Portal Ventures Raises $75 Million Fund for Pre-Seed Crypto Startups

Venture firm Portal Ventures announced on X that it is set to close a $75 million fund aimed at investing in pre-seed crypto startups. This will be Portal’s second fund, increasing its total to $115 million, based on SEC filings.

Portal focuses on ground-level opportunities, emphasizing the importance of providing a startup's “first check.” In their announcement, the firm stated:

> “Nothing is too early: we've backed companies without a whitepaper / deck. We underwrite the founder and sector. We roll up our sleeves to help navigate PMF and open our networks to unlock opportunities.”

While the size of the fund is relatively small compared to the hundreds of millions raised by venture capitalists at the peak of the pandemic-era bull market, it reflects a continued trend of fundraising in the sector. This announcement follows a moment of optimism after the nomination of President-elect Donald Trump and a broader market rally.

Prominent backers of the fund include well-known figures in the crypto space such as a16z’s Chris Dixon and Marc Andreessen, KKR’s Henry Kravis, as well as executives from Insight Partners. Reports indicate the funding round was oversubscribed, potentially reaching around $90 million.

Partners Evan Fisher and Catrina Wang had previously invested in various bitcoin-related entities with their initial $40 million raised during the crypto boom in early 2022. This time, they are broadening their focus to include tokenizable commodities like air rights and uranium, along with the infrastructure required to support these initiatives.