Bankless Ventures

Bankless Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on Web3 and blockchain technologies. The firm invests in pioneering startups exploring the frontiers of decentralized finance, layer-1 and layer-2 scaling solutions, zero-knowledge proofs, restaking protocols, and crypto-AI intersections. With a nimble fund size under $40 million for Fund I, they deploy $500K checks to secure positions in competitive early-stage deals where larger VCs cannot participate effectively.

Founded in 2023 by Bankless media founders Ryan Sean Adams and David Hoffman, alongside General Partner Ben Lakoff, the firm emerged from their transition from opportunistic angel investing to a structured VC operation. Backed by prominent limited partners such as a16z's Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, and Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist, Bankless Ventures launched with a $35 million initial fund. In late 2024 or early 2025, they began raising Fund II targeting $50 million, building on Fund I's 90% deployment and 2.3x MOIC returns during the build-to-bull market cycle.

The portfolio features high-profile investments including Monad, Mode, Puffer, Ether.fi, Succinct, Espresso, AltLayer, BounceBit, Renzo, Swell, and others like 0G Labs, Astria, Fhenix, and KelpDAO. These span frontier categories such as Bitcoin L2s, zkProver tech, and restaking, demonstrating the firm's ability to identify and back scalable, high-conviction plays in the crypto ecosystem.

The team combines media influence with investment expertise: Ryan Sean Adams and David Hoffman provide brand-driven deal flow and thematic signaling; Ben Lakoff, CFA, leads as General Partner; Arnav Pagidyala serves as Investment Partner; Brent Matterson handles deal sourcing; Kimberly Adams offers portfolio support as Venture Partner; and Ryan O'Meara manages operations. This lean, high-performance structure operates like a $100M fund at a smaller scale, emphasizing founder value and operational excellence.