It is no secret that the venture capital scene and the financing volumes of start-ups in Europe are comparatively small compared to the USA. This gap is particularly evident in the crypto-economy. There are no larger venture capital firms (VC) in Germany that have focused on blockchain start-ups. The crypto VC Greenfield One from Berlin now wants to change this and has announced the launch of a second crypto fund.
If you consider that there are more blockchain start-ups in Berlin than anywhere else in Europe, it looks rather poor when it comes to VC financing. Although here and there a crypto-start-up takes place, the capital received from a VC – this would, for example Bitwala to mention that recently 15 million euros, among others, Earlybird received – yet most VCs with respect rather subdued block Chain .
Decentralized business models, tokens as a new medium and an ICO bubble from 2017 are still unsettling even experienced investors. But precisely because the crypto industry is only „difficult to grasp“, it promises to multiply the number of companies that VCs dream of. In any case, that was understood in the USA. For example, there is blockchain capital with the VC fundsor a16z, better known under Andreessen Horowitz, powerful VC funds that not only provide sufficient capital, but also networks for the crypto-economy.
Are European start-ups falling behind?
In the Europe-wide Blockchain Innovation Center Berlin, you can dream not only of the sums, but also of the additional help provided by the American VCs. The network in Berlin is more of an informal one, shaped by meetups and less by financially strong venture capital companies that are building blockchain ecosystems with force and determination.
This also has its appeal, but there is a risk that history will repeat itself, i.e. it is the American blockchain start-ups that set the standards, as in the platform economy through Facebook and Google. In order to counter this, the Berlin VC Greenfield One would like to make a decisive contribution to „Crypto in Europe“.
Greenfield One: Not just money, but also an ecosystem
The early stage crypto VC based in Berlin is launching its second fund with a target volume of 50 million euros in a first closing. The main focus of the second fund is on the blockchain networks and development teams of the mainly European teams. As with Web 2.0, it is about the big picture of Web 3.0.
The first Greenfield One fund was launched in early 2019. Since then, the VC fund has invested in various early-stage start-ups. These include NEAR, Celo, Spacemesh, Vega, Multis, Arweave, Dapper Labs and 1inch. The group of investors in the BaFin-regulated fund includes Bertelsmann Investments, the investment arm of the international media, service and education company, and family offices such as Lennertz & Co. from Hamburg.
VC veteran Sebastian Blum, who founded Greenfield One together with serial founder Jascha Samedi, is sure to BTC-ECHO that a VC with a focus on crypto is needed. “Investors who specialize in one segment can deliver much greater added value,” he emphasizes, pointing out that the “space” is still fairly new and that there is a corresponding lack of know-how in many places. Unfortunately, Sebastian Blum cannot yet give an answer to the question of which investments the second crypto fund is. However, he adds that the announcement should take place this month. More news from the Berlin crypto VC should follow soon.