{"id":53000,"date":"2023-06-23T15:32:05","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T19:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/?p=53000"},"modified":"2023-06-23T15:32:09","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T19:32:09","slug":"sequoia-partner-asserts-on-ftx-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/sequoia-partner-asserts-on-ftx-investment\/","title":{"rendered":"Sequoia Partner Asserts on FTX Investment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Alfred Lin, director at Sequoia Capital, defended the firm's multimillion-dollar investment in the now-defunct<a href=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/edx-market-launches-cryptocurrency-exchange-services.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> cryptocurrency exchange <\/a>FTX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1016\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/af-1016x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-53002\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/af-1016x1024.jpg 1016w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/af-298x300.jpg 298w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/af-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/af-768x774.jpg 768w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/af-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/af-750x756.jpg 750w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/af-1140x1150.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/af.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1016px) 100vw, 1016px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sequoia Partner Asserts on FTX Investment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Lin stated at the Bloomberg Tech Summit that Sequoia would likely make the same investment decision if he were tasked with evaluating FTX for the first time again. &#8220;I looked at the work we did in 15 different ways; we probably would have made the investment again,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sequoia Capital manages approximately $85 billion in assets, including<a href=\"https:\/\/assets.kpmg.com\/content\/dam\/kpmg\/uk\/pdf\/2019\/07\/investment-in-technology-innovation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"> investments in significant technology<span class=\"wpil-link-icon\" title=\"Link goes to external site.\" style=\"margin: 0 0 0 5px;\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"height:16px; width:16px; fill:#000000; stroke:#000000; display:inline-block;\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:svg=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><g id=\"wpil-svg-outbound-7-icon-path\" fill=\"none\" clip-path=\"url(#clip0_31_188)\">\r\n                            <path d=\"M9.16724 14.8891L20.1672 3.88908\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/>\r\n                            <path d=\"M13.4497 3.53554L20.5208 3.53554L20.5208 10.6066\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/>\r\n                            <path d=\"M17.5 13.5L17.5 16.26C17.5 17.4179 17.5 17.9968 17.2675 18.4359C17.0799 18.7902 16.7902 19.0799 16.4359 19.2675C15.9968 19.5 15.4179 19.5 14.26 19.5L7.74 19.5C6.58213 19.5 6.0032 19.5 5.56414 19.2675C5.20983 19.0799 4.92007 18.7902 4.73247 18.4359C4.5 17.9968 4.5 17.4179 4.5 16.26L4.5 9.74C4.5 8.58213 4.5 8.0032 4.73247 7.56414C4.92007 7.20983 5.20982 6.92007 5.56414 6.73247C6.0032 6.5 6.58213 6.5 7.74 6.5L11 6.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/>\r\n                        <\/g>\r\n                        <defs>\r\n                            <clipPath id=\"clip0_31_188\">\r\n                                <rect fill=\"white\" height=\"24\" width=\"24\"\/>\r\n                            <\/clipPath>\r\n                        <\/defs><\/svg><\/span><\/a> and cryptocurrency companies. The venture capital firm invested\u00a0<strong>$213.5 million<\/strong>\u00a0through two funds in FTX and FTX US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Global Growth Fund III held a\u00a0<strong>$150 million<\/strong>\u00a0investment in FTX, representing 3% of the fund's capital. In contrast, the Capital Global Equities Fund had investments in both companies totaling\u00a0<strong>$63.5 million<\/strong>, representing less than 1% of its complete portfolio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After FTX ceased operations, Sequoia informed its partner in a letter sent in November 2017 that both crypto exchange investments had been recorded as total losses. \u201cWe are in the business of taking risk. Some investments will surprise to the upside, and some will surprise to the downside,\u201d\u00a0the letter explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here is the note we sent to our LPs in GGFIII regarding FTX. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Cgp1Yxk1pz\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/Cgp1Yxk1pz<span class=\"wpil-link-icon\" title=\"Link goes to external site.\" style=\"margin: 0 0 0 5px;\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"height:16px; width:16px; fill:#000000; stroke:#000000; display:inline-block;\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:svg=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><use href=\"#wpil-svg-outbound-7-icon-path\"><\/use><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/p>&mdash; Sequoia Capital (@sequoia) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sequoia\/status\/1590522718650499073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">November 10, 2022<span class=\"wpil-link-icon\" title=\"Link goes to external site.\" style=\"margin: 0 0 0 5px;\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"height:16px; width:16px; fill:#000000; stroke:#000000; display:inline-block;\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:svg=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><use href=\"#wpil-svg-outbound-7-icon-path\"><\/use><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/blockquote> \n\n\n\n<p>Lin reiterated the vision at Bloomberg's event, stating that Sequoia's investment thesis is based on trusting founders and taking calculated risks, adding that investments do not always succeed. Lin noted that despite FTX's dramatic collapse and loss of funds, the venture capital firm is \u201cstill very excited about the concepts of crypto.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to the multimillion-dollar loss, FTX caused additional problems for the venture firm. Some users of the defunct exchange are now challenging the platform's investors, including Sequoia, Thoma Bravo, and Paradigm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The lawsuit asserts that the defendants participated in a marketing campaign in 2021 and that their efforts lent FTX an &#8220;air of legitimacy.&#8221; The three firms participated in the exchange's $900 million Series B round in July 2021, the highest capital raise in the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cryptocurrency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">history of cryptocurrencies.<span class=\"wpil-link-icon\" title=\"Link goes to external site.\" style=\"margin: 0 0 0 5px;\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"height:16px; width:16px; fill:#000000; stroke:#000000; display:inline-block;\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:svg=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><use href=\"#wpil-svg-outbound-7-icon-path\"><\/use><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alfred Lin, director at Sequoia Capital, defended the firm&#8217;s multimillion-dollar investment in the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Lin stated at the Bloomberg Tech Summit that Sequoia would likely make the same investment decision if he were tasked with evaluating FTX for the first time again. &#8220;I looked at the work we did in 15 different [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":53002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[6329,5653,15006],"class_list":["post-53000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ftx-news","tag-investment-2","tag-sequoia"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/af.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}