New crypto VC Sigma Capital targets $100 million fund, with $40 million pre-committed

Sigma Capital, a new crypto venture capital firm founded by former Cypher Capital executive Vineet Budki, has announced its first fund.

The fund aims to raise $100 million and has around $40 million in pre-commitments, Budki told The Block. He added that the first close is expected on June 30, with the final close anticipated 18 months later.

Budki said the pre-commitments are from crypto funds, high-net-worth individuals and angel investors. He declined to name the investors but said they have previously collectively backed over 200 startups, such as Manta Network, Humanity Protocol and Casper Labs.

Sigma Capital's debut aligns with a bullish crypto market, marked by bitcoin's recent surge above $100,000 and growing investor activity. The firm aims to capitalize on this favorable climate with its first fund.

"Crypto hasn't even started yet; we are too early," Budki said. "It's not about money made in the next 10 years, but the control and wealth that real investors will have are the keys."

Aims to be 'Sequoia/SoftBank of crypto'

Sigma Capital aims to become a Sequoia or SoftBank of the crypto market, Budki said, citing his and his team's track record of notable early-stage investments at Cypher Capital, Phoenix VC and other firms. These include TON, Solana, Sui, Sei and Berachain, Budki said.

Sigma's planned fund will allocate its investments after the first close across three categories: 50% to early-stage startups, 40% to liquid tokens and high-yield DeFi strategies and 10% to fund-of-funds over the next three years, according to Budki.

The portfolio is expected to feature up to 100 early-stage venture deals with a median check size of $500,000, up to 25 liquid deals ranging from $2–3 million each and up to 10 fund-of-funds deals averaging $1 million each, Budki added.

As for verticals, Sigma plans to invest across DeFi, blockchain infrastructure, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, gaming and the metaverse.

Budki said he prefers a founder-driven investment approach, prioritizing strong founders over specific sectors due to the likelihood of pivots. Investment timing is also critical — down markets favor infrastructure and large capital raises, while bullish markets bring attention to consumer-facing products like gaming, DeFi and RWA tokenization — he added.

Sigma will be based in Dubai and Singapore and regulated in the Cayman Islands, Budki said, adding that the firm plans to have a headcount of about 30 people.

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