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Multicoin shuns AI push, keeps HYPE as its largest crypto bet. Multicoin Capital is refusing to follow rival crypto venture firms into standalone AI investments, arguing its competitive advantage remains in digital assets. The $2.7 billion firm is also keeping Hyperliquid's HYPE token as the largest position in its hedge fund. Key takeaways. * Multicoin Capital manages $2.7B and will stay crypto-focused rather than chase standalone AI deals. * HYPE is its largest hedge fund position, reinforcing conviction in Hyperliquid and digital assets. * Its strategy now depends on crypto specialization outperforming rivals expanding into AI and robotics. $2.7B Multicoin refuses AI pivot as crypto rivals diversify. Multicoin Capital is making a contrarian bet in venture capital: while money pours into artificial intelligence, the firm is staying firmly in crypto. Speaking to Bloomberg, the Austin-based investment manager, which oversees about $2.7 billion, has no plans to widen its mandate to include pure-play AI companies, according to Spencer Applebaum, general partner and co-head of venture. "We believe we have an edge in crypto, and we want to stay true to it," Applebaum said. That stance increasingly separates Multicoin from competitors such as Paradigm, Framework Ventures, and Haun Ventures, which have broadened their investment strategies as AI absorbs more venture capital. Multicoin has never made a pure AI investment, and Applebaum sees little reason to start simply because the sector is attracting capital. The contrast with the wider venture market is sharp. AI companies captured roughly two-thirds of all startup capital invested in the U.S. and Canada during the third quarter, according to Crunchbase. Paradigm, meanwhile, raised $1.2 billion this year for a fund that includes AI and robotics alongside crypto. Fundraising cools off. Multicoin's conviction comes during a difficult period for crypto venture managers. Galaxy Research data showed roughly $10 billion was invested in crypto startups during the first half of 2026, putting the market near last year's pace. But fundraising for new funds remains much harder. Investors committed about $3.9 billion across just five new crypto-focused venture funds in the second quarter, the fewest launches since late 2019. Multicoin itself is taking longer to deploy its $422 million venture fund raised in 2022. Applebaum said lower valuations following FTX's collapse slowed deployment. Seed rounds around 2023 were often roughly $3 million at $30 million post-money valuations, meaning a large fund naturally required more time to invest. HYPE is Multicoin's largest crypto position. The firm's commitment to digital assets extends beyond venture investing. Applebaum said Hyperliquid's HYPE is currently the largest position in Multicoin's hedge fund. The firm accumulated the tokens on the open market and typically holds public investments for years rather than trading them over short periods. That makes Multicoin's strategy unusually clear. While rivals hedge their exposure by chasing AI, Multicoin is betting that specialization still matters. Its thesis is that the best crypto opportunities will go first to investors with deep sector relationships, not those following whichever market currently commands the most capital.

CoinSwitch revenue grows 150%, adjusted EBITDA jumps 50x in FY26. * 30 Sep 2026 * Listen to Story Crypto investing and trading platform CoinSwitch said its revenue rose 150% year-on-year to Rs 324.19 crore in the financial year through March 2026, as the company significantly improved operating leverage. The firm said its operating costs rose 37% to Rs 270.07 crore and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped more than 50 times to Rs 86.38 crore in FY26 from Rs 1.65 crore in FY25, taking the adjusted EBITDA margin to 27% from 1%. The company didn't disclose how it calculates adjusted EBITDA. CoinSwitch also said revenue per employee more than doubled during FY26, even as its employee base expanded 11%. The company continued to invest in technology, product, security and customer experience during the year. Founded in 2017 by Ashish Singhal, Vimal Sagar Tiwari and Govind Soni, CoinSwitch initially operated as a global cryptocurrency exchange aggregator before launching its India-focused platform in 2020. The company currently serves more than 2 crore users and offers access to more than 450 cryptocurrencies. CoinSwitch has raised substantial institutional capital since entering the Indian market. In January 2021, it raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Ribbit Capital and Paradigm, with participation from Sequoia Capital India (now known as Peak XV Partners) and Cred founder Kunal Shah. The round was followed by a $25 million Series B round from Tiger Global in April 2021, which valued the company at more than $500 million. Later that year, CoinSwitch raised more than $260 million in Series C funding led by Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Paradigm, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global. The round valued the company at around $1.9 billion, making CoinSwitch the second Indian crypto unicorn after CoinDCX at the time. The company has expanded beyond its core trading platform. In 2022, CoinSwitch launched a Web3 Discovery Fund to invest in and incubate early-stage blockchain startups, with backing from its investor ecosystem.

idler launched on 19 August as a frontier data research lab with a $9 million seed round led by Paradigm, alongside Y Combinator, Long Journey VC and angels. The company sells evaluations, benchmarks and reinforcement learning environments to labs training frontier models. The timing suggests a real market. Z.ai described synthesizing RL environments end to end for GLM-5.3, and Harvey built LAB environments before post-training Tenet — both announcements made the same week. Paradigm's involvement marks a notable rotation of crypto capital into AI infrastructure. The business model targets perhaps 15 organisations worldwide, making it high-margin but low-volume. The announcement contains no product details, methodology or named customers. For a company whose credibility depends on client names, this absence is significant. The company also does not address the independence question raised by grading systems its own customers are measured against.