Placeholder

Placeholder Ventures, established in 2017 and headquartered in New York City, is a thesis-driven venture capital firm. It invests in decentralized information networks, with a focus on cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies. As a Registered Investment Adviser, the firm manages two funds, Placeholder Fund I and II, both targeting investments in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors.

Brad Burnham

Venture Partner

Christopher Burniske

Co-Founder and Partner

Joel Monegro

Co-Founder and Managing Partner

Past deals in Ethereum

Tally

Series A in 2025
Tally is a frontend for DAOs running on Ethereum and other EVM blockchains. Tally gives users real power in their decentralized organizations. On Tally, users can delegate voting power, create or pass proposals to spend DAO funds, manage a protocol, and upgrade smart contracts—all onchain.

Celestia

Series B in 2024
Celestia is a provider of modular blockchain networks based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Founded in 2019, the company specializes in deploying decentralized blockchains without the need for extensive initial setup. Celestia's platform serves as a scalable data availability layer for decentralized applications and sidechains with minimal trust requirements. This allows developers to efficiently store and manage blockchain data collectively, optimizing performance for various applications.

Squads

Series A in 2024
Squads is a developer of a decentralized program that enables the establishment of better and easier decentralized autonomous groups. The company's application combines all of the key components of a decentralized autonomous organization, such as deployment, treasury, vault management, on-chain voting, and chat, into a single portal with an easy-to-use interface, allowing users to streamline daily operations using a decentralized autonomous organization structure.

Botanix Labs

Seed Round in 2024
Botanix Labs is a technology company that develops decentralized applications (dApps) for the cryptocurrency ecosystem. It combines the strengths of Bitcoin and Ethereum to create a platform that offers diverse applications, including decentralized lending and wealth management, while ensuring fair distribution, decentralization, and security.

Eclipse

Series A in 2024
Eclipse is building Ethereum's first Solana Virtual Machine Layer 2. While other L2 networks on Ethereum focus on providing Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility, Eclipse leans into performance improvements developed by the Solana Layer 1 and adds additional verification features to deploy the blockchain as a rollup. The Eclipse team includes veterans from dYdX, Uniswap, Citadel, and Airbnb. Eclipse Labs is backed by top investors including Polychain, Placeholder, and DBA.

Polymer Labs

Series A in 2024
Polymer Labs is building the fabric of web3. We're working on an IBC based multi-cluster routing/roll-up protocol providing E2E IBC connectivity across ecosystems.

Squads

Venture Round in 2023
Squads is a developer of a decentralized program that enables the establishment of better and easier decentralized autonomous groups. The company's application combines all of the key components of a decentralized autonomous organization, such as deployment, treasury, vault management, on-chain voting, and chat, into a single portal with an easy-to-use interface, allowing users to streamline daily operations using a decentralized autonomous organization structure.

Rated

Series A in 2023
Rated Labs is a Web3 infrastructure project that focuses on providing detailed data on validators and node operators. By offering an API-based platform, it delivers independent ratings and comprehensive datasets, particularly for Ethereum. This service allows users to easily compare the performance of various node operators, enhancing transparency and understanding of Web3 infrastructure data. Through its robust data pipelines, Rated Labs aims to empower developers to effectively navigate and utilize Ethereum's base layer, making the complex landscape of blockchain infrastructure more accessible and informative.

Across Protocol

Venture Round in 2022
Across is a cross-chain bridge secured by UMA's optimistic oracle for L2s and rollups. It also optimized for capital efficiency with a single liquidity pool, a competitive relayer landscape, and a no-slippage fee model.

Celestia

Series A in 2022
Celestia is a provider of modular blockchain networks based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Founded in 2019, the company specializes in deploying decentralized blockchains without the need for extensive initial setup. Celestia's platform serves as a scalable data availability layer for decentralized applications and sidechains with minimal trust requirements. This allows developers to efficiently store and manage blockchain data collectively, optimizing performance for various applications.

Rated

Seed Round in 2022
Rated Labs is a Web3 infrastructure project that focuses on providing detailed data on validators and node operators. By offering an API-based platform, it delivers independent ratings and comprehensive datasets, particularly for Ethereum. This service allows users to easily compare the performance of various node operators, enhancing transparency and understanding of Web3 infrastructure data. Through its robust data pipelines, Rated Labs aims to empower developers to effectively navigate and utilize Ethereum's base layer, making the complex landscape of blockchain infrastructure more accessible and informative.

Async Art

Seed Round in 2021
Async Art operates an innovative online platform that connects artists and collectors, enabling them to buy, sell, and trade programmable art on the Ethereum blockchain. Founded in 2019 and based in Fort Bragg, California, Async Art allows users to create and engage with multi-layer artworks. Each artwork consists of a Master piece and various Layers, which can be independently owned and controlled by different individuals. This unique structure empowers users to actively participate in the evolution of the art, as they can modify their respective Layers within parameters set by the original artist. For example, one user may control the sky in a landscape painting while another owns a character, allowing for dynamic collaboration and interaction in the creative process. This platform represents a new frontier in the art world, merging technology and creativity in the 21st century.

Nexus Mutual

Venture Round in 2021
Nexus Mutual Limited is a London-based company that operates a decentralized insurance platform utilizing blockchain technology, specifically the Ethereum public blockchain. Founded in 2017, it offers a novel alternative to traditional insurance by enabling users to become members and collectively share insurance risks without the involvement of conventional insurance companies. Members can purchase coverage, and their decisions are governed by smart contracts, which ensure transparency and enforceability. Initially, Nexus Mutual launched with a product focusing on earthquake coverage, allowing participants to manage and mitigate risks collaboratively. The platform aims to recreate traditional mutual insurance models on a broader scale, providing an innovative approach to risk management in the insurance industry.

3Box Labs

Seed Round in 2019
3Box Inc. is a New York-based company founded in 2018 that provides innovative solutions for decentralized identity and open data management. Its primary offerings include 3box.io, a social profiles application designed for Ethereum users and communities, and 3box.js, an API that facilitates user onboarding and data management for web3 developers. Additionally, the company provides 3box-dapp, which enables users to create and manage their social profiles, sign in to decentralized applications (dApps), interact with other users, build a reputation, and securely store data. The 3Box platform prioritizes simplicity, security, and privacy, allowing applications that utilize its services to be more trustworthy and reduce data management liabilities.

MakerDAO

Venture Round in 2019
MakerDAO is a decentralized autonomous organization that operates on the Ethereum blockchain, specializing in the development of a stablecoin known as Dai. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, with additional offices in Copenhagen, Denmark, MakerDAO aims to minimize the price volatility of Dai by utilizing collateralized debt positions and autonomous feedback mechanisms. The company enables users to access a low-volatility, collateral-backed cryptocurrency, promoting financial inclusion and stability. In addition to Dai, MakerDAO has introduced MKR, a token that serves multiple purposes within its ecosystem, including governance and system recapitalization. Through its innovative approach, MakerDAO seeks to provide a decentralized digital currency that maintains its purchasing power, making financial services accessible to users worldwide.

Enzyme

Venture Round in 2019
Enzyme is a decentralized asset management infrastructure built on ethereum. They offer an autonomous system that has both its frontend and its backend hosted and executed on decentralized platforms, thereby replacing a large proportion of the middlemen with smart contracts and enabling asset managers to perform the same tasks at a fraction of the cost and with higher transparency, greater security, and a reduced requirement for trust.

OpenZeppelin

Venture Round in 2017
OpenZeppelin is a company that specializes in developing tools and conducting security audits for decentralized applications, which are critical for supporting multimillion-dollar economies. It has established itself as a leader in the open-source community with its library, OpenZeppelin Contracts, which is utilized by over 3,000 public projects and supported by a network of more than 180 contributors. The company provides security audits for prominent entities such as the Ethereum Foundation and Coinbase, helping to set industry standards for secure system development. In addition to its auditing services, OpenZeppelin offers consulting, development, and escrow services, aimed at reducing barriers for businesses seeking to secure their decentralized systems. With a commitment to fostering a robust ecosystem, OpenZeppelin is also expanding its offerings to include a development platform that caters to the increasing number of developers creating applications on decentralized protocols.

0x

Venture Round in 2017
0x is a developer of an open protocol that enables decentralized exchanging of tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. The protocol serves as a standard framework that facilitates peer-to-peer transactions and promotes interoperability among decentralized applications that incorporate exchange capabilities. By providing a mechanism for users to seamlessly convert a diverse range of assets into cryptographic tokens, 0x aims to enhance the accessibility and efficiency of digital asset trading in a decentralized manner.

Ethereum Foundation

Venture Round in 2017
The Ethereum Foundation, through its subsidiary Ethereum Switzerland GmbH, operates a decentralized platform that enables developers to create and publish distributed applications. Founded in 2014 and based in Baar, Switzerland, the foundation provides essential tools and services, including the Ethereum Wallet, which allows users to securely hold ether and other crypto-assets, as well as interact with smart contracts. The platform supports a variety of applications, such as crowdfunding, decentralized autonomous organizations, and the creation of new cryptocurrencies. By leveraging the principles of decentralized consensus, Ethereum facilitates the trading and management of diverse assets, including voting systems, financial exchanges, and intellectual property. The Ethereum Foundation is dedicated to promoting and supporting the development of the Ethereum ecosystem, ensuring its resilience and adaptability in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Agoric

Agoric is a developer of a framework designed to enhance the programming of smart contracts for the blockchain ecosystem. The platform facilitates the creation and deployment of smart contracts using JavaScript, making it accessible to millions of programmers. By emphasizing composability, Agoric enables rapid development and offers a competitive advantage in creating decentralized applications. Its framework allows for secure execution of transactions, the establishment of new markets, and the creation of innovative exchange patterns without centralized control. The Agoric team comprises experienced technologists, economists, and business leaders who have collaborated on smart contracts technology for over three decades. They aim to revolutionize how smart contracts are developed and utilized, fostering unprecedented global cooperation and enabling entrepreneurs to explore new business opportunities with digital assets. Agoric has partnered with notable projects within the blockchain space and received support from various investors, further solidifying its mission to advance smart contract technology.
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