Pension Funds Put $50 Million Into Morgan Creek's New Blockchain Fund

Morgan Creek Digital raised the first $50 million for its second venture capital fund from the same two large institutional investors in its first.

AccessTimeIconOct 22, 2019 at 8:15 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 18, 2021 at 11:45 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

Morgan Creek Digital has raised the first $60.9 million tranche of its $250 million target for its second venture capital fund.

Morgan Creek revealed exclusively to CoinDesk that the same institutions from the first fund, including two public pension funds, have increased their investments in the second by more than twofold.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • Together, Fairfax County’s Virginia’s Police Officer’s Retirement System and Employees’ Retirement System are investing a combined $50 million in the second fund, up from $21 million in its first fund that closed in February.

    Commitments from other institutional investors including Wakemed Health and Hospitals, an insurance company and a university endowment make up the remaining $10 million of the tranche.

    In an interview with CoinDesk, Morgan Creek Capital partner Anthony Pompliano said the decision was taken to split the full $250 million raise into tranches, with no date yet set for its close.

    “We hear folks saying institutions aren’t interested, but this initial close along with the conversations we’re having with tens of other institutions, shows that there is no lack of interest.”

    The second fund will be primarily focused on seed investments in equity, like the first fund, which included investments in what Pompliano called “blockchain infrastructure” companies like Bitwise and BlockFi.

    “When you see the quality of the LPs in this fund, it speaks to the work that these infrastructure companies have done over the last 18 to 24 months,” Pompliano said.

    For its first fund, Morgan Creek raised $40 million, with stronger-than-expected investor demand leading the company to exceed its initial fundraising target of $25 million.

    Combined with the Digital Asset Index Fund, a crypto index fund managed by Bitwise Asset Management, Morgan Creek has more than $100 million assets under management.

    “We raised the first fund for specific investments,” Pompliano said, while the $250 million fund is “more institutionally sized.”

    “For the LPs that are investing with us, this is a size that they’re used to.”

    Anthony Pompliano via CoinDesk archives

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.