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Pantera, a crypto investment firm, is preparing to raise more than $1 billion for a new venture fund, according to an email distributed on Tuesday.

The firm — which has backed crypto projects and companies ranging from the likes of Bakkt and 1inch — is one of the longest operating funds in the digital asset space, investing in crypto tokens and equity since 2013.

Originally, the firm was planning to raise $600 million, as reported by The Information in November. The firm’s total commitments for the fund now exceed $1 billion. 

As per the memo, the new fund will invest in the equity of companies as well as tokens in projects, but Pantera plans to offer a venture-only class for investors looking for only equity exposure. 

“For investors who prefer venture, the new fund offers a Venture-Only Class,” the memo said. “This class will have exposure only to the equity deals we do – and will not invest directly in tokens. It is essentially ‘Pantera Venture Fund IV.'”

The fund plans to take new investments for the fund until April.

This revelation comes after a series of new crypto venture firm announcements. Ex-a16z partner Katie Haun is reportedly raising nearly $900 million for a new crypto venture firm. Elsewhere, FTX recently said has set aside $2 billion for a new venture unit. Crypto fund Paradigm—which recently backed trading giant Citadel in a fundraise—raised $2.5 billion at the end of last year. 

Pantera, like many other crypto hedge funds, performed well in 2022. According to the memo, the firm’s Liquid Token Fund returned 385.4% while its early-stage token fund returned 294.6%.

Data from Hedge Fund Research suggests crypto funds returned, in aggregate, 214% in 2021. 

The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, meanwhile, posted a return of 153.39%. TCAP — a cryptocurrency that leverages oracles to track the entire market — gained 185% in 2021.

“Investing in these new protocols has helped Pantera funds out-perform industry benchmarks and a bitcoin buy-and-hold strategy,” Pantera said of its performance. We anticipate continued out-performance through 2022 as many of our early theses underpinning discretionary investments in our hedge funds continue to develop.”

© 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.