Castle Island Ventures announces new $50 million venture fund

Cryptocurrency and blockchain venture capital firm Castle Island Ventures announced Monday the launch of its second venture fund. 

The Boston-based firm, which has invested in the likes of BlockFi and River Financial, told The Block that the $50 million fund would take on a broader thesis than its first fund, which mainly identified companies building infrastructure around bitcoin. CIV II will have an added focus on firms building in decentralized finance and stablecoins. 

"I learned not to be overly restrictive in my worldview," Nic Carter, a partner at the firm, told The Block.  "We've certainly broadened our view of what is investable. I expected certain regulatory actions to happen that did not happen."

Carter, a prolific commentator and writer in the crypto space, leads Castle Island with fellow Fidelity Investments alumni Matt Walsh. They launched the firm in 2018. 

The launch of the fund comes at a time when new capital is shifting into the bitcoin market. On Monday, the Elon Musk-run automaker Tesla announced that it allocated a portion of its balance sheet to bitcoin last month. Elsewhere, private equity legend Glenn Hutchins announced the launch of a $72 million venture fund, while Anthony Scaramucci earlier this year revealed his own bitcoin fund for institutional investors. 

Carter said he attracted limited partner interest from mostly family offices and high-net-worth individuals looking for exposure to the market. 

Castle Island plans to invest in around twenty companies through the fund but has yet to deploy any of the $50 million.