Swiss Equity Firm Makes First Crypto Investment With SPiCE VC Stake
SPiCE VC founder Tal Elyashiv (CoinDesk archives)
Swiss private equity firm VIVA Investment Partners AG is leaning into crypto funding through a new stake in blockchain venture capital firm SPiCE VC.
Announced Tuesday, SPiCE said the Swiss firm acquired an equity position in SPiCE’s management company and its fund. The release also said that one of the equity firm’s co-founders, Rene Eichenberger, would join the board of SPiCE venture capital.
“Together with VIVA Investment Partners, SPiCE VC will further strengthen its leadership position in this rapidly growing market,” said Tal Elyashiv, co-founder of SPiCE VC.
Elyashiv said SPiCE would focus on services like custody, marketplaces, compliance, rating, payments or banking related tokenization, among others.
VIVA CEO Julie Meyer said the partnership represents the shared belief among the two firms that a fundamental shift is happening in the securities industry.
“We all see the emergence of a new market sector akin to when music went digital or when Tesla emerged,” she said.“We intend to make SPICE VC the leading investor in this ecosystem.”
The partnership with SPiCE VC is the Swiss private equity firm’s first investment in the crypto space. VIVA has previously invested in firms like UK-based DRIVE Software Solutions, Swiss battery technology company IQ International and a Milan based AI firm.
Disclosure
The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.
