Meltem Demirors has become a prominent voice in the blockchain industry through her work at the digital asset investment firm CoinShares and her 263,000-follower count in the trenches of Crypto Twitter. After investing in hundreds of companies at CoinShares and as an angel investor, Demirors is launching her own venture firm called Crucible Capital, according to forms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.
The Delaware-based Crucible is raising two separate funds with an intended size of $30 million and $45 million, with Demirors listed as the managing member of the general partner. Both forms indicate that the funds have yet to receive outside capital. This does not necessarily mean that the funds have not received informal funding commitments, or that Demirors has already raised through other corporate vehicles. Demirors declined to comment.
The crypto sector has been on a roller-coaster ride in 2024 as prices reached all-time highs but have also experienced big declines, including Monday’s crash, which was the worst since 2022. Meanwhile, the venture industry has returned to the sector after an extended period when deals and investments had nearly dried up altogether. This year, the median size of deals climbed from $3 million in the first quarter to $3.2 million in the second quarter, according to data from Galaxy Research. Venture funds have also seen massive raises, including Paradigm announcing a new $850 million fund in June.
While Demirors’s Crucible is aiming for a more modest $75 million, the filings indicate continued appetite among investors in the digital assets sector, especially as its political fortunes appear to improve in the U.S.
Crypto veteran
Demirors is widely known for her often irreverent posts on X, but she has also long been a power player in the industry through her work at CoinShares and as an angel investor. According to her website, Demirors has invested in crypto projects including the custody firm Anchorage, the predictions platform Polymarket, and the website naming service Unstoppable Domains.
According to her LinkedIn, Demirors left CoinShares in January. She appeared in her new role as general partner at Crucible Capital in an announcement that she would be speaking at Korea Blockchain Week in September. Crucible also has a website, describing itself as a seed-stage investment fund focused on four categories, including digital infrastructure, capital markets, and marketplaces.
Crucible will join a crowded field of crypto venture firms, which range from small outfits focused on sectors such as gaming and DeFi to megafunds including Paradigm and Haun Ventures that have raised billions of dollars. Unlike traditional venture capital, where investors back companies by taking equity stakes, crypto VC firms often act more like hedge funds through active investing in liquid assets, ranging from Bitcoin to memecoins. The filings do not indicate whether Crucible will pursue liquid investing strategies, although such firms typically have to register under a special category with the SEC as investment advisors.
Even with the venture landscape thawing for crypto, investment remains focused on early-stage deals, with few prospects of exits for larger firms. According to Galaxy, early-stage companies received 78% of capital in the second quarter of 2024, with just 20% going to later-stage firms.