WebN Group, the blockchain and Web3 incubator backed by billionaire Alan Howard, is closing its doorways after seeding a clutch of digital infrastructure startups over the previous a number of years, in keeping with an individual aware of the matter.
Most just lately, the enterprise studio backed tokenization specialist Libre (now known as KAIO), crypto staking store Twinstake, blockchain infrastructure agency TruFin and zero-knowledge proofs startup Geometry.
Along with Howard, WebN additionally acquired an undisclosed funding from Japanese financial institution Nomura’s crypto partnership, Laser Digital, again in 2023.
The incubator was described as having “efficiently accomplished its mission” the individual mentioned. Among the employees who labored at WebN moved throughout to work at Brevan Howard, the hedge fund based by Howard, they mentioned.
The choice to shut down the WebN incubator has no bearing on Howard’s digital asset aspirations, mentioned the individual, who’s near the state of affairs at WebN.
“Those that know Alan, know that he has lengthy been satisfied that blockchain expertise could be utilized in conventional markets,” the individual mentioned.
The final 12 months have been a difficult time for crypto-exposed companies. Brevan Howard’s digital asset fund misplaced virtually 30% final yr, in keeping with a report within the Monetary Instances. This follows good points of 52% in 2024 and 43% the yr earlier than.
Like many different hedge funds, Brevan Howard has trimmed its bitcoin ETF positions, slicing holdings of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Belief by some 85%, in keeping with knowledge from Bloomberg and CF Benchmarks.
2025 additionally noticed the departure of BH Digital CEO Gautam Sharma, who had been overseeing crypto investing on the agency for just a few years. Brevan Howard additionally determined to spin out Nova, a hedge fund run by former Dragonfly investor Kevin Hu, who joined the agency along with his personal cash pool in 2023 as a part of an acquisition.
“Brevan Howard isn’t scared off by short-term volatility, stays bullish on digital property and has an enormous VC enterprise centered on the broad alternative set,” mentioned the supply.
WebN Group didn’t reply to requests for remark. Brevan Howard declined to remark.
