Bitcoin-focused VC Ego Death Capital closes $100 million second fund
Quick Take Ego Death Capital has closed a $100 million fund to back startups building on Bitcoin. The firm plans to lead Series A rounds with initial checks ranging from $3 million to $8 million.
Ego Death Capital, a venture firm focused on the Bitcoin ecosystem, has closed its second fund at $100 million, doubling down on its thesis of backing early-stage startups building on the Bitcoin blockchain — a niche focus within the broader crypto venture landscape.
The close comes about 18 months after Ego Death Capital first announced plans to raise the fund in January 2024. Fund II will focus on leading Series A rounds, with initial checks ranging from $3 million to $8 million, targeting companies that build on Bitcoin and its emerging application layers, including the Lightning Network , Fedimint, and Discreet Log Contracts.
For a growing set of crypto VCs, Bitcoin has become more than just a store of value. As The Block previously reported , investors are increasingly backing startups building on Bitcoin’s emerging layers — from Lightning to rollups — seeing the protocol as a secure, battle-tested base for real-world applications.
“We’re investing in businesses that treat Bitcoin not as a trade, but as infrastructure — something to build on, not bet on,” said Lyn Alden, general partner at Ego Death Capital.
The firm is targeting what it sees as a gap in Series A funding for Bitcoin-focused startups, where founders often struggle to find lead investors with both technical expertise and long-term commitment. Its partners say they are backing companies with working products and early traction, rather than speculative projects chasing short-term gains.
Fund II has already invested in three companies: Relai , a Swiss bitcoin brokerage; LN Markets, a derivatives trading platform built on the Lightning Network; and Roxom, which is building a global trading system on Bitcoin.
Ego Death Capital launched in 2022. Its first fund raised $25.2 million, along with a $7.5 million special purpose vehicle.
The Funding newsletter: Stay updated on the latest crypto funding news and trends with my free bimonthly newsletter, The Funding.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
AI investment enters the "Trough of Disillusionment", the next 18 months will be a life-or-death test!
Goldman Sachs believes that the AI investment cycle is currently in the "trough of disillusionment," but this is not the first time. The core contradiction lies in the fact that the business models of new cloud computing providers are highly dependent on end-user returns from AI spending, while currently "there are basically zero companies that can attribute profits to AI." Social Capital founder Palihapitiya has clearly defined an 18-month key window, during which the market will decide which AI business models are sustainable and which are not.

Anthropic's Core Concern: Revenue Can Be Withdrawn at Any Time, but Computing Power Costs Are Locked in for up to 20 Years
Zheshang Securities believes that Anthropic's revenue is mainly based on usage-based billing, with remaining performance obligations covering only about 5.1 months of annualized revenue, while compute power costs are already locked in with $895.4 billion in irrevocable commitments, some extending as far as 2045. Revenues can be reduced at any time, but costs are non-exitable, creating a highly asymmetric maturity gap between the two—this is the company's real core constraint.

Triple Pressure from the Federal Reserve, Treasury, and Congress; Goldman Sachs: Liquidity Crisis May Occur in 2027
Goldman Sachs warns that the reserve ratio of bank assets has dropped to around 11%, only slightly above the crisis trough of 2019. In the second half of 2027, a deadlock in debt ceiling negotiations will force the Treasury to rebuild the TGA, triggering a "perfect storm" of a sharp drop in reserves and a surge in T-bill supply; combined with stalled money market fund buying, this will create a huge liquidity black hole. The Federal Reserve could be forced into the awkward position of lowering interest rates and launching large-scale bond purchases to rescue the market.

