CoinFund co-leads $14 million Series A round for asset manager Superstate

Superstate, an asset management firm utilizing blockchain technology, closed part of a $14 million Series A funding round. 

The web3-focused investment firms Distributed Global and CoinFund co-led the round, which saw additional participation from Breyer Capital, Galaxy, Arrington Capital, Road Capital, CMT Digital, Folius Ventures, Nascent, Hack VC, Modular Capital and Department of XYZ. 

"The first close was oversubscribed — we’ve kept space in the round available for strategic investors," Superstate co-founder and CEO Robert Leshner told The Block. "Rather than wait until the full round is complete, we are announcing the round now and will release additional details on the full close in the future." 

Leshner added that the firm's policy is to not disclose non-public items such as valuation or board of directors. The firm's total amount raised is $18 million, following $4 million in seed financing raised in June of this year led by ParaFi, Cumberland and 1kx. 

Superstate intends to use the funds to grow its team, put out private funds to institutional investors, and form a framework for publicly registered investments funds that are compliant and tokenized, according to a company release. 

Superstate uses blockchain technology to tokenize aspects of investment products. The firm submitted an Ethereum-based open mutual fund called the Superstate Short‑Term Government Bond Fund to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June of this year. 

"To date, first-generation tokenized funds fall short. They either function within private blockchains, or exist in off-shore entities, removing access for U.S. investors. Superstate aims to bring on-chain advantages to U.S. investors," Leshner said in a statement.

Leshner is also the founder of the DeFi lending protocol Compound.