North Island Ventures is a venture capital firm based in the United States, focused on early-stage investments in cryptocurrency, blockchain infrastructure, and financial technology. The firm operates as the venture arm of North Island, a holding company and strategic advisory business founded by Glenn Hutchins – a co-founder of Silver Lake Partners and former economic advisor to President Bill Clinton. Hutchins is one of the most prominent crossover investors between traditional finance and digital assets, having backed crypto companies before institutional interest in the sector became widespread.
The firm concentrates on crypto-native infrastructure businesses – exchanges, custody providers, compliance tools, and developer platforms – rather than speculative token projects. This focus reflects a thesis that foundational layers of the digital asset industry carry more durable value than individual protocols or consumer applications. With a disclosed portfolio of around 11 companies and a history of leading rounds, North Island Ventures functions as a high-conviction, concentrated investor rather than a spray-and-pray fund.
Notable Investments
- Coinbase – one of the firm's highest-profile holdings; Coinbase went public on Nasdaq in April 2021 at a peak valuation above $85 billion.
- Anchorage Digital – the first federally chartered crypto bank in the US, holding an OCC charter granted in January 2021.
- Fireblocks – institutional digital asset custody and transfer infrastructure; reached a $8 billion valuation in a 2022 funding round.
- Chainalysis – blockchain analytics and compliance platform used by governments, exchanges, and financial institutions globally.
- TRM Labs – crypto risk intelligence firm used by regulators and law enforcement.
- BlockFi – a notable loss; BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022 following the collapse of FTX, which had a significant credit exposure to the lender.
Public information on the complete portfolio is limited. The company does not maintain a public-facing website with a full deal list, which is common among smaller venture funds that rely on selective disclosure.
Team
Glenn Hutchins serves as the central figure behind North Island. His background spans private equity at Silver Lake – which he co-founded in 1999 and built into one of the largest technology-focused PE firms globally – alongside board memberships at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and AT&T. Travis Scher, previously a vice president at Digital Currency Group, has been identified as a partner at North Island Ventures, focusing on deal sourcing and portfolio support in crypto markets. Detailed biographies for the full team are not widely published.
Recent Activity
North Island Ventures has remained active through the 2022–2023 crypto downturn, a period when many generalist VCs pulled back sharply. The firm's infrastructure thesis proved partly resilient – Fireblocks and Chainalysis continued growing their enterprise client bases even as token prices fell. The BlockFi exposure was a meaningful setback. No public fundraising announcements for a new dedicated fund have been confirmed as of early 2026, and total assets under management have not been disclosed publicly.
The firm's geographic focus remains predominantly on US-headquartered companies, consistent with its roots in New York's financial industry. As regulatory clarity around digital assets improves in the United States – driven by legislative progress in Congress and clearer SEC and CFTC frameworks – the portfolio companies North Island backed in compliance and custody infrastructure are well positioned to benefit from institutional adoption entering a new growth cycle.
