According to a report by Financial News, Singapore-based venture capital firm Life.Sreda has joined forces with fintech expert Chris Skinner to launch a venture fund that will invest in Blockchain startups.
The new venture fund called Banking on Blockchain Fund, has launched with an initial capital infusion of $5 million from Life.SREDA, but the near-term goal of the venture is to expand its capital base to $50 million by the end of 2016.
Skinner, who has advised large financial institutions like Lloyds on emerging technologies, clarified that the Banking on Blockchain Fund will ease investor fears by doing thorough due diligence on all fintech firms the fund invests in:
“We will also provide the banks with research outputs and consulting based on the knowledge gathered from the firms we invest in.” he said.
Thomas Labenbacher, who previously held an executive position at Fidor Bank – which currently works with the San Francisco-based Kraken digital currency exchange – has been appointed Managing Director of the new blockchain-focused fund.
The Life.SREDA fund also has many investments in various payment networks such as social network payment platform Fastacash, and Ayannah, a payment service for the unbanked in emerging markets.
