Bitkraft Ventures, an early-stage game investment firm, has added new leaders who will double down on Web3 gaming investments.
Bitkraft, which raised its third fund in 2024 and has $1 billion in assets under management, announced promotions for Carlos Pereira and Jonathan Huang to general partner and partner, respectively, helping bolster their Web3 investment strategy and further committing to the blockchain segment of the gaming market.
Additionally, Matt Halstead, former director of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (Texas Teachers) Investment Fund and an early Web3 investor, has joined the firm as a venture partner.
Pereira has been instrumental to the growth of Bitkraft’s Web3 Strategy, which he has led since 2022. To date, Bitkraft has backed many category leaders at the intersection of interactive entertainment, tech and crypto. It has led rounds in Immutable, the gaming-dedicated blockchain; Eve Frontier, a new blockchain enabled game by the creators of the epic EVE Online; Karate Combat, a fast-growing tokenized MMA league with over 100 million monthly impressions; and, Mira, a 2025 CB Insights Top 100 company in AI building verification infrastructure that’s processing three billion tokens a day in support of 4.5 million users.
It is a bold bet by Bitkraft — started by Jens Hilgers in Berlin — in part because the path to success in Web3 games has stretched out and mass market acceptance isn’t guaranteed, even as many crypto bets in non-gaming spaces have turned out to be better investments. Some gamers in the West have had an allergic reaction to Web3 and that has stalled efforts by the big game companies to adopt blockchain solutions. And about 93% of Web3 game startups have failed with their token launches.
Still, Web3 game companies are hitting milestones and a number of big bets are still under way. Web3 game investments, accordingly, are starting to come back after hitting a trough (with scores of investments per quarter) — perhaps because U.S. President Donald Trump favors an unfettered crypto market.
Why double down?
As the Web3 market matures, Bitkraft is doubling down on its thesis that blockchain-enabled
digital rights, property, identity and economies will redefine gaming, creator monetization, and
digital experiences.
I asked Pereira why Bitkraft is doubling down, given Web3 gaming’s challenges. He replied in a message to GamesBeat, “Because we think we have an edge in the category, not just in games but in consumer applications that increasingly lean on gamification and financialization as a generational trend.”
He added, “Our numbers tell a compelling story: up to now we’ve been less than 5% of our category funding, and yet the quarter or so of our portolio companies that have a token represent almost half of the category’s overall market cap.”
He said that an abundance of funding, if anything, is a leading indicator of compression of returns going forward as valuations get pushed up. To shy away from a category because it’s too contrarian or under-funded would be in a sense anti-VC.
“The lack of mass market successes shouldn’t be a surprise considering the general time it takes to build hit games vs how long Web3 games have been investable, the general ‘hit rate’ of VC investments, and the fact that in Web3 you’ve had to build a game and figure out non-trivial distribution and infrastructure challenges that only really in the last year or two have gotten a jump in quality/capacity,” Pereira said.
He noted there are several emerging examples of apps at a quality bar that is broadly competitive, for example Boxed in Bitkraft’s portfolio with almost $30 million in ARR, Cambria with high monetizing seasons that are deeply engaging to whales, Karate Combat with over 100 million monthly impressions and strong awareness in Web2, Mythical with its sports properties with high value partners and strong unit economics, and Gunzilla with strong daily active user retention.
“Good things take time, but the direction of travel is clear,” Pereira said.
Leadership backgrounds
Huang joined Bitkraft in 2023 and brings a decade of experience across Web2 and Web3 investments out of Asia, including SEA Capital and Temasek, where Huang drove their Series G investment into Roblox. He focuses on consumer platforms, mobile studios and creator ecosystems across Asia, with an emphasis on next-generation user behavior, use-cases, and emerging monetization models that are reshaping the industry at scale.
Huang’s elevation to partner helps strengthen Bitkraft’s position in Asia and reflects Bitkraft’s continued
investment in the region’s potential as a global epicenter for innovation across both Web2 and
Web3.
Halstead brings a rare blend of traditional asset management and Web3 experience to Bitkraft. As one of the first institutional investors in crypto, he spearheaded blockchain investment strategies for the Texas Teachers, an investment institution managing over $200 billion in assets. The firm believes his move to Bitkraft is a powerful endorsement of Web3 gaming’s legitimacy as an investable category—and a sign that seasoned institutional capital allocators are seeing real value in this space.
Bitkraft launched its Web3 Gaming fund in 2021, which was a key catalyst in the firm’s evolution — expanding beyond Early Stage equity investing into new asset classes, emerging markets and diversified financing solutions broadly serving the Interactive Media industry. Since then, Bitkraft has grown to $1 billion in assets under management, welcomed a strategic minority investment from Blue Owl, and broadened its global reach last year with a new presence in India.
“Web3 has unlocked new creative and economic models for developers, players, and communities, and Bitkraft has long been committed to its potential,” said Pereira, in a statement. “As we enter the next phase of growth, we are expanding our reach with experienced investors like Matt, whose institutional experience and deep roots in crypto can only strengthen our Web3 strategy. Matt isn’t just a respected investor, he’s a peer and a visionary in the space, and I couldn’t be more excited to have him join Bitkraft.”
“Bitkraft has built a track record of Web3 successes across the US, Asia, and emerging markets,” said Huang, in a statement. “With blockchain adoption continuing to scale and new economic models proving sustainable, this is a pivotal moment to back the next generation of Web3 founders. We’re doubling down on our Web3 strategy to help build the future of gaming, digital assets, and interactive experiences.”
“I joined Bitkraft because I believe their vision for Web3 isn’t just forward-thinking, it’s transformative,” said Halstead, in a statement. “Web3 has the power to bridge the digital and physical worlds, unlocking new experiences and economic models that put control back in the hands of creators and players.”
He added, “Bitkraft doesn’t just invest in this future; they help build it as active participants, deeply embedded in Web3, gaming, and emerging technologies. This makes them the ideal partner for those shaping the next era of digital entertainment, and I’m excited to help them reach and support innovators in the space.”
