Galaxy Ventures Fund I LP Soars to $180 Million, Defying Crypto VC Slump!

Mike Novogratz's Visionary Fund Surpasses Goals, Eyes June Close

Billionaire Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Ventures Fund I LP is smashing through the crypto scene, poised to rake in a whopping $180 million by June! This powerhouse fund is all about pumping cash into the next big thing in early-stage crypto and blockchain startups, with a laser focus on payments and stablecoins.

Get this: according to some hush-hush sources spilled in a recent Bloomberg report, this beast of a fund has already blasted past its initial $150 million target. They're now gunning to close out between $175 and $180 million. Talk about setting the bar high!

Mark your calendars, folks - the final close is set for the end of June. Galaxy's playing it cool, keeping the numbers under wraps, and their spokesperson? Tight-lipped as ever.

Galaxy Ventures Fund I isn't messing around. They're diving headfirst into early-stage companies that are building the backbone and financial tools for the crypto economy. Their current lineup? A who's who of innovators like synthetic dollar issuer Ethena, stablecoin-focused DeFi protocol M^Zero, layer-1 blockchain Monad, asset tokenisation chain Plume, and Renzo, the Ethereum restaking champs via EigenLayer.

Remember June 2024? That's when Galaxy Asset Management dropped the bomb that they'd already scooped up $113 million. Back then, they were all about backing startups crafting crypto protocols, software, and financialized apps.

Steve Kurz, Galaxy's global head of asset management, couldn't contain his excitement in a July press release: "This fund will strengthen our commitment to fostering innovation in the digital asset space, enabling us to back visionary startups and gain unparalleled insights into the emerging technologies that will shape both our company and the future of finance."

With general partners Will Nuelle and Mike Giampapa at the helm, this fund's mission is clear: build a portfolio of around 30 game-changing investments to help institutions and startups dive into the onchain economy.

Here's the kicker: Galaxy's venture ops were shuffled under its asset management division before this fund even launched. And get this - they're pulling in cash like it's going out of style, even as the broader crypto VC scene struggles to get back on its feet.

In Q1 2025, U.S. crypto venture deals took a 22% nosedive year-on-year, clocking in at about $1.3 billion. Meanwhile, the AI crowd's been hogging the spotlight, snagging a whopping 58% of global VC dollars during the same time.

A February report from the analytics gurus at Pitchbook laid it all out: the market's playing it safe, even with Bitcoin hitting $100,000 in late 2024. Median crypto VC deal sizes? They've plummeted nearly 90% since 2018.

Robert Le from PitchBook put it bluntly: the days of raising cash with just a white paper are ancient history. Today's founders need "a significant amount of traction or something else other than a technical white paper."

But don't count crypto out just yet. Le's still betting on a comeback in 2025, projecting over $18 billion in venture capital to flood back into the crypto space. Buckle up, folks - the ride's just getting started!