Crypto VC C1, an Offspring of Coinbase, Targets Australian Acquisition

• C1, a Crypto Venture Capital Firm, Offers to Buy Private Holdings from Investors
• Initial Contact with Animoca Brands and Chainalysis
• Australia's Stance on Cryptocurrency
• Insights into C1's Strategy
• Recent Developments

C1, a Crypto Venture Capital Firm, Offers to Buy Private Holdings from Investors

The crypto venture capital firm C1, spearheaded by former Coinbase executives, is currently in discussions with several cryptocurrency groups and Australian venture companies. The firm has proposed to purchase private holdings from investors using its $500 million ($AUD 760 million) fund, as per information from the Australian Financial Review.

Initial Contact with Animoca Brands and Chainalysis

Among the cryptocurrency firms C1 has contacted are Animoca Brands and Chainalysis. The former is a venture capital firm with a focus on gaming and metaverse, while the latter specializes in blockchain analysis. C1's offer to these firms involves buying private holdings from investors at a discounted rate, somewhere between 50% and 80% off their last valuation, the report details.

Australia's Stance on Cryptocurrency

Australia has been generally cautious regarding the larger crypto industry, especially after the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX$3.28 -5.38%. The Australian government has proposed a regime which might require digital asset platforms in Australia to wait until 2025 to receive a license. Furthermore, the nation's tax guidelines have been updated to apply capital gains tax on wrapped tokens. The government has also announced that it has no plans to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the foreseeable future. However, as the crypto market is progressively gaining momentum, sentiment towards crypto might be shifting in Australia.

Insights into C1's Strategy

The report ascribes its information to a pitch deck that outlines C1's strategy. C1 is reportedly seeking out entities that had a minimum valuation of $300 million in their last funding round, preferably Series C and later. Furthermore, C1 is planning to make investments ranging between $20 million and $50 million. The pitch deck, as per the report, states: Due to current market conditions in the public and private markets, hyperinflation and rising interest rates, we believe the digital assets market offers very attractive valuations in the secondary market.

C1 had not authorized the article, and there had been no direct meetings with either Animoca Brands or Chainalysis at the time of the report, as per a statement by Dr. Najam Kidwai, co-founder and managing partner of C1. There was no immediate response from Animoca and Chainalysis to the source's request for comments.

Recent Developments

Update (Dec. 11, 06:57 UTC): A recent update includes a comment from C1.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker