Plan B

Plan B Research

Investment Thesis

Plan B VC Fund is the investment arm of Lugano's Plan B initiative, a joint program between the City of Lugano, Tether, and Bitcoin-native venture partner Fulgur Ventures to make Lugano Europe's leading Bitcoin hub. The fund's stated mission is "the transformative Power of Bitcoin, Lightning, RGB, and Peer-to-Peer technologies and the boundless potential they hold for the world." It positions itself as a launchpad for Bitcoin-native founders, offering not just capital but co-working space, incubation services, and access to the broader Plan B Network (which also runs the Plan B Forum and CypherTank pitch competition).

Stage Focus

Plan B invests at the earliest stages: pre-seed and seed, frequently as an initial or day-one backer of Bitcoin-native protocol and infrastructure teams. It also runs a structured incubation track (CypherTank) that channels selected teams directly into pre-authorized seed capital.

Check Size

Public check-size data is limited. The clearest data point is the CypherTank pitch competition structure: for-profit winners receive a $450,000 pre-authorized investment via a capped SAFE plus $200,000 of incubation and acceleration services at the Lugano Plan B Hub. Outside of CypherTank, Plan B has participated in larger syndicated seed rounds (e.g., Utexo's $7.5M seed) alongside other funds, suggesting smaller check sizes in the tens-to-low-hundreds-of-thousands range when not leading.

Lead Tendency

Mixed. Through CypherTank, Plan B is effectively the anchor/lead investor for winning teams via its pre-authorized SAFE. In syndicated rounds like Utexo's seed, it appears as one of many participating funds (alongside Tether, Big Brain Holdings, Portal Ventures, Franklin Templeton, Fulgur Ventures, and others), i.e., a follow/participant role.

Recent Activity

• March 2026: Participated in Utexo's $7.5M seed round. Utexo is a Dubai-based Bitcoin-native execution and settlement layer for stablecoin payments. The round was led by Tether, Big Brain Holdings, and Portal Ventures, with participation from Franklin Templeton, Maven11 Capital, Fulgur Ventures, Alchemy VC, and others alongside Plan B.
• September–October 2025: Plan B Network and Plan B VC Fund launched CypherTank, an $850,000+ Bitcoin-focused pitch competition held during the Plan B Forum in Lugano, with semifinals on October 22, 2025 and finals on October 27, 2025. Judges included Paolo Ardoino (Tether), Adam Back (Blockstream), Matt Odell (Ten31), Mike Jarmuz (Lightning Ventures), and Preston Pysh (Ego Death). For-profit winners received the $450K SAFE + $200K incubation package described above; nonprofit winners received non-dilutive grants from the Plan B Foundation.
• CypherTank returned for a second edition in 2026, expanding Plan B's bet on Bitcoin founders in Lugano.

Portfolio Highlights

Known portfolio/backed companies include:

• Utexo (utexo.com) — Bitcoin-native execution and settlement layer enabling stablecoin payments with Bitcoin-anchored settlement; Dubai-based.
• Resolvr (resolvr.io) — Open-source dispute-resolution and bounty infrastructure built on Bitcoin and Nostr, aimed at funding FOSS development.
• JAN3 (jan3.com) — Bitcoin technology company founded by Samson Mow, focused on accelerating hyperbitcoinization and known for its work with El Salvador's Bitcoin City.

Team

• Oleg Mikhalsky — Fund Manager of the Plan B (Lugano) fund and Partner at Fulgur Ventures, the Bitcoin/Lightning-focused venture partner behind the initiative. Brings a background across technology, security, and Bitcoin-native startup investing.
• Giacomo Zucco — Director of the Plan B Network, publicly representing the fund and its CypherTank program ("Bitcoin founders not only capital, but a global stage").

Decision Process

Not publicly documented. The CypherTank track uses a panel of named industry judges (Tether, Blockstream, Ten31, Lightning Ventures, Ego Death) to select winners who then receive the pre-authorized SAFE, suggesting at least some deals run through a judged/committee-style selection process rather than a solo GP check-writer model. Direct, non-competition deal flow (e.g., Utexo) appears to run through Fulgur Ventures' and the fund manager's own network.

Founder Preferences

Plan B backs technical, protocol-native founders building directly on Bitcoin, Lightning, RGB, or peer-to-peer (Holepunch/Pears.com) primitives, as well as founders building financial infrastructure for underserved, "global south" markets. The CypherTank format specifically favors founders willing to pitch publicly and be filmed for a documentary-style series.

Geographic Focus

Headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, with global sourcing reach through local Bitcoin communities. Recent investments span the Middle East (Utexo, Dubai) and the fund explicitly targets "emerging markets"/global south founders through its dedicated Emerging Markets Fund vertical.

Sector Focus

Plan B organizes its mandate into four verticals: Bitcoin Tech (Bitcoin innovation and payment systems), Lightning Tech (Lightning Network and RGB protocol projects), Pear Tech (peer-to-peer applications built on the Pears.com/Holepunch framework), and an Emerging Markets Fund for technologies serving the global south.