Arrington Capital bets $100m on Algorand blockchain
15:31, 11 June 2021
TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington’s digital asset management firm Arrington Capital has launched a new $100m fund to support initiatives building on Algorand (ALGO), a leading blockchain accelerating the convergence of decentralised and traditional finance.
The Arrington Algorand Growth Fund (AAGF) will invest in Algorand-focused projects, including liquid and illiquid coins, to empower projects that are creating new financial applications in the Algorand ecosystem.
“We are inspired by the traction that Algorand has in the market right now. With unmatched tech, robust developer resources and a vision for long-term sustainability, Algorand is empowering its community to more easily create the future of finance,” said Michael Arrington, a partner at Arrington Capital.
This is the firm’s second fund focusing on investments in blockchain-based technologies after the Arrington XRP Capital, which invests in the Ripple (XRP) blockchain.
Founded in 2017 by TechCrunch and CrunchBase founder Michael Arrington and TechCrunch CEO Heather Harde, Arrington Capital currently has over $1bn worth of assets under management, according to a press release.
Algorand boasts “significant growth and adoption”
Launched in 2017, Algorand is the brainchild of Turing Award-winning cryptographer Silvio Micali. Algorand describes itself as a technology company dedicated to removing friction from financial exchange by enabling the creation and exchange of value, building new financial tools and services, bringing assets on-chain and providing responsible privacy models.
Bitcoin wallet firm Exodus recently announced it would convert its common stock into security tokens on the Algorand blockchain. MAPay, a global healthcare technology firm with a focus on decentralised payment networks, also announced it will introduce its own stablecoin on Algorand to improve the efficiency of the healthcare system, starting in Bermuda.
Other examples of Algorand adoption include Bnext processing an initial $100m in remittances in Europe and Latin America on Algorand, and SAP providing an open connector API to give its enterprise customers inter-operability between SAP and the public Algorand blockchain.
“The Arrington Algorand Growth Fund represents yet another key strategic pillar in supporting the momentum of those building on top of what we think is the best technical platform for regulated defi and the future of finance,” said W. Sean Ford, COO of Algorand.
So far, Algorand has drawn more than 0$0.5bn in investment from various groups that support its development.
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Moving up in a declining market
The algorand (ALGO) has also felt the pain of the recent turmoil in the crypto market. Its price has declined by over 40% compared to its peak in mid-April, similarly to Bitcoin, but resisted better than other altcoins.
Compared to the end of last year, the algorand is still up 160% compared to an increase of just 25% for bitcoin.
Algorand has thus moved up to 31st in the coin ranking based on market cap, with a current capitalisation of $3.2bn, according to Coinmarketcap.com data.
Read more: Bitcoin rises above ,000 overnight but slips again
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