Blockchain VC Firm Framework Ventures Notches $100 Million For New Fund

Canadian startup Framework Ventures — the biggest venture capital (VC) investing firm focusing on blockchain decentralized finance — raised $100 million for its second fund, Reuters reported on Friday (May 14).

The company says it is the biggest liquidity provider for decentralized finance (DeFi) undertakings that focus on sidestepping legacy banking to facilitate crypto-denominated lending, according to Reuters. Among those were Curve — a stablecoin trading platform — and Uniswap — a decentralized exchange.

U.S. VC firm Accolade Partners was the cornerstone backer for Framework Ventures’ second fund, according to Vance Spencer, the co-founder of Framework Ventures, per Reuters.

According to DeFi Pulse data, per Reuters, DeFi platforms extended loans totaling $86 billion on Thursday, according to DeFi Pulse data, per Reuters. That’s up some 650 percent from $11 billion in October 2020. The new funding will be used to help advance numerous DeFi projects as well as support several DeFi tokens.

The advent of decentralized finance gave birth to new digital credit markets powered by software, programmable contracts and blockchain infrastructure. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster that the combination of DeFi and CeFi is a “critical trend to watch.”

The intersection of FinTechs, blockchain-based payments and finance platforms is anticipated to make financial services available to a wider segment of the population, both in the U.S. and abroad. Allaire said he believes CeFi and DeFi will converge over time.

The embrace of DeFi has evolved, Allaire said, adding that development in 2018 met early adopters in 2019 and is now leading to a full-on, massive expansion phase,” said Allaire.

He also added that the appeal is the opportunity for people to boost 0 percent bank interest rates on deposits to internet-based credit markets that can deliver 10 percent or more.