Hong Kong billionaire's VC firm plans to raise a new $200 million fund to invest in crypto: Bloomberg

C Ventures, a venture capital firm started by Hong Kong real estate tycoon and billionaire Adrian Cheng, reportedly plans to raise a new $200 million fund to invest in the crypto space.

Bloomberg reported the news on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Besides the crypto fund, C Ventures also plans to raise about $300 million to invest in private equity and private credit strategies over the next 18 months, per the report.

The firm is betting on bottomed-out prices of private companies and digital assets. "When people are on defense, we're on the offense," Ben Cheng, C Ventures' co-founder and CEO, told Bloomberg in an interview. Such an environment historically "will yield the best result," he continued, adding that he sees a bounce back after another 6 to 9 months.

Founded in 2017, C Ventures has reportedly already invested about $1 billion in private companies, digital assets and credits. C Ventures' current crypto portfolio includes companies like Animoca Brands, RTFKT Studios and Matrixport. According to Cheng, the value of the firm's existing crypto investments increased by 40% in the first half of this year after doubling last year.

Within crypto, C Ventures and Adrian Cheng seem to favor the NFT and metaverse sub-sectors. Adrian recently purchased 101 NFTs from the Azuki collection. "We will carve out a unique space in the Web3 world and bring our culture of creativity and community-based experiences to life," he tweeted last month.

Venture capital firms continue to raise new funds despite bearish crypto market conditions. In August, there were 20 VC fund launches and the largest came from Insignia Ventures Partners, DBA Crypto and CoinFund, as The Block reported recently.