Archetype Raises $100 Million Fund to Back Early-Stage Blockchain Startups
Archetype, a New York-based venture capital firm, has announced the launch of its third fund, a $100 million vehicle focused on seed rounds for early-stage blockchain companies. This comes just over three years after their previous fund and amidst a resurgent crypto bull market.
Blockchain's Mainstream Moment?
Ash Egan, founder and general partner at Archetype, believes that blockchain technology is on the cusp of mainstream adoption. He compared the current landscape to the early days of the internet, describing it as "post-AOL, pre-Uber." Egan stated, "Our belief is that crypto rails underpin all global commerce, if you take a decade or multi-decade point of view."
While the potential of crypto to disrupt various industries like payments, IPOs, and real estate has been discussed extensively, a more favorable regulatory environment and growing institutional interest from Wall Street could pave the way for a true breakthrough.
Fund Details and Strategy
Archetype previously raised a $55 million fund in 2021 and a $155 million fund in 2022, coinciding with the peak of the last crypto bull run. The new $100 million fund is smaller, a deliberate decision by Egan to secure the right limited partners, with only one new LP joining. The firm's investors include a mix of pensions, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional investors such as Accolade Partners, TrueBridge Capital, and Sapphire Ventures.
Despite the smaller fund size, Archetype remains committed to its long-term vision. According to Egan, they have already distributed around $10 million from their first fund back to investors, but emphasized their focus on avoiding premature selling of successful investments. "If things are going to run and we have winners, we don’t want to sell too early," he said.
Portfolio Successes and Investments
Archetype's portfolio includes successful ventures such as Privy, a wallet provider acquired by Stripe, and US Bitcoin Corp, which merged with Hut 8, now partnering with Eric Trump's American Bitcoin. The firm also holds liquid investments, including over $10 million in Solana and $40 million in Ethereum, managing around $350 million in assets.
Egan's Background and Vision
Egan, a veteran in the crypto space, has been involved since 2015 when he was drawn to Ethereum and smart contracts while at Converge in Boston. He made his first crypto investment in Chainalysis. He also launched Consensys's venture arm and was a partner at Accomplice before founding Archetype.
Egan established Archetype in New York based on the belief that SoHo would become the "Sand Hill Road" of the next decade, attracting major crypto firms like Uniswap and Zora to the area. Future investments will include consumer-focused companies like Remix, a crypto and AI-powered app for creating mobile games.
"The future is going to be building killer products, you get your first 1,000 true fans, and then you go from there," Egan stated, highlighting the importance of organic network growth.
