Union Square Ventures

Union Square Ventures (USV) is a New York-based venture capital firm that largely funds startups in the internet and mobile industries and has been a major investor in blockchain startups.

USV was founded in 2003 by Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham, and was an early investor in Twitter, Etsy, Tumblr, and Kickstarter.

USV’s blockchain investments include crypto exchange Coinbase, decentralized computing network Blockstack, Dapp platform Algorand, decentralized wireless network Helium, and Ethereum-based digital collectibles app Cryptokitties. It is also a member of the Libra Association, the consortium set up by Facebook to create a stablecoin.

In 2018, USV sought to influence the regulation of blockchain-based tokens, and met with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with Andreesen Horowitz, another influential VC firm in the industry. The firms reportedly claimed that cryptographic tokens do not constitute investments (securities), but rather are a means of accessing blockchain-based services and networks as “utility tokens.”

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Matthew Kimmell