Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal raises $50M for Web3 fund

Cryptocurrency entrepreneur and Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal has raised $50 million for a new startup fund dedicated to Web3 companies, underscoring venture capital’s growing interest in the blockchain-powered internet. 

Nailwal’s venture firm, Symbolic Capital, is backed by cryptocurrency protocols, exchanges, crypto-focused auditing firms and other venture capital investors, the company disclosed Thursday. Symbolic’s fund has already invested in three blockchain-focused gaming startups: BlinkMoon, Planet Mojo and Community Gaming. The initial funding received by these startups was not disclosed.

In perhaps a new take on venture funding, Nailwal said his company is focused on supporting project founders from emerging markets. “Starting Polygon in India, we struggled to get connected to VCs that believed in our vision and abilities as founders,” he said.

Nailwal co-founded Polygon in 2017 in India before relocating to Dubai two years later. In an interview with Bloomberg, Nailwal said he left his home country due to a lack of regulatory clarity around crypto.

Related: VC Roundup: Lightning Network payment rail, DeFi trading platform and blockchain security firm raise millions

Like other crypto-focused VCs, Symbolic Capital is focused heavily on Web3 projects, or solutions that will advance the decentralized internet. As reported by Cointelegraph, two Web3-focused funds were announced earlier this month — CoinFund launched a $300 million venture and Shima Capital debuted with a $200 million commitment.

According to Cointelegraph Research, Web3 projects represented the lion’s share of crypto venture funding in the second quarter, accounting for 42% of individual deals. Venture funds invested a whopping $14.67 billion into crypto startups between April and June, matching their allotment in the first quarter. 

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