- Messari Inc. made its first cryptocurrency investment with the cloud analytics firm Steve Cohen's point 72 Ventures backing analytics firm Point 72 Ventures.
Point 72 Asset Management led the startup's Series A funding round, closed at $21 million, according to a statement. Adam Carson, operating partner of Point 72 Ventures, joined the Messari board as part of the deal.
The wager is the firm's first move into crypto - although it's unclear whether Cohen has put any of his own money in the space through his separate family office. Point 72 Ventures has invested about $500 million in private investments since it started back in 2016 focusing on early-stage financial technology companies.
The deal comes as some of the biggest hedge funds consider investing in crypto currency. Point 72 informed investors earlier this year that the $22 billion firm was exploring investment in the sector either through its private equity fund or its flagship investment unit.
The blockchain community Messari connects cryptoeconomy to open source, according to its website. After the funding round, Messari is planning to add engineering and research staff and launch new products.
While investor participation in the crypto industry has increased exponentially over the past three years, current mining research and analysis tools are still lacking the advanced signals and data that more sophisticated investors need, Carson said in the statement.