Two former executives from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)’s crypto division have managed to raise $25 million in seed funding for their newly launched Web3 startup Bastion — despite the recent drought in venture capital funding.
On Sept. 18, the new firm, Bastion, announced the launch of its product suite. The firm’s goal is to enable companies to integrate Web3 infrastructure into their existing enterprise technologies.
Bastion was co-founded by two former executives with a16z’s crypto division who left the firm in April, former Chief Technology Officer Riyaz Faizullabhoy and former Chief Security Officer Nassim Eddequiouaq.
The $25 million funding round was led by their former employer, a16z Crypto. Nomura Group’s Laser Digital Ventures, Robot Ventures, Aptos Ventures and Alchemy Ventures were also investors in the seed funding round.
In a statement, Bastion said the funding will be used to scale company operations, recruit top engineering talent and secure additional licensing to further diversify its product offerings.
Bastion co-founder Faizullabhoy added that the successful funding round came despite an ongoing crypto winter.
“It was clear that even as crypto came back down into another bear market, this time crypto is very much here to stay.”
Crypto venture funding has fallen dramatically this year. According to DefiLlama, there was just $283 million in fundraising in August. This is down 68% from the $877 in crypto venture funding in February.
Bastion will offer custody services, digital asset transactions and wallets.
Bastion co-founder Eddequiouaq commented, “We founded Bastion to enable businesses to onboard their products and end-users into a Web3 environment without the complicated, overwhelming experience we know today.”
Arianna Simpson, general partner of a16z crypto, said, “We believe in Nass and Riyaz’s vision of making Web3 safe and accessible for companies in every industry and are extremely excited to support them in making it a reality.”
Earlier this month, a16z led a funding round for blockchain-based intellectual property ownership platform Story Protocol, which raised $54 million.
In June the firm announced the opening of a new London office amid ongoing regulatory pressure in the United States.
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