Placeholder

Placeholder Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2017 and headquartered in New York City. The firm is focused on investing in decentralized information networks, particularly within the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors. Placeholder Ventures employs a thesis-driven approach to identify and support innovative projects that align with its investment philosophy, aiming to foster the growth of decentralized technologies and their applications.

Brad Burnham

Venture Partner

Christopher Burniske

Co-Founder & Partner

Joel Monegro

Partner

Past deals in ASIC

Agoric

Funding Round in 2021
Agoric Systems Operating Company, founded in 2018 and based in San Francisco, develops an open application platform for smart contracts that integrates with both public and private blockchains. The company aims to enhance the security and simplicity of programming smart contracts, primarily using JavaScript, thus enabling millions of developers to create safer and more efficient applications. Agoric emphasizes composability, which facilitates rapid development and provides a competitive edge in the blockchain ecosystem. The organization envisions fostering unprecedented global cooperation and the emergence of new business models through secure digital assets. The Agoric team comprises experienced technologists, economists, and business leaders with over 30 years of collaborative experience in smart contract technology. The company has established partnerships with notable projects like Cosmos and has received backing from various investment firms and individuals, reinforcing its mission to advance the capabilities of smart contracts in the digital economy.

Zerion

Series A in 2021
Zerion Inc., a blockchain software company, develops a solution to access decentralized finance to invest, earn interest, and borrow crypto assets. It offers Zerion to manage decentralized finance portfolio across multiple accounts in a single place; and track assets in real-time with live price updates and instant push notifications. The company also provides CryptoTrader , an application to track the crypto market through charts, news, and alerts. Zerion Inc. was founded in 2015 and is based in San Francisco, California.

DELV

Seed Round in 2021
Developer of a crypto-asset trading platform designed to provide liquidity on yield and principal tokens. The company's platform helps to buy and sell yield and principal tokens which do not require any minimum amount and its protocols work together to help create and usher in the new financial system, enabling users to grow their savings at a fixed rate and thereby gain capital efficiency.

Async Art

Seed Round in 2021
Asynchronous Art, Inc owns and operates an online multi-layer art platform. Its platform async, connects artists and collectors; and allows them to purchase and sell art online. Asynchronous Art, Inc was incorporated in 2019 and is based in Fort Bragg, California.

Async Art

Seed Round in 2021
Asynchronous Art, Inc owns and operates an online multi-layer art platform. Its platform async, connects artists and collectors; and allows them to purchase and sell art online. Asynchronous Art, Inc was incorporated in 2019 and is based in Fort Bragg, California.

API3

Seed Round in 2020
API3 is a company based in the Cayman Islands that specializes in providing decentralized application programming interfaces (APIs) for the web. It focuses on creating data feeds known as dAPIs, which aggregate information from first-party oracles. These oracles are operated by leading API providers, ensuring high-quality and reliable data for decentralized applications. By leveraging these resources, API3 aims to enhance the accessibility and functionality of decentralized systems, allowing developers to integrate real-world data into their applications seamlessly.

Balancer Labs

Seed Round in 2020
Balancer Labs, Inc operates an exchange for decentralized finance. The company offers a platform for programmable liquidity. It offers exchange tokens without deposits, bids/asks, and order management. Balancer Labs, Inc was founded in 2018 and is based in the United States.

Balancer Labs

Seed Round in 2020
Balancer Labs, Inc operates an exchange for decentralized finance. The company offers a platform for programmable liquidity. It offers exchange tokens without deposits, bids/asks, and order management. Balancer Labs, Inc was founded in 2018 and is based in the United States.

Zerion

Seed Round in 2019
Zerion Inc., a blockchain software company, develops a solution to access decentralized finance to invest, earn interest, and borrow crypto assets. It offers Zerion to manage decentralized finance portfolio across multiple accounts in a single place; and track assets in real-time with live price updates and instant push notifications. The company also provides CryptoTrader , an application to track the crypto market through charts, news, and alerts. Zerion Inc. was founded in 2015 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Ethereum

Venture Round in 2017
Ethereum Switzerland GmbH operates a decentralized platform that enables the development and deployment of applications without downtime, censorship, fraud, or third-party interference. Founded in 2014 and based in Baar, Switzerland, the company provides the Ethereum Wallet, which serves as a gateway to decentralized applications on the Ethereum blockchain. Users can hold and secure ether and other crypto-assets, as well as write, deploy, and utilize smart contracts. The platform supports a variety of uses, including crowdfunding, virtual share sales, auctions, and the creation of decentralized autonomous organizations. Additionally, developers can design and issue their own cryptocurrencies and utilize command line tools. Ethereum functions as both a platform and a programming language, allowing developers to codify and decentralize various applications across multiple sectors, including voting, financial exchanges, and intellectual property. It leverages a decentralized consensus mechanism, similar to that of Bitcoin, providing a robust foundation for building innovative applications.