground-breaking ideas and also to use my experience to elevate the brilliant minds behind them, fostering a collaborative ecosystem that propels innovation to unprecedented heights.”