New $50m Venture Fund Aims to Bridge East-West DeFi Investment Divide

Singapore-based digital asset investment firm Spartan Group announced a new $50m venture fund Tuesday that it said will invest in emerging decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems.

• The fund has raised over $30 million in its first round, with further $20 million expected in a subsequent round likely taking place in March or April.
• Spartan aims to fill the gap between the Western and Asian markets, focusing on go-to-market strategies to boost early stage investments in DeFi projects.
• The group manages over $200 million across its various funds at present and has previously invested in DeFi protocols including MakerDao, Kyber Network, Yearn and Synthetic, via its Global Blockchain Opportunities Fund.
• Recently, Spartan joined a $10 million Series B funding round in trading venue dYdX led by Three Arrows Capital and DeFinance Capital.
• Kelvin Koh, co-founder of Spartan Group and former partner at Goldman Sachs, said the aim is to “create significant disruptions to the existing financial system over the next 20 years” through DeFi and fintech.

See also: Big Guns Back $10M Investment in DeFi’s dYdX