Binder Grösswang | View firm profile
Binder Grösswang advised Venionaire Capital on the launch of the first Austrian investment fund that invests solely in digital assets. Tigris Web3, as the innovative crypto fund is called, was registered by the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) as an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF).
The fund will invest in web3 protocols, which are deemed to constitute one of the most revolutionary paradigm shifts of the 21st century.
Investment in the New Generation of the Internet
The new generation of the Internet, “Web3”, is based on a decentralized system. Control is distributed among numerous independent actors and thus ensures a new level of data security. The Tigris Web3 fund supports this next generation of the Internet by facilitating investments in digital assets, so-called tokens. The investment selection process requires that the selected tokens conform with strict requirements in terms of security, technology and concrete applicability.
Strict Requirements of the Regulatory Authority
In Europe, alternative investment funds are regulated with particular stringency. The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) examined aspects such as investor protection, anti-money laundering and many others in the course of a rigorous, six-month registration process.
Internet pioneer Peter Augustin, the Austrian initiator of the fund, reckons that a ten-year time horizon will be necessary in order to achieve significant success. The fund, which is aimed at experienced professional investors with high risk tolerance, will be available for subscription as of April 2022 and requires a minimum investment of EUR 100,000.
“The legal implementation process was extremely exciting and challenging, given that the registration of a fund that invests only in crypto assets in accordance with the provisions of the new Alternative Investment Fund Managers Act (Alternative Investmentfonds Manager-Gesetz, AIFMG) is new legal terrain in Austria,” explains Partner Christian Zwick.
The Binder Grösswang Team was led by Christian Zwick (partner, corporate/M&A) and also comprised Stefan Frank (partner, banking & finance) and Hermann Beurle (attorney at law, corporate/M&A).
About Venionaire Capital and Peter Augustin
Venionaire Capital specializes in venture-capital and private-equity investments. The Vienna-based company, which was founded in 2012, provides ongoing support to large corporations, medium-sized companies and family offices in complex financing matters. The firm’s particular expertise lies in the fields of innovation, high tech, blockchain and startups. Alternative investment fund management is carried out by its Vienna-based subsidiary Venionaire Investment GmbH, which is registered as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM).
Peter Augustin, the initiator of the fund, is an Austrian Internet pioneer. As the founder of the Internet provider Inode, he revolutionized the Internet sector in Austria in the 1990s at the time of “Web1”. In 2005 he sold the company, which was one of the leading Internet providers in Austria, to UPC (today Magenta Telekom) for a figure in the double-digit millions.