Polina Marinova
CRYPTO CAPITAL
HOUSEKEEPING: I’ll be on vacation until April 20, so my wonderful colleague Lucinda Shen will be compiling the deals below. So if you have a deal for Term Sheet, please send it to her at [email protected]. Thank you in advance!
EXCLUSIVE: Ripple, the fintech startup known for the XRP coin, made a $25 million investment in the form of its own cryptocurrency into a dedicated sidecar vehicle alongside Blockchain Capital’s fourth venture fund.
Blockchain Capital, the oldest venture capital firm dedicated to blockchain technology, announced last month that it raised $150 million to invest in equity and cryptocurrency assets.
Now, Blockchain Capital says it accepted XRP, reportedly making it one of the first venture firms to accept capital calls in digital assets. The fundraise carved out the XRP funds into a separate special purpose vehicle called Blockchain Capital Parallel IV, which only accepts contributions in cryptocurrencies.
“We created the parallel fund to separate our other LPs from the risk of any change in valuation associated with accepting Ripple’s investment in XRP,” said a spokesperson for Blockchain Capital.
XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap after Bitcoin and Ethereum, is the name for both a digital currency and an open payment network. Users are able to efficiently send money globally using the blockchain. Blockchain Capital is looking to deploy the XRP into companies focused on healthcare or identity management, which are industries that “could benefit from blockchain or distributed ledger technology.” Blockchain Capital is also an investor in Ripple, the company.
“Whether it’s using XRP, bitcoin, or just the underlying blockchain technology, our goal is to find the best projects and give them the resources to be successful companies that deliver value to customers for the long-term,” said Blockchain Capital managing partner Bart Stephens.
If you’re scratching your head as to why a company would choose to accept capital in the form of a cryptocurrency, let’s remember what happened with storage startup Omni.
In December, Omni raised $25 million in Series B funding, opting to accept the majority of the investment in XRP. On the same day that the startup announced the fundraise, XRP plunged 46% to near 90 cents, meaning that the principal investment amount no longer held the same value. At the time, Omni CEO Tom McLeod said he wasn’t worried about the short-term price volatility. Rather, he’s betting on the long-term benefits of “having a potentially appreciating value on the balance sheet.”
I followed up with him yesterday to see how he has navigated Ripple’s price fluctuations over the last few months, and he noted that he hedged against some of the volatility by converting a portion of the investment to USD.
“We fully expect to see (and have seen) a lot of movement – up and down – in the coming months,” McLeod told Term Sheet. He added that XRP is “a highly usable currency” and some of his company’s vendors and employees have requested payment in the form of XRP.
So to founders working on cryptocurrency-related projects, it makes sense. For the rest of the venture community, investors need to ask themselves questions like, “Will future fundings be a mix of traditional VC and digital currency,” and “What safeguards will need to exist to prevent overexposure to cryptocurrency price volatility?”
As for Ripple, keep an eye out for more deals like this one. Patrick Griffin, Ripple’s SVP of Strategic Growth said, “This is the first fund that we’ve contributed to, and it won’t be the last.”
THE LATEST FROM FORTUNE…
• Report: Theranos Just Laid Off the Vast Majority of Its Employees (by Sy Mukherjee)
• New Data on Cryptocurrency Trading Underscores Japan as a Major Hub (by Laignee Barron)
• Why the EU Raided the London Offices of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Networks
• 7 of the Most Awkward Moments from Mark Zuckerberg’s Testimony to Congress
VENTURE DEALS
• Knotel, a New York-based workspace provider raised $70 million Series B funding. Newmark Knight Frank and The Sapir Organization led the round, and were joined by investors including The Wolfson Group, The Moinian Group, and Wainbridge Capital.
• TravelPerk, a Spain-based business travel booking and management platform for companies, raised $21 million (£15m) in Series B funding. Target Global and Felix Capital co-led the round, and were joined by investors including Spark Capital, Sunstone and Amplo.
• SAY, a New York-based technology platform for open communication between companies and their owners, raised $8 million seed funding. Point72 Ventures led the round, and was joined by investors including Quiet Capital, Struck Capital, and Core Innovation Capital.
• DemandJump, an Indianapolis, Ind.-based marketing customer acquisition platform, raised $6 million in Series A funding. Investors include Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Flyover Capital, Cultivation Capital, 4G Ventures, Bob Davoli and Hyde Park Venture Partners.
• Spectral Edge, a Cambridge, U.K.-based mobile apps developer, raised $5.3 million in Series A funding. Investors include Parkwalk Advisors and IQ Capital.
• Crayon, a Boston, Mass.-based market intelligence platform company, raised $5 million in funding. Baseline Ventures led the round.
• Upper Hand, Inc., a developer of cloud-based sports management software and business services, raised $1.5 million in Series A funding. Park Ten Capital led the round.
PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS
• Altaris Capital Partners agreed to buy Analogic Corp, a Peabody, Mass.-based company that develops computed tomography, ultrasound, and digital mammography, for about $1.1 billion, according to Reuters. Read more.
• One Equity Partners acquired ePak Resources, a designer and manufacturer of precision-engineered packaging for semiconductor, integrated circuits, and electronic components. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
OTHER DEALS
• Google is in talks to acquire Nokia Oyj’s airplane broadband business, according to Bloomberg. Read more.
EXITS
• Palladium Equity Partners, LLC agreed to sell Jordan Health Services, a home care providers, to Kelso & Company and Blue Wolf Capital Partners. In conjunction with the transaction Jordan will be merged with Great Lakes Caring Home Health and Hospice and National Home Health Care. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
• 6sense acquired ZenIQ, a Los Altos, Calif.-based account-centric sales and marketing orchestration platform. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. ZenIQ had raised approximately $4.6 million in venture funding from investors including Salesforce Ventures and Costanoa Ventures.
• First Reserve acquired CHA Consulting Inc, an Albany, N.Y.-based engineering firm, from Long Point Capital. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
PEOPLE
• Thomas P. “Tom” Mathers joined Pappas Capital as a partner.
• Brett Skolnik joined Baird as a managing director.
• Salveo Capital appointed Thomas Mazarakis as a managing partner.
• TSG Consumer Partners promoted Erik Johnson to principal.
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Polina Marinova produces Term Sheet, and Lucinda Shen compiles the IPO news. Send deal announcements to Polina here and IPO news to Lucinda here.
通过2018年4月11日资本 Polina Marinova密码服务员:我要休假到4月20日,因此我的好同事Lucinda Shen将编制涉及以下。所以如果你有一个术语表,请发送给她[email protected]。先谢谢你!独家:脉动,FinTech启动称为XRP硬币,在它自己的cryptocurrency形式投资2500万美元给一个专门的三轮车辆在blockchain首都第四创业基金。blockchain首都最古老的风险投资公司致力于blockchain技术,上个月宣布,筹集了1亿5000万美元投资于股票和cryptocurrency资产。现在,blockchain资本表示,接受XRP,据报道它在数字资产的资本要求接受第一次创业的公司之一。该筹款雕刻出XRP资金到一个单独的专用车叫blockchain资本平行四,只接受捐款的cryptocurrencies。“我们创建了平行基金分开我们的其他LPS从估值与接受在XRP纹波的投资相关的任何变化的风险,”一位发言人说blockchain资本。XRP、市值比特币和伊斯利恩之后的第三大cryptocurrency,为数字货币和一个开放的支付网络的名称。用户能够有效地在全球范围内使用blockchain寄钱。blockchain资本寻找部署XRP公司专注于医疗保健或身份管理,这是行业“可以从blockchain或分布式分类技术效益。“blockchain资本还投资了Ripple公司。“无论是使用XRP,比特币,或只是潜在的blockchain技术,我们的目标是找到最好的项目和给他们的资源是成功的公司,提供客户价值,为长期,说:”blockchain Capital管理合伙人Bart Stephens。如果你刮你的头是为什么公司会选择在一个cryptocurrency的形式接受的资本,让我们记住和存储启动全方位发生了什么。十二月,全方位提高了2500万美元的B系列融资,选择接受的投资大部分在XRP。在同一天,公司宣布筹款,XRP暴跌46%至近90美分,这意味着主要的投资金额不再持有相同的价值。当时,OMNI首席执行官Tom McLeod表示,他并不担心短期价格波动。相反,他认为长期效益的“具有潜在审美价值的平衡sheet.”我跟他昨天看到他如何导航波动的价格波动在过去的几个月里,他指出他对冲一些波动转换投资的一部分,美元。“我们完全希望看到(并看到)许多运动-上下-在未来几个月内,”麦克劳德告诉术语表。他补充说,“一个高度可用XRP货币”和他的一些公司的供应商和员工的要求支付在XRP形式。因此,创业者工作的cryptocurrency相关项目,它是有意义的。对风险社会的其余部分,投资者需要问自己这样的问题,“未来的竞争将是一个混合的传统VC和数字货币,”和“什么保障需要的存在可以防止过度cryptocurrency价格波动?至于Ripple,要留意更多像这样的交易。Patrick Griffin,纹波的SVP战略增长说,“这是我们促成了第一个基金,也不会是最后一次。”广告最新的财富…•报告:Theranos刚刚解雇了其绝大多数员工(Sy Mukherjee)和公牛;在cryptocurrency交易新数据凸显日本作为一个主要的枢纽(Laignee Barron)•为什么欧盟突袭了Rupert Murdoch的福克斯网络公司伦敦办事处;7最wkward瞬间从马克zuckerberg’s国会证词风险交易•诺特尔,纽约的空间商提出了7000万美元的B系列融资。Newmark Knight Frank和萨丕尔的组织领导,并由投资者包括欧胜集团的加入,酒店集团,和wainbridge资本。•travelperk,基于西班牙公司商务旅行预订和管理平台,筹集了2100万美元(£15m)的B系列融资。针对全球和费利克斯资本共同领导,并被投资者包括星火资本加入,太阳石和amplo。一家总部位于纽约的公司与所有者之间公开交流的技术平台,筹集了800万美元的种子资金。Point72合资企业主导的一轮,是由投资者包括安静的资本,加入了资本、创新资本和核心。•demandjump,印第安纳波利斯,Ind.为基础的营销客户获取平台,筹集600万美元的A系列融资。投资者包括其余的种子基金,革命的崛起天桥资本,培育资本、4g Ventures,Bob Davoli和海德公园创投合伙人。•边缘,剑桥,英国为基础的移动应用程序开发人员,筹集530万美元的A系列融资。投资者包括parkwalk顾问和智力资本。Brand;CRayon,一个总部位于波士顿的市场智能平台公司,筹集了500万美元的资金。底线冒险引领了这一轮。作为基于云计算的体育管理软件和商业服务的开发公司,在一系列的融资中筹集了150万美元。公园十资本引领了这一轮。广告的私人股本交易•altaris资本合伙人同意购买类似的公司,一个Peabody,大众的公司,开发计算机断层扫描,超声和数字化乳腺摄影,约11亿美元,根据路透社。阅读更多。•One Equity Partners的采集;
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