ABCDE Press the pause button, what is the current survival status of Chinese VC?

Author: Nianqing

Recently, Du Jun, co-founder of ABCDE, officially announced that ABCDE Capital has stopped investing in new projects and suspended the fundraising plan for its second-phase fund, while also launching a new incubator product called Vernal. Over the past year, ABCDE has made 19 investments, which is not particularly conservative. Despite having ample resources, it still cannot resist the current dull crypto market.

Since the revolution of FUD VC began, CryptoVC has hit the pause button under hellish conditions. Some have chosen to refrain from new investments and retain only core personnel to maintain post-investment services, while some VCs are seeking to pivot towards secondary investments, project development, incubators, and crypto marketing.

Compared to their European and American counterparts, Asian VCs seem to be more conservative. Lao Bai, a research partner at ABCDE, raised a question a month ago—why are we in Asia "silent" while Europe and America continue to "fire"? What gives them the courage to pull the trigger on valuations? He speculated that the reasons may include different exit cycles, investment decision-making processes, and the fact that Asian VCs are more concerned about returns, while their European and American peers focus on idealism and long-termism.

Additionally, according to investor data from the RootData platform, most VCs in Chinese-speaking regions have adopted a more conservative investment strategy over the past year, with fewer than 10 investments. However, leading venture capital firms such as Animoca Brands, OKX Ventures, HashKey Capital, SNZ Holding, Waterdrip Capital, Mask Network, Nomad Capital, and NGC Ventures still maintain high-frequency trading, with over 20 investments in the past year. IOSG Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, SevenX Ventures, LongHash Ventures, and PAKA have also made more than 10 investments in the past year, but this is a significant decrease compared to the previous year.

This article reviews the current situation of major Chinese-speaking VCs or VCs founded by Chinese individuals that have made fewer investments over the past year.

(Note: The above data is based on publicly disclosed investments and does not exclude the possibility of undisclosed internal operations or investments.)

Continue Capital

Continue Capital, founded by crypto OG Pima, has made no investments in the past year, with the last investment being in March of last year, participating in the Series A financing of io.net. Pima is a seasoned investor in the crypto space, having entered the digital currency field in 2013 and invested in several well-known blockchain projects. Currently, both co-founders and Continue Capital are in a "lying flat" state, with no activity on their official blog or Twitter. The most recent update about Continue Capital was in October of last year, when co-founder Lin Xiaohong allegedly had $35 million stolen. Lin responded on X platform, saying, "I accidentally exposed that I haven't exited the circle and passively made the headlines for charity."

OP Crypto/Inception Capital

After rebranding from OP Crypto to Inception Capital at the beginning of last year, the firm completed the fundraising of its first fund of $30 million and made 16 investments within six months of fundraising, with the last investment occurring in August of last year. However, Inception Capital has only made 6 investments in the past year.

In mid-2024, Inception Capital's founder and general partner David Gan went missing for several months, leading limited partners to vote for a "controlled liquidation" of the fund and to suspend the drawdown of the remaining 25% of Ventures Fund I's capital. At the end of June, Gan reappeared, agreeing to relinquish control over the fund's multi-signature wallet and allowing LPs to exit.

Following this incident, Inception Capital has essentially come to a standstill, with several executives leaving. Inception Capital's COO and research director, Calvin Du, co-founded a new specialized fund focused on RWA called tmr Ventures in 2025.

LD Capital

LD Capital has made only 8 investments in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in September of last year, marking a significant decrease in investment frequency. LD Capital also engages in secondary market investments and trading funds, with its funds including Beco Fund, FoF, hedge funds, and Meta Fund. In 2023, LD Capital established an early-stage investment fund called Cycle Ventures, focusing on Infra, AI, and Dapp.

LD Capital's founder, Yi Lihua, commented on the VC dilemma, attributing the decline of Web3 investors to changes in lock-up rules, low investment success rates, and the "triangle dilemma" where investors cannot have "good projects, low valuations, and large amounts" simultaneously. He also pointed out that many investors ultimately receive only a fraction of the amount, which not only risks financial loss but also reputational damage.

Bixin Ventures

Bixin Ventures, founded by Chinese crypto OG Xingkong, has made only 5 investments in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in January of this year, showing a clear decrease in investment frequency compared to 2024. Bixin Ventures is the investment arm of Bixin Group, which was established in 2014 and is one of Asia's largest cryptocurrency wallet providers, dedicated to providing users with tools for storing and managing blockchain assets. Bixin Ventures' social media remains actively managed, with team members being quite active on social platforms.

Xingkong, the founder of Bixin Ventures, recently expressed his frustrations on social media: "Spending money has turned into a big disaster; this probably describes the fate of VCs in the crypto space." He added, "People have misconceptions about VCs; VCs are the biggest victims in the crypto space, and the LPs of VCs are the most miserable existence. Exchanges, project parties, and KOLs make money at the expense of VCs."

LK Venture

LK Venture is a venture capital firm founded by Wang Feng, the founder of Mars Finance, investing in blockchain technology and application projects. It was formerly known as Consensus Lab. LK Venture has made only 2 investments in the past year, with the last investment occurring in August of last year. Despite the pause in primary investments, partners Wang Feng and Leo Deng remain active on social media.

Wang Feng, the founder of LK Venture, also established the NFT marketplace Element and the crypto media MarsBit News. Recently, Wang Feng has been closely following new technologies such as AI and robotics in addition to crypto. In his latest update, he stated, "Bitcoin, Ethereum, and SOL are the best crypto asset combinations for the company. For Bitcoin, we still want to 'bet' on it; we are also interested in XRP and SUI. We do not rule out fully adopting Bitcoin as the basis for managing the company."

Mint Ventures

Mint Ventures has not made any investments in the primary market over the past year, with the last investment occurring in November 2022. Its business focus has gradually shifted to research and secondary markets, and its social platform and podcast "WEB3 Mint To Be" continue to be updated frequently.

Youbi Capital

Youbi Capital has made only 3 investments in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in November of last year, showing a decrease in investment frequency since 2022. Youbi Capital's official social media platform continues to operate normally, providing post-investment services. Chen Li is an early Bitcoin miner in China, holding a PhD in chemistry and having worked as a scientist at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, where he won awards for developing antibody drugs. He was introduced to Bitcoin mining through a college roommate in 2015 and co-founded Youbi Capital in 2017.

EVG

Everest Ventures Group (EVG) has made only 7 investments in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in November of last year, showing a significant decrease in investment frequency compared to 2024. However, EVG is technically an operating group with a very broad scope of business. The group has a global team of 300 people and has built and launched a diverse product portfolio covering various use cases, such as the crypto asset management platform Aspen Digital, and has launched a series of products involving SocialFi, GameFi, and fintech, including DeFi products like Mugen Interactive, the cryptocurrency social investment platform Kikitrade, and brands like LiveArt.

Fundamental Labs

Fundamental Labs has made only 1 investment in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in July of last year. Its founder, Raymond Yuan, has many years of venture capital experience and a successful investment record in semiconductors, TMT, and artificial intelligence. He transitioned to the crypto industry in 2016, founding CTH Group, which has three core businesses: blockchain infrastructure as a service Atlas, cryptocurrency venture capital Fundamental Labs, and digital asset management IDEG. In 2023, Raymond Yuan also founded a global digital payment company called WSPN and launched the USD stablecoin WUSD.

DeFiance Capital

DeFiance Capital has made only 1 investment in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in May of last year, showing a significant decrease in investment frequency. The latest investment was an angel round financing for the MIT-Harvard team Optimum, led by the founder himself. Despite the decrease in investment frequency, DeFiance Capital remains active on social media and was even hiring at the beginning of the year. Founder Arthur Cheong, a well-known KOL, continues to produce content. Recently, he stated that collusion between projects and market makers to manipulate prices, while CEXs turn a blind eye, is the main reason the current market is unable to attract investments.

Matrixport Ventures

Matrixport Ventures has made only 2 investments in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in December of last year. In 2024, it made 8 investments. Matrixport Ventures is the venture capital arm of Matrixport, Asia's largest crypto financial services platform. Matrixport was founded by Wu Jihan, and its products include Cactus Custody, spot OTC trading, fixed income, structured products, loans, and asset management.

Basics Capital

Basics Capital has made only 4 investments in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in December of last year, showing a significant decrease in investment frequency compared to 2024.

7 O'Clock Capital

7 O'Clock Capital has made 0 investments in the past year, with the last investment occurring in April of last year. Its social media platforms are still operating regularly, but research and investment activities are essentially at a standstill.

Old Fashion Research

Old Fashion Research has made only 1 investment in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in September of last year. OFR is a multi-strategy blockchain investment fund, founded by former Binance executives and investment team members in July 2021. At the beginning of last year, several partners left the firm.

Puzzle Ventures

Puzzle Ventures has made only 3 investments in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in December of last year. Its founder, Qi Wang, is also a co-founder and COO of the decentralized trading platform DODO, as well as a co-founder and general partner of the secondary market liquidity fund Metrics Ventures. The official social media of Puzzle Ventures and its founder are currently inactive.

Redline DAO

Redline DAO has made only 1 investment in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in August of last year. At the beginning of 2024, Redline DAO announced its upgrade to Redline Labs, stating that it would shift from investment to comprehensive project incubation. The focus of research will continue to monitor the development of blockchains like BTC and Solana and the growth of their ecosystems. Its founder and managing partner, Kris Li, is a successful trader with a focus on the secondary market.

In addition to the above crypto-native funds, several comprehensive venture capital firms in Chinese-speaking regions have significantly reduced their investment frequency in the crypto space:

Zonff Partners has made only 2 investments in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in November;
DHVC (Danhua Capital) has made 0 investments in the past year, with the last investment occurring in June of last year;
Sky9 Capital has made only 5 investments in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in August of last year. The partner responsible for crypto investments, Niu Fengxuan, left the firm in April of last year;
Initiate Capital has made only 2 investments in the past year, with the most recent investment occurring in November of last year.

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