Superscrypt Seeks $100M Capital Raise to Establish New Investment Fund

Superscrypt, a blockchain and Web3-focused venture capital firm backed by Singapore's state-owned investment firm Temasek, is reportedly seeking a $100 million capital raise to establish a new investment fund.

Singapore state-owned investment firm Temasek is reportedly backing blockchain and Web3 venture capital firm Superscrypt in a $100 million capital raise to establish a new investment fund, according to Bloomberg.

The fund, which is still being finalized and could be subject to change, will see Superscrypt and fintech firm Republic as joint partners in the venture.

Temasek’s foray into the crypto space has not been without setbacks. In 2022, the government-owned firm made headlines after losing $275 million in the implosion of FTX.

The investment was made in two parts: a 1% stake in FTX, purchased in 2021 for roughly $210 million, and a 1.5% minority interest in FTX US — a separate entity — which was acquired for $65 million.

Temasek’s crypto losses and the FTX collapse

After FTX’s collapse, representatives of Temasek stated that the firm had conducted months of scrutiny into the former exchange’s financial statements and probed potential regulatory risks, but found no signs of fraud or red flags.

However, the government-owned firm's role in the FTX saga drew attention to Singapore's regulatory oversight of the crypto industry.

The fallout from the exchange’s bankruptcy caused the ruling party of Singapore’s government to face public criticism for its inability to accurately probe the company’s risks before the collapse and its failure to protect investors from financial loss.

At the time, Lawrence Wong, the former deputy prime minister of Singapore, remarked that Temasek’s heavy losses due to the FTX collapse damaged the investment firm's reputation among market participants.

In May, Temasek slashed the compensation of several corporate executives who were responsible for investing in FTX and took personal responsibility for the poor investment decision.

The investment firm also conducted an internal investigation, which found no evidence of deliberate misconduct by its team members.

While the $275 million loss created a significant backlash against the state-owned investment firm, the financial shortfall represented only 0.09% of Temasek’s $293 billion assets under management at that time.

Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Softbank and other venture capital firms that invested in FTX were also hit with a class action lawsuit in August over the exchange’s collapse, with the plaintiffs arguing that these VC firms “aided and abetted” fraud at the exchange.