Paradigm shift as crypto VC firm names general partners for first time

Crypto investment firm Paradigm, one of most established and active players in the space, named general partners for the first time with the promotion of Charlie Noyes and Dan Robinson.

The company, which listed the changes on its website, had not previously had any investors with the title. The co-founders of Paradigm, Fred Ehrsam and Matt Huang, hold the titles of managing partner, while the rest of the investing team were either investment partners or associates.

A general partner is a manager of venture funds and typically responsible for raising funds, analyzing deals and making decisions on how capital is allocated. They also typically have skin in the game by investing their own money in the fund. Noyes and Robinson's previous titles were venture partner and research partner, respectively, according to Paradigm's website in December 2022.

"We couldn't be more pleased to promote Charlie Noyes and Dan Robinson to General Partner," Huang said in a statement sent to The Block. "Over the past four years, they've each had a legendary impact on Paradigm and on crypto. We're thrilled for them take on a greater role in our investing and we look forward to working with them for the long-term."

Previous roles

Both Noyes and Robinson have been at Paradigm for over four years. Robinson will still remain as head of research. He focuses on investments and research into open-source protocols and, before joining Paradigm, was a  protocol researcher at Interstellar and a litigation attorney, according to Paradigm's website.

Noyes dropped out of MIT after one year to join Pantera's investment team where he worked on investments and trading. His high school research on blockchain technology has been recognized by Nasa and Intel, Paradigm has said.

Paradigm, founded in 2018, launched a $2.5 billion fund alongside its existing flagship fund in November 2021. It recently had to mark down its investment in bankrupt crypto exchange FTX to zero but said it was only a small part of its total assets.

The firm has backed companies such as crypto unicorn Amber Group, DeFi wallet Argent and decentralized exchange Dydx.

(Updates with comment from company in fourth paragraph; clarifies Noyes' role at Pantera in 6th paragraph.)