Blockchain Capital onboards BitGo co-founder and Facebook veteran as its venture partner

Blockchain Capital now counts Facebook veteran and crypto entrepreneur Ben Davenport as its venture partner, firm partner Spencer Bogart told The Block.

Davenport is a two-time founder and crypto investor. His first company, messaging service Beluga, was acquired by Facebook in 2011 and later became Facebook Messenger. The entrepreneur then spent three years at the social media company before jumping into the crypto world, having co-founded BitGo, a crypto custody firm.

In 2018, Davenport left his post as CTO of BitGo and became the firm’s advisor. Meanwhile, he also invested in a number of crypto startups including Nomics, Lightning Labs, Kraken and Xapo, according to AngelList.

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According to Bogart, Davenport will work with Blockchain Capital's investment team on sourcing deals and evaluating investment opportunities. 

“He will be working directly with the research and investments team to source opportunities, assist with due diligence, deploy capital and support companies in the Blockchain Capital portfolio,” said Bogart. “Ben brings his deep technical and industry knowledge as well as his experience as a two-time entrepreneur and long-time investor.”

As one of the leading VC firms in the blockchain space, Blockchain Capital has a grip over a wide array of crypto projects and companies, including Circle, Messari, Bitwise, and Coinbase. It is also an investor in BitGo, which was how Davenport first got into contact with Blockchain Capital.

“As a firm, we've been working with Ben since our 2014 investment in BitGo and have always had tremendous respect for his technical prowess, leadership skills, and investing acumen,” said Bogart.

About Author

Celia joined The Block as a reporter after earning her BA in the History of Science from the University of Chicago. Having spent years pondering over why 2+2 cannot equal 5, she is interested in the history and philosophy of mathematics, computation, and cryptography. She also had a very brief stint at Crunchbase News.