Participated · Equity · Aug 2025

Build on Bitcoin (BOB) is creating a technology stack that makes Bitcoin-based DeFi possible, positioning itself as the “Gateway to Bitcoin DeFi.” Its core product is the first hybrid zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup designed for Bitcoin, which the team has already brought to testnet. BOB has also launched a BitVM bridge in collaboration with institutional partners and introduced the first Bitcoin intents system that offers one-click BTC access across major chains. The project plans an imminent token generation event (TGE) and a full transition to community governance, reflecting its goal of decentralized ownership. To date, BOB has secured more than $25 million in funding, comprising $21 million from seed and strategic rounds plus a recently completed community sale. This capital is being used to refine its rollup technology, expand cross-chain connectivity, and onboard users and developers into Bitcoin-based DeFi.

Led · Equity · Jul 2024

Mezo, built by Thesis and led by founder Matt Luongo (also Thesis CEO), is a permissionless Bitcoin economic layer that amplifies Bitcoin infrastructure while preserving BTC-first principles. Its core product facilitates cheap, efficient transactions and provides access to real-world applications through Thesis-built components like tBTC for trust-minimized bridging. The protocol supports staking via stBTC and Acre, Thesis’ Bitcoin-in, Bitcoin-out staking platform. Mezo will use the new capital to accelerate technology development and grow the BitcoinFi ecosystem, including integrations with partners such as Acre and wallet providers to enable Bitcoin “log in” via hardware and web wallets like Unisat, OKX, and Xverse. Ledger plans to integrate Mezo directly into its suite of products, with further integration details to be disclosed. Operational metrics reported to date include $124.5M in total value locked and 2,152 Bitcoin deposited in the protocol; total funding now stands at $30M following Mezo’s April 2024 launch. Mezo is a permissionless Bitcoin Economic Layer launched by Thesis, a NYC-based venture studio, and led by CEO Matt Luongo. It provides a neutral smart-contract infrastructure that is Bitcoin-native and aims to enable cheap, fast transactions for diverse user-centric use cases. Mezo uses a Proof of HODL mechanism that rewards users with yield and increases HODL Score multipliers the longer bitcoin deposits are locked. New users receive five one-time invitations to onboard friends, with reciprocal earnings tied to the size and duration of invited users’ deposits. Mezo plans to go live with ecosystem support from Thesis-built tBTC for trust-minimized bitcoin bridging. The company intends to use the recently raised capital to expand operations and accelerate development efforts.

Participated · Series A · Mar 2024

Baanx is a London, UK–based B2B2C service provider focused on digital-asset friendly financial services. Its core products include physical and virtual debit cards, digital wallets, IBANs/DDA accounts, borrowing/lending, remittance/FX, payment gateways and related payments infrastructure. The company also offers white-label, fully managed applications to user communities to support mass adoption of blockchain technology, digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Led by CEO Garth Howat, Baanx positions itself as a bridge between Web3 technology and the financial services sector. The company raised $20m in a Series A and has raised a total of more than $30m to date. It intends to use the new funds to expand operations, broaden its business reach and support development efforts. Baanx positions itself as a future-facing cryptobank network delivering fiat and crypto mobile banking services and a mobile wallet. Its product roadmap includes insured custody of crypto assets, multi-exchange integration for best-price crypto purchases, virtual cards for crypto-and-fiat payments, white‑labeling and bank‑license sharing to deploy cryptobanks, and crypto‑secured lending and short‑term stablecoin loans. The company says subsidiaries have completed millions in consumer loans in the EU and that it has agreements for up to 1.3 million customers to start using its wallet and services. Baanx is conducting a token pre-sale and has announced a $2 million investment tied to that sale. The team is described as having extensive banking and fintech experience from firms such as JP Morgan, Mastercard, Commerzbank, and UBS. The group states its goal is to simplify and secure crypto‑market payments and enable mass adoption through a combined blockchain crypto and fiat system.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2022

Flowdesk combines deep financial and crypto expertise with algorithmic trading and a proprietary trading platform to provide liquidity and OTC trading. Its technology is engineered to bring control and transparency to digital asset markets and support capital-efficient trading. The firm says it connects digital assets to global liquidity and is scaling to meet growing crypto credit market needs. Flowdesk announced a secured credit facility to support continued global expansion and its trading infrastructure. The company operates globally with offices in France, Singapore, and the U.S. and was founded in 2020. Flowdesk is a digital asset trading and technology firm that operates as a liquidity provider and OTC trading firm, combining financial and crypto expertise with algorithmic trading and a proprietary trading platform. Its technology is engineered to bring control and transparency to digital asset markets and to connect digital assets to global liquidity. The company plans to use the funds to scale its OTC derivatives business and to launch a dedicated crypto credit desk. In March 2025 Flowdesk raised $102M in equity financing alongside a debt facility from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. Founded in 2020 and led by CEO Guilhem Chaumont, Flowdesk operates globally with offices in France, Singapore, and the U.S. The firm intends to broaden its services to meet the evolving needs of the digital asset market. Flowdesk provides market making, OTC and treasury management solutions, including a Market Making as a Service (MMaaS) product that uses low-latency trading infrastructure and a global team for liquidity provision. The company serves token issuers, exchanges and institutional clients while allowing issuers to retain control of their treasury. Flowdesk plans to use new funding to consolidate its position as a service provider and to expand its OTC offering. It also intends to broaden regulatory coverage in Singapore and the US, open offices in financial hubs and make key hires. Led by CEO and co-founder Guilhem Chaumont, Flowdesk was founded in 2020 and is based in Paris with offices in Singapore and North America. Flowdesk, founded in 2020, builds infrastructure that allows cryptocurrencies to interconnect and trade on multiple exchanges while providing redundancy and scalability. The company offers four services: asset management, brokerage, custody and market-making. Its platform currently interconnects with more than 60 cryptocurrency exchange platforms. Flowdesk is based in Paris and opened an office in Singapore in March 2022; with the new funding it plans to open an office in the U.S. The startup raised $30 million to drive growth of financial services for cryptocurrencies and to develop its technological infrastructure. Management says the funds will accelerate operations to meet demand in Europe, Asia and North America and to scale market-making capabilities for a future with more tokenised assets.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2022

Starton provides development tools that abstract blockchain backend complexity so developers and companies can focus on their product rather than infrastructure. Its platform simplifies blockchain integration, purportedly enabling integration with just a few lines of code, which saves time and money and improves allocation of human resources. The company plans to build an academy and offer specialised web3 training to grow the next generation of blockchain developers. It will use recent funding to recruit talent, accelerate product development, and support broader adoption of web3. Starton also plans geographic expansion, launching in new markets across Europe and the U.S. The company was founded in 2020 by Cédric Cervantes and Fabien Poggi and is Paris-based.