After launching crypto CVC Circle Ventures and leading it for three years, Wyatt Lonergan has founded a Web3 VC firm with a Circle colleague.

Wyatt Lonergan

Wyatt Lonergan, who was head of Circle Ventures, the CVC of US cryptocurrency company Circle, has announced his new role as general partner for VanEck Ventures, a VC fund backing fintech, crypto and AI startups.

Lonergan’s announcement revealed that he left Circle Ventures in May after launching it in 2021 and leading it for the next three years. It targets Web3 startups working on blockchain and crypto technologies.

In April, it took part in the $15m series A funding round for Centrifuge, a Swiss decentralised finance company, and in May participated in the $4m seed funding round for Anzen, which makes a private credit backed stablecoin.

Lonergan has founded VanEck Ventures along with a former Circle colleague, Juan Lopez, who helped launch Circle Ventures and led investments as part of his role in corporate development and ventures.

VanEck Ventures is a $30m fund targeting early-stage startups. In a LinkedIn post on the company’s page, it said it has made four investments so far which will be announced soon.

Stephen Hurford

Stephen Hurford is a junior reporter for Global Venturing.