A venture capital firm, CMCC Global, is looking to raise $300 million in its latest crypto funding — courting the attention of Richard Li, a billionaire investor.
Li is (most) likely to sink his millions of dollars into the Hong Kong-based company, as a way to future-proof the firm’s emerging Blockchain technologies and applications.
CMCC Global is eight months old (launched in April) with an estimated value of nearly $90 million (from its fourth cryptocurrency token funding). The company is projected to reach a valuation of $300 million early next year.
Richard Li, a billionaire partner at CMCC Global who led the previous funding via his investment manager Pacific Century Group, is likely to take over the latest crypto funding (along with other existing blockchain investors).
High-end investor in Solana blockchain
CMCC Global is a high-end investor in Solana and has been investing in the blockchain since 2016 — when Charlie Morris and Martin Baumann founded CMCC Global. By the way, Andreessen Horowitz also backs CMCC Global.
In 2018, CMCC Global invested $1 million in Solana’s private sale when the blockchain platform was going for a mere $0.20 a crypto coin.
Currently, Solana blockchain is among the largest digital currencies in the world. At some point, Solana was going for $200 a coin. The company has also invested in Terra and Cosmos (both are blockchain protocols).
Gemini invests in CMCC Global holdings
While Baumann and Morris are majority shareholders in CMCC, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (founders of Gemini Trust Co.) including Richard Li, are high-end investors in the company’s holding entity.
Daniel Wong, a senior VP of Pacific Century Group, believes that what tips the scales in favor of Baumann and Morris is that they’re “able to get into crypto projects and get connected with founders early on”.
Tyler Winklevoss says he first met them two years ago while on a trip to Asia. Their fund’s investment approach impressed Tyler — leading him to invest in CMCC Global. He adds that the duo’s track record precedes them “and speaks for itself”.
CMCC Global is planning to launch a new crypto equity fund in Asia, specifically Hong Kong. The company is currently applying for a license with Hong Kong regulators.
But CMCC’s Bitcoin passive tracker fund is yet to get an operational license. The fund, launched in 2019, boasts around $15 million worth of digital assets. In future, CMCC plans to invest in NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and DeFi (decentralized finance).
