CMS Holdings | Investment Thesis & Preferences

01Investment Thesis

Infrastructure and DeFi protocols will be the economic foundation of blockchain adoption. We invest in projects that solve real coordination or efficiency problems with deep protocol design and responsible market strategy.

Exclusion Criteria

Pure speculation, gambling protocols without economic value, protocols without clear go-to-market strategy

02Investment Team

BC

Bobby Cho

Founding Partner

DM

Daniel Matuszewski

Co-Founder

JB

Jack Begaj

COO

ML

Michael Leonard

VP of Finance

03F4 Research Brief

CMS Holdings Research

Investment Thesis

CMS Holdings is a principal investment firm focused on the cryptoasset ecosystem, investing in both liquid and illiquid crypto tokens alongside equity stakes in blockchain companies. The firm was founded in 2019 by veterans of institutional crypto trading at Circle and Cumberland, bringing deep market infrastructure expertise to venture capital. CMS believes in careful market entry and long-term value creation across the evolving blockchain landscape.

Investment History & Team Background

The founding team previously ran one of the largest crypto trading operations (Circle Trade) during the 2017 ICO boom, maintaining an unusual hybrid model that combines trading desk expertise with venture capital deployment. This heritage gives them unique insights into market dynamics and protocol economics.

Geographic Focus

Headquartered in New York City, CMS Holdings operates with a global investment scope, primarily active in the U.S. market but maintaining international reach across major crypto hubs.

Investment Scope & Sectors

CMS Holdings invests across the entire crypto-asset ecosystem, with particular emphasis on:

Blockchain Infrastructure:

Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks (Solana, Avalanche, Monad, BOB)
Bitcoin layer 2 solutions (Build on Bitcoin, Alex, Velar)
Sidechains and modular blockchains
Cross-chain communication protocols

Decentralized Finance (DeFi):

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs and CLOBs)
Lending and borrowing protocols
Yield trading and yield aggregation
Liquid staking protocols
Synthetic asset platforms
Derivatives trading protocols

Infrastructure & Tools:

Blockchain API and data providers
Oracles and data infrastructure
Development tools and SDKs
Indexing and data validation
MEV and trading infrastructure

Emerging Focus Areas:

AI agents in crypto (Billy Bets AI)
Real-world assets (RWA) platforms
Bitcoin DeFi and staking
Institutional trading infrastructure
Privacy and security protocols

Stage Focus

CMS Holdings invests across multiple stages:

Pre-Seed: Early protocol research and development
Seed: Product-market fit validation
Series A and beyond: Scaling proven platforms

Recent activity (2025) shows focus on seed and strategic rounds, with check sizes ranging from $500K to $10M.

Check Size & Lead Tendency

Typical Investment Range: $500,000 - $10,000,000 Average Round Size: $3M - $10M Lead Tendency: Frequently leads rounds, reflecting deep conviction and market knowledge

Recent Activity (2025)

CMS Holdings has been actively deploying capital with 8+ investments in the past year:

December 2025: Axis FDN (quantitative yield protocol) - $5M
November 2025: Mu Digital (RWA platform for Asian companies) - $1.5M
October 2025: pieverse (on-chain payment protocol)
September 2025: BOB strategic round (Bitcoin L2)
August 2025: Billy Bets AI (sports betting AI agent)
May 2025: Hyperdrive (Series A, fixed/variable rate AMM) - Series A lead
May 2025: Rover (liquid staking on Spiderchain)

The firm demonstrates consistent deployment across diverse crypto verticals, with 220+ total investments across their portfolio history.

Portfolio Overview

CMS Holdings maintains one of the largest and most diversified crypto venture portfolios with 199+ active portfolio companies. Key holdings reflect their early entry into major ecosystems:

Tier 1 Holdings:

Solana (high-performance blockchain)
Avalanche (decentralized blockchain)
Monad (high-performance L1)
dYdX (decentralized exchange)
Injective (DeFi-optimized L1)

DeFi Ecosystem:

Pendle (yield trading), DODO (DEX), Perpetual Protocol, Synapse (cross-chain)
Acala, Manta Network, Composable Finance

Bitcoin & Bitcoin L2:

Solv Protocol (BTC staking), Interlay (BTC DeFi), Hamilton (BTC tokenization)

Emerging Protocols:

Allora (decentralized AI), Anoma Network (intent-centric protocol)
Chainflip (cross-chain liquidity), Everclear (intent-based bridges)

This diversity reflects their thesis: infrastructure and DeFi protocols will be the economic foundation of blockchain adoption.

Decision Process & Founder Preferences

CMS Holdings operates with a partnership-based investment committee structure, leveraging multiple GP perspectives on technical merit and market opportunity. The team values:

Technical Excellence: Deep protocol design, efficient execution, novel cryptography
Market Understanding: Founders who grasp macro crypto dynamics and protocol economics
Infrastructure Vision: Projects solving real coordination or efficiency problems
Responsible Growth: Clear go-to-market strategies rather than pure speculation

Fund Status

The firm is actively deploying capital across multiple fund vintages, with consistent deal flow and recent activity in Q4 2025 indicating robust deployment pace.