June 2, 2021 — Investment firm Borderless Capital has pledged $25 million to fund blockchain investment in the city of Miami.
Through its Borderless.Miami Fund, the company will make direct investment in promising entrepreneurs and businesses, and will also partner with a local incubator to launch the Algorand Miami Accelerator.
Payment technology company Circle, which operates the USDC stablecoin, is also part of the venture, which will leverage the features of USDC and Circle Business Services on top of the Algorand blockchain.
Borderless.Miami has won support from local officials and corporate partners, with the city chosen due to its blockchain-friendly outlook: Mayor Francis X. Suarez says he wants Miami to become the world’s cryptocurrency capital, and it is already home to a number of blockchain-based startups. The world’s largest Bitcoin-focused conference takes place in Miami in June.
The $25m fund will be used to bootstrap local companies building platforms for digital payments and digital capital markets using Algorand technology.
The network has witnessed rapid adoption by many asset issuers across defi, institutional finance, and the public sector due to its green credentials (the blockchain is carbon-negative) and high throughput of over 1,000 transactions per second. Algorand’s fast-growing ecosystem includes stablecoins, NFTs, and even a blockchain-based COVID-19 passport.
Miami’s Mayor Francis Suarez said:
“We are excited to keep pushing the envelope on innovation, capital, and talent here at the City of Miami. Borderless Capital’s $25M Borderless.Miami Fund is the embodiment of local collaboration.
With the support of Algorand, Circle, and other top local partners, we’re building an ecosystem in line with our vision for Miami. I am so excited to work with Borderless.Miami to make Miami the epicenter for digital capital markets in our pursuit of becoming the ‘Capital of Capital’”
David Garcia, CEO and Managing Partner of Borderless Capital said:
“We are incredibly excited to launch our Borderless.Miami Fund alongside Algorand, Circle, and an incredible group of corporate partners and portfolio companies. On top of our Borderless.Miami Fund, we are relocating our HQ and key people to Miami.
This is the place to be now, and we are here to fund and work with entrepreneurs that share our vision. We wish to offer our thanks to Mayor Suarez and the city of Miami, the Beacon Council, the Miami-Dade County, and all of our partners and supporters who are joining us in this exciting new venture.”
Steve Kokinos, CEO of Algorand said:
“Miami has warmly welcomed the blockchain-based innovation that is happening here in the US and around the world that many of us have been working on for years. We are excited to see Algorand play a prominent role in a community that, under Mayor Suarez’s leadership, has continued to thrive.
We look forward to continuing to invest in Miami-based companies that will be leveraging Algorand’s high-performing network in an impactful manner to drive real change in Miami and beyond.”
About Borderless Capital
Borderless Capital is a modern financial institution investing capital and co-building financial products that accelerate access, bootstrap adoption, and create value globally through the Algorand Borderless Economy. We do not stop with just investment. We also provide guidance and mentorship to grow our portfolio companies into successful and category leading businesses.
As a thought leader in blockchain with deep expertise in the Algorand ecosystem, we advise our portfolio companies on go-to-market strategies to effectively build their network effect. In short, we leverage the synergy of our portfolio, partners network, and domain expertise to create value for everyone.
About Algorand
Algorand is building the technology to power the Future of Finance (FutureFi), the convergence of traditional and decentralized models into a unified system that is inclusive, frictionless, and secure. Founded by Turing Award-winning cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand has developed a blockchain infrastructure that offers the interoperability and capacity to handle the volume of transactions needed for defi, financial institutions and governments to smoothly transition into FutureFi.
