Enterprise blockchain provider Ripple has invested $25m in Blockchain Capital’s latest fund.
With its own cryptocurrency, XRP, Ripple has backed Blockchain Capital Parallel IV LP Fund, which is the first fund to accept capital calls in digital assets and focuses entirely on the development of the blockchain space.
The parallel investment vehicle now joins the Blockchain Capital IV LP fund , which is $125m on its own, in bringing the total to $150 m in the San Francisco-based venture capital firm’s fourth fundraising round.
Blockchain Capital’ fund will invest in entrepreneurial teams that are building businesses using blockchain technology.
Ripple said the investment will also provide an opportunity to identify new use cases for the XRP Ledger and Interledger Protocol. The open source platforms provide an avenue for developers to work directly with the technology and build on it.
Ripple’s primary focus has been to ‘remove friction’ from cross-border payments, the investment provides an opportunity to support and develop additional use cases beyond payments according to the company.
“As pioneers in the blockchain sector, we have been on the frontlines and in the trenches with our portfolio companies, like Ripple, building a new crypto ecosystem,†said Bart Stephens, co-founder and managing partner of Blockchain Capital.
“There are entire verticals — such as healthcare or identity management — that could benefit from blockchain or distributed ledger technology. Whether it’s using XRP, bitcoin or just the underlying blockchain technology, our goal is to find the best projects and give them the resources to be successful companies that deliver value to customers for the long term.â€
Blockchain Capital announced its second venture round raising $13m in early 2016, as reported by CCN at the time. The VC firm then raised $10m in its third venture round, the first to do so entirely by a digital fund offering in an ICO.
Ripple said that it will continue contributing to other venture capital funds to support startups and businesses developing blockchain applications. Patrick Griffin, SVP of Strategic Growth at Ripple, added: “This is the first fund that we’ve contributed to, and it won’t be the last. We plan to be major players in shaping the future generation of blockchain or crypto companies.â€
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