Crypto Venture Firm to Invest 200K Ether in US Startups

A China-based venture capital firm focused on the blockchain industry is launching a U.S. branch with 200,000 ethereum available to invest in blockchain startups – an amount that worth $86 million at press time.

According to a WeChat post published by the company, Node Capital, the plan was announced during an event in San Jose, California, on Wednesday. The VC firm detailed that it will set up a U.S. office with a local team aimed to increase its portfolio of blockchain startups from the Silicon Valley.

The company did not provide an expected timeline for its U.S. launch.

Currently the Beijing-based firm has invested in over 160 crypto startups, 80 percent of which are from China, according to Du Jun, founder of Node Capital, who spoke at the event.

Some of the more notable startups the firm has invested in include hardware wallet maker Coldlar and Jinse Finance, one of the largest crypto media outlets in China. Node has also backed over 20 crypto exchanges, such as FCoin, a new platform that has made headlines recently with its controversial "trans-fee mining" revenue model.

Du Jun was also one of the first investors in China to have become active in the cryptocurrency industry. He notably co-founded the Huobi exchange in 2013 with Li Lin, CEO of Huobi Group.

Ethereum image via Shutterstock