Crypto Asset Manager Valkyrie Lost the Biggest Investor in Its $11M Funding Round

Valkyrie is seeking other ways to raise the money, which the company initially said it didn’t really need.

AccessTimeIconOct 19, 2022 at 10:36 p.m. UTC
Updated May 9, 2023 at 4:00 a.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Months after announcing it had raised $11.15 million, crypto asset manager Valkyrie Investments earlier this month revealed – quietly – that the biggest participant in the funding round reneged, leaving Valkyrie scrambling to find others to fill the gap.

In a letter that went largely unnoticed until now, Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald wrote that an entity she called CSA Evolution VC Fund was no longer able to contribute $5 million toward the transaction.

  • How NEAR Enables Multichain Access From One Account
    00:56
    How NEAR Enables Multichain Access From One Account
  • Why the NEAR foundation Chose Eigenlayer as a Security Partner
    00:54
    Why the NEAR foundation Chose Eigenlayer as a Security Partner
  • Judge Kaplan Had 'No Love' for Sam Bankman-Fried, Legal Expert Says
    07:08
    Judge Kaplan Had 'No Love' for Sam Bankman-Fried, Legal Expert Says
  • How Bitcoin and Ether's Options Contracts Combined Expiry Could Spike Volatility
    01:11
    How Bitcoin and Ether's Options Contracts Combined Expiry Could Spike Volatility
  • "We had a signed subscription doc in-hand, and their [limited partners] were blue chip firms that have impeccable reputations in the business," she wrote in the letter dated Oct. 7. "In the months that have since passed, though, those LPs backed out and the investor was unable to meet its obligation." She went on to say that Valkyrie was looking for other investors to step in.

    When reached Wednesday, a Valkyrie spokesperson said, "we of course are in advanced talks with a number of potential investors who have expressed interest in our firm, and hope to have positive news in the coming weeks."

    Before the publication of this story, there was a single Google search result for CSA Evolution VC Fund: Wald's letter. There are signs, however, that there is an association of some kind with Clear Sky Advisers, a Houston-based firm that describes itself as an investor in "environmental credits and companies focused on decarbonization, electrification and resource sustainability."

    First, there's the obvious: Clear Sky Advisers can logically be shortened to CSA. But far more significantly than that, Valkyrie's June press release on the more than $11 million fundraising listed, among others, a participant it called "Clearsky." There was no mention of CSA Evolution VC Fund.

    Furthermore, there's a person who clearly connects Valkyrie and Clear Sky Advisers. The CEO of the latter, Shawn Singh, is mentioned in Valkyrie regulatory filings for its exchange-traded funds (ETF). He is listed, for instance, as a trustee of the Valkyrie ETF Trust II.

    Clear Sky Advisers declined to comment. Singh did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

    Funding snafu

    In June, Valkyrie Chief Investment Officer Steven McClurg downplayed the importance of Valkyrie's raise. He told CoinDesk that Valkyrie had even declined some offers, which were unsolicited. In the end, the decision to accept the investments was “less about the money and more about [forming] strategic partnerships” with key industry players, McClurg said. “We really weren’t anticipating raising any capital right now."

    That message conflicts with Valkyrie's own regulatory filings.

    In March, the company told the Securities and Exchange Commission it was seeking to raise $20 million and already had $5.1 million in fresh capital banked. (Valkyrie's previous funding round was a $10 million Series A in June 2021).

    And Wald's comments suggest Valkyrie is still hungry for capital.

    "Over the past few months, we explored a number of avenues and potential solutions to get the promised investment in the door," she wrote. "In fact, the firm’s principal recently made an investment from his own personal funds." And now Valkyrie has "decided for now to pursue alternative funding sources, including additional investors."

    Valkyrie had hoped to use venture capital money to fund its staking and mining operations and ultimately court more institutional investors in the digital assets space. The firm currently runs several operations, including a decentralized finance (DeFi) hedge fund, three ETFs listed on Nasdaq, several protocol trusts and a protocol treasury management business. In the second quarter, the firm reported $1.2 billion in assets under management.

    "It pains me to have to write this letter," Wald wrote. "Thankfully, we are already talking to a handful of prominent investors who may be willing to step in and fill this gap, and are eager to move past this challenge."

    Disclosure

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

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Elizabeth Napolitano

    Elizabeth Napolitano was a news reporter at CoinDesk.


    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.


    Read more about