Uncategorized

Bitcoin DeFi Network Arch Finds VC Backer for Early-Stage Projects

Published

5 месяцев ago

9 апреля, 2025

admin

Bootstrapping decentralized finance (DeFi) on any blockchain usually requires a mix of builders with big ideas and funders to back them. That much is as true for baselayers as it is for the financial protocols launching atop them.

Arch Labs, whose eponymous network is one of the many projects trying to bring DeFi to Bitcoin, had no trouble raising its $7 million launch capital from big-name venture firms last year. Now its shifting focus to help fund those smaller protocols that could make the whole network boom.

In that it’s found a willing partner. An entire venture company, DPI Capital is dedicating millions of dollars in resources toward backing early-stage DeFi projects that enter Arch’s first accelerator program, called Keystone.

«We’re really focused on the pillars right now, the things that are most important for growth,» said Brent Fisher, a general partner at Caymans Islands-registered DPI Capital. That means finding and funding compelling projects building borrow-and-lend protocols, decentralized exchanges, stablecoin platforms and real world asset (RWA) plays.

It’s not unheard of for venture firms to go big on a single protocol. Early Solana investor Multicoin Capital also backs many of the smaller ecosystem projects that drive activity on the blockchain. But even that giant diversifies beyond Solana. For example, it led last year’s investment in Arch.

DPI used to have a more diversified risk appetite as it chased deals across the Etheruem ecosystem. But not anymore. «I’m going all in on Arch,» Fisher said.

DPI’s yet-to-close fund will be a quasi-official venture wing for early stage projects on Arch alone. Such myopic focus carries a lot of risk. First, that the «pillar» protocols DPI picks as leaders prove the theory. Second, and more importantly, that Arch itself will catch on.

Fisher’s more focused on the counterpoint: that Arch is the winning bet, and no strategy’s better than betting on all its horses.

«This has huge potential, potentially even to knock out on Ethereum,» said Brent Fisher, general partner.

His Arch bull case stems from Bitcoin’s enduring status as the world’s most valuable crypto asset. The crypto is nearly one trillion dollars more valuable than Ethereum despite lacking a strong internal DeFi ecosystem, which has long been the runner-up’s claim to fame.

Plenty of family offices, investment companies and increasingly exchange-traded funds hold BTC and do so without much concern for their inability to deploy those coins into low risk yield plays on the Bitcoin Network, as they might with ETH on Ethereum Network.

«I think that that play is huge, because, as you see these ETFs with Black Rock and ARK and so forth, for them to even get a Delta neutral strategy of 10% is a game changer,» Fisher said.

Arch’s Bitcoin-powered programmability layer allows for such activity, Fisher said. They’re not the only network with this kind of vision, but Fisher says it’s the only one with a «true native self custody model» instead of some sort of bridging or wrapping mechanism. Keeping bitcoin on the network eliminates a level of risk, he said.

Arch’s Keystone accelerator is thus a natural pipeline for DPI to get a right-of-first refusal look at many of the teams angling to launch their BitcoinFi tech on the platform. DPI will write checks of up to $250,000 for the teams it likes and then help them find other investors and scale.

Business

Crypto Trading Firm Keyrock Buys Luxembourg’s Turing Capital in Asset Management Push

Published

24 часа ago

16 сентября, 2025

admin

Crypto trading firm Keyrock said it’s expanding into asset and wealth management by acquiring Turing Capital, a Luxembourg-registered alternative investment fund manager.

The deal, announced on Tuesday, marks the launch of Keyrock’s Asset and Wealth Management division, a new business unit dedicated to institutional clients and private investors.

Keyrock, founded in Brussels, Belgium and best known for its work in market making, options and OTC trading, said it will fold Turing Capital’s investment strategies and Luxembourg fund management structure into its wider platform. The division will be led by Turing Capital co-founder Jorge Schnura, who joins Keyrock’s executive committee as president of the unit.

The company said the expansion will allow it to provide services across the full lifecycle of digital assets, from liquidity provision to long-term investment strategies. «In the near future, all assets will live onchain,» Schnura said, noting that the merger positions the group to capture opportunities as traditional financial products migrate to blockchain rails.

Keyrock has also applied for regulatory approval under the EU’s crypto framework MiCA through a filing with Liechtenstein’s financial regulator. If approved, the firm plans to offer portfolio management and advisory services, aiming to compete directly with traditional asset managers as well as crypto-native players.

«Today’s launch sets the stage for our longer-term ambition: bringing asset management on-chain in a way that truly meets institutional standards,» Keyrock CSO Juan David Mendieta said in a statement.

Business

Crypto Trading Firm Keyrock Buys Luxembourg’s Turing Capital in Asset Management Push

Published

24 часа ago

16 сентября, 2025

admin

Crypto trading firm Keyrock said it’s expanding into asset and wealth management by acquiring Turing Capital, a Luxembourg-registered alternative investment fund manager.

The deal, announced on Tuesday, marks the launch of Keyrock’s Asset and Wealth Management division, a new business unit dedicated to institutional clients and private investors.

Business

Gemini Shares Slide 6%, Extending Post-IPO Slump to 24%

Published

1 день ago

16 сентября, 2025

admin

Gemini Space Station (GEMI), the crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has seen its shares tumble by more than 20% since listing on the Nasdaq last Friday.

The stock is down around 6% on Tuesday, trading at $30.42, and has dropped nearly 24% over the past week. The sharp decline follows an initial surge after the company raised $425 million in its IPO, pricing shares at $28 and valuing the firm at $3.3 billion before trading began.

On its first day, GEMI spiked to $45.89 before closing at $32 — a 14% premium to its offer price. But since hitting that high, shares have plunged more than 34%, erasing most of the early enthusiasm from public market investors.

The broader crypto equity market has remained more stable. Coinbase (COIN), the largest U.S. crypto exchange, is flat over the past week. Robinhood (HOOD), which derives part of its revenue from crypto, is down 3%. Token issuer Circle (CRCL), on the other hand, is up 13% over the same period.

Part of the pressure on Gemini’s stock may stem from its financials. The company posted a $283 million net loss in the first half of 2025, following a $159 million loss in all of 2024. Despite raising fresh capital, the numbers suggest the business is still far from turning a profit.

Compass Point analyst Ed Engel noted that GEMI is currently trading at 26 times its annualized first-half revenue. That multiple — often used to gauge whether a stock is expensive — means investors are paying 26 dollars for every dollar the company is expected to generate in sales this year. For a loss-making company in a volatile sector, that’s a steep price, and could be fueling investor skepticism.