Teenage Bitcoin Millionaire Launches $1 Million Investment Fund

Marshall Hayner and Eric Finman, the leaders of the crypto payment app Metal Pay, are launching an investment fund. The $1 million fund, dubbed Metal VC, will focus on micro and angel investments, primarily in early-stage companies that are involved in decentralized finance and banking. According to Hayner, the CEO of the Metal Pay app, the Metal VC fund will enable the startup to align with partners as it expands globally.

Metal Pay is a blockchain-based payment processing system that lets you make payments and request money between family and friends just by using a phone number or one of your contacts. Every time a person receives funds or pays someone, he will be able to earn cryptocurrency bonuses in the form of Metal, the native cryptocurrency, that can be cashed out instantly to one’s bank account or can be transferred to friends. It allows people to pay anyone at any time for free, as it is free to join Metal Pay. Metal Pay allows users to transfer money from a linked bank account, make instant payments using the cash balance, or send cryptocurrency. Metal Pay can be understood as a payment and rewards wallet for digital assets that facilitates the customer to merchant payments and peer-to-peer transfers. Metal Pay was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

The metal subsidiary finalized its first deal last month, with an undisclosed stake in Yellow Card, the Binance-based startup, that provides a cash-to-crypto-on-ramp for emerging markets. Yellow Card is a startup blockchain that lets users buy or sell cryptocurrencies with or without a bank account. As stated by Hayner, “With Metal VC, our vision is simple, if we see something we like and believe in, we will invest and send MTL Coin right then and there. We view each investment as a partner to Metal.”

Erik Finman informed a week after the deal that he is close to closing in on another startup. This time, an app created by a YouTuber will compete against the video hosting giant. This features an in-app currency that can be converted into a cryptocurrency. Finman also mentioned that Metal is willing to contribute resources, including developers or admins. He said that the contribution will depend on the needs of the startup and that the amount of time spent in advising each firm will vary.

The Metal VC Fund is self-funded by Eric Finman and Marshall Hayner, without outside contributions. The fund plans to invest seed funding between 25-100 startups through various stages of development. Metal VC plans to stake anywhere between a minimum of $25,000 and a maximum limit of $250,000 in each project. As the “VC Fund for misfits,” Finman mentioned that he and Hayner are paying attention to company metrics that may be ignored by traditional investment funds such as an engaged Discord channel. As told by Finman, “The more of a misfit, the better job you can have in pitching me.”

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