Alex Tapscott launches digital asset investment firm NextBlock Global with $20m financing

Alex Tapscott, best-selling author of Blockchain Revolution and former investment banker, has launched digital asset investment firm NextBlock Global, closing an oversubscribed $20m financing.

NextBlock is now ready to invest in digital assets, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are foundational to the new "Internet of Value", and look set to upend everything from financial services to energy grids, media to manufacturing, according to a statement.

NextBlock Global's founder and CEO Alex Tapscott said, "We are delighted with the outcome of this financing and we are ready to lead in this fast-changing and disruptive marketplace. We saw tremendous demand from institutional and strategic investors who are looking to get exposure to this new asset class." NextBlock will immediately begin to deploy capital, giving investors diversified exposure to the most promising investments in this space.

NextBlock co-founder and chief investment officer Charlie Morris added: "Blockchain has made the world of venture capital virtually unrecognisable: blockchain entrepreneurs are bypassing traditional gatekeepers and instead conducting vast global crowdsales of digital assets, which to-date have raised over $1.7bn this year. This is the fastest-growing market in the world and one of the most exciting areas to deploy capital."

NextBlock Global is based in Toronto, Canada, known for the quality of its coders and blockchain innovation. "Locating in Toronto and in Canada is the perfect strategic fit for NextBlock," Tapscott said. "Toronto has a deep pool of world-class talent, innovative regulators and banks, and some of the best blockchain startups in the world, and we are excited to contribute to this growing ecosystem.

"We believe the future is not something to be predicted, it's something to be achieved. NextBlock Global has the experience, market-access, strategy and domain expertise to achieve that better future, and we are excited to share that journey with all of our partners and investors. This is only the beginning."