ABCDE presses the pause button. What is the current state of survival of Chinese VCs?
Source:ChainCatcher
Author: Nian Qing
Recently, ABCDE co-created Du Jun (Du Jun) Official announcementABCDE CapitalInvestment in new projects has been stopped, the second phase of the fund raising program has been suspended, and the launch of a new incubator product, Vernal, has been announced. ABCDE has launched 19 times in the past year and isn't particularly conservative. Despite having plenty of ammunition, it still can't resist the current boring crypto market.
After the FUD VC revolution began, Crypto VC began pressing the pause button under hell-level difficulty. Some chose not to take action and only keep core personnel to maintain post-investment services, and some VCs began to seek transformation to second-level investments, projects, incubators, and crypto marketing.
Compared with European and American VCs in the same period, Asian VCs seem to be more conservative. ABCDE investment and research partner Lao Bai asked the question a month ago — why while we are “out of fire” in Asia, Europe and the US are still “firing”; why are they daring to pull the trigger in this valuation? In response to this, he speculates that the reasons may include different exit cycles, differences in investment decisions, and values, Asian VCs are more concerned about yield, and European and American peers are idealistic and long-term.
Furthermore, according to investor data from the RootData platform, in terms of the number of launches in the past year, most VCs in Chinese-speaking regions have adopted a more conservative investment strategy, and the number of shots taken was less than 10. Of course, there are alsoAnimoca Brands、OKX Ventures、HashKey Capital、SNZ Holding、Waterdrip Capital、Mask Network、Nomad Capital、NGC VenturesUntil the leading venture capital firms have maintained high-frequency transactions, they have launched more than 20 times in the past year.IOSG Ventures、Fenbushi Capital, SevenX Ventures,LongHash Ventures、PakaAlthough the number of investments made in the past year is still greater than 10, the number of investments has decreased significantly compared to the previous year.
This article sorts out the current situation of major Chinese-language VCs/VCs founded by Chinese people that have had few launches in the past year.
(Note: The data in this article is based on publicly disclosed investments. It is not ruled out that there may be undisclosed internal operations or investments, which may differ from actual investment data.)
Continue Captial
Continue Captial, founded by Bitcoin OG Pima (Pima), has invested only 0 in the past year. The most recent investment was in March of last year, and participated in io.net's Series A financing. Pima is a senior investor in the cryptocurrency industry. He entered the digital currency field in 2013 and has invested in many well-known blockchain projects. Currently, both the two co-founders and Continue Captial are in a “lying flat” state, and neither the official blog nor Twitter are operating. The most recent update on Continue Captial was in October of last year.Continue CapitalCo-founder Lin Xiahong is suspected to have stolen $35 million. Lin Xiahong himself responded by posting an article on the X platform: “As soon as it was accidentally revealed that I didn't leave the club, I passively made headlines in charity.”
LD Capital
LD Capital has made only 8 investments in the past year. The most recent investment was in September of last year, which is a significant reduction in the frequency of previous investments. LD Capital also has businesses such as secondary market investments and trading funds. Its funds include Beco Fund, FoF, hedge funds, and Meta Fund. In 2023, LD Capital also established Cycle Ventures, an early-stage investment fund focused on Infra, AI, and Dapps.
In response to the VC dilemma, Lee Lihua, founder of LD Capital, said that the decline of Web3 investors was due to changes in hedging rules, low investment success rates, and “good projects, undervaluation, and large amounts” constituting a “triangular problem” that investors cannot balance. He also pointed out that in the end, many investors only get a quota of a few points, and may not only bear financial losses, but also face reputational risks.
Bixin Ventures
Bixin Ventures, founded by OG Starry Sky in the Chinese currency industry, has invested only 5 in the past year. The most recent investment was in January of this year, and the number of investments was significantly lower than in 2024. Bixin Ventures is the investment division of Bixin Group. Founded in 2014, Bixin Group is one of Asia's largest cryptocurrency wallet providers, dedicated to providing users with tools to store and manage blockchain assets. Bixin Ventures' social media is still operating regularly, and team members are active on social media.
Starry Sky, the founder of Bixin Ventures, also recently spat on social media: “If you spend money and become a big enemy, this probably explains the fate of VC in the coin industry.” “Everyone has misunderstandings about VC. VC is the biggest leap in the coin industry, and VC's LP is the worst presence in the coin industry. The money earned by exchanges, project parties, and KOLs are all VCCs”.
LK Venture
LK Venture is organized byMars FinanceA venture capital agency founded by founder Wang Feng that invests in blockchain technology and application projects, formerly known as Consensus Lab (Consensus Lab). LK Venture has made only 2 investments in the past year. The most recent investment was in August of last year. Despite the suspension of Tier 1 investments, two partners, Wang Feng and Leo Deng, are active on social media.
Wang Feng, founder of LK Venture, also founded the NFT marketelement, encrypted media MarsBit News. Recently, in addition to encryption, Wang Feng is closely following new technologies such as AI and robots on social media. In a recent post, he stated, “Bitcoin, Ethereum, and SOL are the company's successful crypto asset portfolio. As for Bitcoin, we still have to “gamble” and reserve, and we are also concerned about XRP and SUI. It's not ruled out that we fully adopt a Bitcoin-based management company.”
Mint Ventures
Mint Ventures hasn't invested in the primary market for almost a year, with the most recent investment being in November 2022. The focus of its business gradually shifted to investment and research and the secondary market, and its social networking platform and podcast “WEB3 Mint To Be” are still being updated frequently.
Youbi Capital
Youbi Capital made only 3 investments in the past year. The most recent investment was in November of last year, and the number of investments decreased after 2022. Youbi Capital's official social networking platform is still maintaining regular post-investment service operations. Chen Li is an early domestic Bitcoin miner. He has a doctorate degree in chemistry, worked as a scientist at Regenerative Pharmaceutical, and received an award for developing antibody drugs. He came into contact with Bitcoin mining through his college roommate in 2015, then co-founded Youbi Capital in 2017.
EVG
Everest Ventures Group(EVG) The number of investments in the past year was only 7. The most recent investment was in November of last year. The number of investments decreased significantly compared to 2024. However, EVG is strictly an operating group. Its business scope is very broad. The group has a global team of 300 people, has built and launched a diverse product portfolio covering various use cases, such as the crypto asset management platform Aspen Digital, and has launched a series of products involving SocialFi, GameFi, and fintech, such as the DeFi product Mugen Interactive, the cryptocurrency social investment platform Kikitrade, and LiveArt.
Incurable Labs
Investing Labs has made only 1 investment in the past year. The most recent investment was in July of last year. Its founder, Raymond Yuan, has many years of experience in venture capital and has a successful investment record in the fields of semiconductors, TMT, artificial intelligence, etc. In 2016, he switched to the crypto industry and founded CTH Group. The three core businesses include Blockchain Infrastructure as a Service Atlas, Cryptocurrency Venture Labs, and Digital Asset Management iDEG. In 2023, Raymond Yuan also founded WSPN, a global digital payment company, and launched the US dollar stablecoin WUSD.
DeFiance Capital
DeFiance Capital made only 1 investment in the past year. The most recent investment was in May of last year, and the number of investments decreased significantly. The latest was the founder's own angel round of financing for the MIT-Harvard team Optimum. Despite fewer moves, DeFiance Capital is still active on social media and is still hiring at the beginning of the year. Founder Arthur Cheong continues to export as a well-known KOL. Recently, he said that the project and market makers conspired to manipulate prices, and CEX turned a blind eye to it, which is the main reason why the current market is unable to invest.
Matrixport Ventures
MatrixportVentures has invested only 2 times in the past year. The most recent investment was in December of last year. There were 8 votes in 2024. Matrixport Ventures is the venture capital division of Matrixport, Asia's largest crypto financial services platform. The founder of Matrixport isWu JihanMatrixport products include Cactus Custody, OTC trading, fixed income, structured products, loans, and asset management.
Basics Capital
Basics Capital made only 4 investments in the past year. The most recent investment was in December of last year, which is significantly lower than the number of investments made in 2024.
7 O'Clock Capital
7 O'Clock Capital has invested 0 times in the past year. The most recent investment was in April of last year. Its social networking platform is still in regular operation, but investment and research are basically at a standstill.
Old Fashion Research
Old Fashion ResearchThe number of investments in the past year was only 1; the most recent investment was in September of last year. OFR is a multi-strategy blockchain investment fund founded by team members in July 2021 by former Binance executives and the investment team. At the beginning of last year, a number of partners left their jobs.
Puzzle Ventures
Puzzle Ventures has made only 3 investments in the past year. The most recent investment was in December of last year. Its founder, Qi Wang, is also a decentralized trading platformDODOCo-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Secondary Market Liquidity FundMetrics VenturesCo-founder and general partner of. Puzzle Ventures's official and founders have not been very active on social media recently.
Redline DAO
Redline DAOThe number of investments in the past year was only 1; the most recent investment was in August of last year. At the beginning of 2024, Redline DAO announced its upgrade to Redline Labs, announcing a shift from investment to full project incubation. The research focus after the project will continue to monitor the development of blockchains such as BTC and Solana and the growth of the ecosystem. Its founder and managing partner, Kris Li himself, is a successful trader with an eye on the secondary market.
In addition to the above crypto-native funds, there are also comprehensive venture capital firms in Chinese-speaking regions that have drastically reduced the number of investments in the crypto sector
Zonff Partners has made only 2 investments in the past year. The most recent investment was in November;
Danhua Capital (DHVC) made only 0 investments in the past year. The most recent investment was in June of last year;
Yunjiu Capital (Sky9) has invested only 5 times in the past year. The most recent investment was in August of last year. Niu Fengxuan, the partner responsible for investing in the crypto sector, left his job in April last year;
Huofeng Capital (Huofeng Capital) has invested only 2 times in the past year. The most recent investment was in November of last year.
