Sigma Capital, a new cryptocurrency venture capital firm founded by Vineet Budke, former CEO of Cypher Capital, has announced its first fund.

The fund aims to raise $100 million and has about $40 million in pre-commitments, Budke told The Block. He added that the first closure is expected to take place on June 30, and the final closure will take place 18 months later.

Budke said pre-commitments come from cryptocurrency funds, high-net-worth individuals and angel investors. He declined to name the investors, but said they had previously collectively backed more than 200 startups, such as Manta Network, Humanity Protocol, and Casper Labs.

Sigma Capital's debut is in line with a bullish cryptocurrency market, characterized by Bitcoin The recent rise above $100,000 and Increased investor activity. The company aims to benefit from this favorable climate through its first fund.

“Cryptocurrencies haven't really taken off yet, and it's still very early,” Budke said. “It's not about the money made in the next 10 years, but the control and wealth that real investors will have are the keys.”

Aiming to be the “Sequoia/Softbank of Cryptocurrency”

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

The planned Sigma 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 Budke.

The portfolio is expected to include up to 100 early-stage venture deals with an average check size of US$500,000, up to 25 liquid deals valued between US$2-3 million each, and up to 10 fund-of-funds deals. An average of US$1 million each, according to Budke. He added.

As for verticalSigma plans to invest in decentralized finance, blockchain infrastructure, real-world asset tokenization (RWA), gaming, and the metaverse.

Budke said he prefers a founder-based investing approach, prioritizing strong founders over specific sectors because of the potential for pivots. He added that investment timing is also crucial – down markets favor infrastructure and large capital raises, while up markets draw attention to consumer-facing products like gaming, decentralized finance and RWA tokens.

Budke said Sigma will be based in Dubai and Singapore and will be regulated in the Cayman Islands, adding that the company plans to have about 30 employees.

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