Crypto.com Capital Hires Jon Russell as GP, Hints at Expanding Fund Size

Crypto.com Capital announced Monday that it is expanding its $200 million Web 3 fund, and it has appointed Jon Russell, a former technology journalist based in Bangkok where he wrote for Tech Crunch and The Ken, as an Asia-based general partner.

• Crypto.com Capital initially launched the fund in March 2021 with $200 million in capital, targeting seed and Series A deals in verticals like DeFi, NFTs, blockchain gaming and the metaverse.

• The fund is currently run by Crypto.com co-founder Bobby Bao and is hiring more GPs around the world. Russell will help expand the fund’s exposure to Asia-based projects.

• Russell told CoinDesk that the fund is set to more than double its size and an announcement is expected in the coming days.

• Crypto.com Capital’s prior investments include Frax Finance and liquidity provider Woo Network.

• Asia is quickly developing an immense institutional appetite for digital assets.

• Singapore’s DBS Bank, one of the region’s largest, operates a crypto trading desk. Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) recently acquired a majority stake in Thai cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub.

• SCB 10x’s Chief Venture and Innovation Officer Mukaya Tai said that she envisions a world where DeFi protocols have disintermediated banks.

• Despite the bear market, VCs still are willing to allocate capital to the ecosystem. This comes on the heels of FTX establishing a $2 billion venture fund to invest in crypto startups and Sino Global Capital opening to outside investors via a $200 million fund.

CORRECTION (Jan. 17, 06:20 UTC): Crypto.com reached out to clarify that they will be giving Russell the title General Partner, not LP. An announcement earlier Monday said he had been named LP.