Global Asset Manager VanEck Is Placing a Huge Bet on Avalanche

VanEck is launching a new private digital assets fund dubbed “VanEck PurposeBuilt Fund” that will focus on Avalanche-based businesses.

Global asset manager VanEck is making a huge move with the planned launch of its private digital assets fund dubbed “VanEck PurposeBuilt Fund.” The fund will be focusing on Avalanche (CRYPTO: AVAX) businesses.

What Happened: As reported by Blockworks, the asset manager is setting the fund to go live in June. It will be designed for accredited investors looking to back utility-driven Web3 projects.

The fund will focus on thriving sections of the Web3 market, including payments, artificial intelligence (AI), gaming, decentralized finance (DeFi), and real-world assets (RWA).

The asset manager says the fund will target venture-backed projects and liquid tokens, focusing on or after their token generation event (TGE).

The fund will also be making use of its idle capital by allocating it to Avalanche-based RWA products such as tokenized money market funds. This strategy will keep the fund’s capital working as well as deepen liquidity. It would also encourage engagement within Avalanche’s on-chain community.

Why It Matters: Avalanche is one of the fastest-growing developer ecosystems in crypto. The DeFi project encourages developer activity with multiple grants and funds, including a recent $100 million fund for developers to build scalable apps with utility.

This strong developer community has made Avalanche "a magnet for thoughtful builders,"' according to VanEck.

"We're seeing a shift away from speculative hype toward real utility and sustainable token economies, and the VanEck PurposeBuilt Fund aims to bring the kind of long-term capital and strategic conviction that builders need to lead that shift. This fund reinforces the strength of Avalanche as the home for serious founders who are scaling real businesses and driving on-chain adoption," said John Nahas, Chief Business Officer at Ava Labs.

On-chain data shows that the network recently saw nearly 3 million contracts deployed in one week, the second-largest surge ever. At the same time, around 1,500 first-time developers pushed code, the highest since March 24. These numbers reflect Avalanche's role as a leading Web3 builder.

The new funds also reflect VanEck's belief that blockchain technology will power the global economy. Notably, the PurposeBuilt Fund is not VanEck's first blockchain-focused venture.

Earlier this month, the asset manager launched a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) to offer exposure to the digital market.

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