Blockchain-focused venture capital firm Lightspeed Faction announced on Thursday the launch of its first $285 million venture fund called Faction, which will invest primarily in early-stage blockchain projects and serve as a long-term capital partner as these projects scale.

This development comes just ahead of Benzinga’s Future of Digital Assets conference on Nov. 14, where the future of cryptocurrencies and their role in the financial market will be a key topic of discussion.

In addition to providing capital, the fund will offer blockchain entrepreneurs a wealth of resources on various topics, from tokenomics to business scaling.

Faction’s team, which includes members from Amber Group, Blockchain.com and Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN), is well-positioned to provide crypto-native advice.

Lightspeed Faction is a joint venture with Lightspeed Venture Partners, and as a result, combines Faction's crypto-only approach with Lightspeed's deep Silicon Valley roots and platform business scaling resources, said the press release.

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While Faction collaborates with Lightspeed on blockchain-related matters, it operates the fund independently.

“We are steadfast in our conviction that crypto is a generation-defining technology,” said Banafsheh Fathieh, co-founder and general partner of Lightspeed Faction. “We look forward to collaborating with promising projects looking to propel blockchain technology forward.”

Faction will engage with projects during their earliest stages, investing in businesses that seek to provide positive societal impact using blockchain technology.

The firm has already made several investments across the blockchain ecosystem, including Crossmint, Lens, Narya.ai, Skip.money, Matter Labs, among others.

Faction’s founding partners Samuel Harrison and Fathieh deployed over $500M of capital across early-stage and blockchain venture capital throughout their careers.

“We aim to be a collaborative partner from the start of the founder's journey to exit,” said Harrison.

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Industry titans BlackRock, DTCC, OCC, State Street, Société Générale, Hedera, Citi, BMO, Northern Trust, Citibank, Amazon, S&P Global, Google, Invesco, and Moody’s will join Benzinga on Nov. 13 for Fintech Deal Day and Nov. 14 for Future of Digital Assets. Secure a spot here to join them!

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