1confirmation is a crypto-focused venture fund founded in 2017 by Nick Tomaino, a former early employee at Coinbase where he worked on business development and helped establish the exchange's institutional relationships. The fund takes its name from the single confirmation threshold sometimes used for low-value Bitcoin transactions – a deliberate nod to the firm's philosophy of placing early, conviction-driven bets before broad consensus forms. Based in the United States, 1confirmation operates as a small, thesis-driven fund that concentrates on open protocols, decentralized applications, and crypto-native infrastructure.
The fund raised its first vehicle of approximately $35 million in 2017, targeting seed and early-stage investments in blockchain projects. A second fund followed as the portfolio matured. 1confirmation deliberately maintains a concentrated portfolio rather than spreading capital thinly. Tomaino has been vocal in writing and on social media about the fund's priorities: genuine decentralization, credible neutrality, and projects built by teams that prioritize protocol health over short-term token price. The fund does not typically lead large multi-party syndications; it focuses on getting in early alongside founders.
Public information on total AUM across all vehicles is limited. The firm does not publish detailed financials.
Notable investments
- Uniswap – 1confirmation is widely cited as one of the earliest institutional backers of the decentralized exchange protocol, before Uniswap became one of the most-used applications in DeFi. This represents the fund's most significant documented win.
- Celo – an EVM-compatible blockchain focused on mobile-first financial access, particularly in emerging markets.
- Agoric – a JavaScript-native smart contract platform built around secure object-capability programming.
- OpenSea – the NFT marketplace, backed at an early stage before the 2021 NFT market expansion.
- Zora – an NFT protocol and marketplace focused on creator ownership.
- Dark Forest – a fully on-chain strategy game built using zero-knowledge proofs, reflecting the fund's interest in crypto-native gaming and ZK technology.
- Mirror Protocol – a decentralized publishing platform on Ethereum.
A broader portfolio listing is available on Crunchbase.
Team
Nick Tomaino is the founder and managing partner. Before launching 1confirmation, he joined Coinbase in its early years and helped build out business development and partnerships. He later spent a brief period at Rocketship.vc before starting the fund independently. Tomaino is active in public discourse on crypto through writing and social media, publishing essays on decentralization, token design, and the cultural dimension of open networks. Public information about additional investment partners or analysts at the firm is limited; 1confirmation runs lean by design.
Recent activity
In the 2024–2025 cycle, 1confirmation maintained its focus on early-stage protocol infrastructure and applications with genuine on-chain usage rather than speculative token launches. The fund has continued to express interest in zero-knowledge proof applications, decentralized social, and projects that extend Ethereum's capabilities. Tomaino has been publicly skeptical of venture funds that chase narratives and rotate between sectors; the stated strategy remains patient, concentrated, and founder-aligned.
No major exits or public failures have been disclosed by the firm in recent periods. The Uniswap position – depending on when or whether tokens were distributed to early backers – is broadly regarded as one of the stronger early DeFi fund returns on record. As of early 2026, the fund continues to operate from the United States with a global investment mandate. Given its size and structure, 1confirmation is unlikely to pursue the large-check, late-stage deals that define bigger multi-strategy crypto funds. Its edge, if sustained, comes from early access and long conviction holds rather than portfolio breadth.
