Comprehensive interpretation of Maven 11: A decade-long journey, from crypto venture capital pioneers to financial groups

Author: Fairy, ChainCatcher

Edited by: TB, ChainCatcher

On March 28, crypto venture capital Maven 11 announced that its third fund had completed a fundraising of US$107 million, exceeding its original target.

Looking back on the past decade, this institution has not only accurately bet on star projects such as Celestia and Fuel, but also completed a gorgeous transformation from a single VC to a crypto financial group M11 Group.

Maven 11's growth is unique. This article will deeply analyze its unique investment style, team composition and investment map, and reveal the legendary journey of Maven 11.

Institutional Overview: From Pioneer VC to Crypto Finance Group

In 2015, "blockchain" is still a cutting-edge concept in the geek circle, and the crypto industry has not yet entered the mainstream vision. In this year, Maven 11 was quietly established in Amsterdam, becoming one of the earliest venture capital institutions in Europe to focus on crypto investment, and thus embarked on an in-depth exploration journey.

In the past decade, Maven 11 has witnessed the changes in the industry and has successively launched three funds:

• The First Fund (2017): Marks its starting point as a crypto venture capital firm.
• Second Fund (2021): Raised $120 million, focusing on DeFi and Web 3 applications.
• The third fund (March 2025): Raised $107 million, exceeding the $100 million target, planned to support early-stage blockchain projects, and approximately 15% of the funds have been deployed.

With the maturity of the crypto market and the acceleration of institutionalization trends, Maven 11's business layout is also expanding. From the original venture capital company, it gradually entered many fields such as credit, asset management and market making, and developed into the M11 Group, a crypto financial group spanning diverse businesses.

Currently, the group mainly includes:

• Maven 11 : Venture capital companies focusing on blockchain and Web3 fields, with investment scope covering infrastructure, DeFi, NFT and other crypto tracks.
• M11 Credit : Crypto credit underwriter, providing credit solutions for crypto companies and DeFi protocols.
• M11 Funds : Focusing on digital asset management, providing structured investment products to institutional investors.
• C11 Labs : Market maker and liquidity provider to help DeFi ecosystem optimize market efficiency.

Through the four-wheel drive of "VC + credit + asset management + market making", M11 Group has created a complete crypto financial industry chain.

Diversified team and leadership

According to LinkedIn data, Maven 11's total employee number has increased by 16% in the past six months. Currently, the company is between 11 and 50 employees, with an average employee tenure of 2.5 years. (Note: The data is based on professional dynamic information reported by the company's employees on LinkedIn.)

Maven 11's core team brings together seniors in investment banking, capital markets and corporate finance. The team members have academic backgrounds across multiple disciplines such as economics, finance, business management, chemical engineering, information science, etc. This interdisciplinary combination helps the team conduct comprehensive analysis and risk management in complex crypto-financial markets.

Here is an overview of the Maven 11 core team:

Maven 11 Joost van der Plas

As CEO of Maven 11, Joost van der Plas is both an elite in traditional business management and a pioneer explorer in the crypto industry.

Joost graduated from Erasmus University in Rotterdam with a master's degree in business administration. He then worked in the telecom industry for 11 years and accumulated rich executive experience. In 2011, he founded *bliep, a virtual mobile service provider, and made his mark with an innovative business model. In July 2015, *bliep's business was sold to Artilium NV as a whole, successfully completing the curtain call of its first entrepreneurship.

His crypto journey began in 2011, when he first came into contact with blockchain technology and bought his first bitcoin in early 2012, officially entering the field. Since then, he has continued to invest in blockchain companies, projects and tokens to maintain a keen insight into industry development.

In 2015, he founded Maven 11, a crypto venture capital firm, and further upgraded in 2022 to create the M11 Group, a crypto financial group.

Investment map: Maven 11 How to bet on the crypto market?

Style: Support " brave aliens " and prefer technical founders

Maven 11's investment philosophy focuses on supporting innovators who bravely challenge the status quo and redefine ownership. Unlike traditional venture capital, Maven 11 not only "writes checks", but also participates in project team growth and provides support in product polishing, market strategy and resource integration.

In Maven 11's view, technical details determine success or failure. They especially favor technology founders, not only paying attention to the business model of the project, but also delving into its underlying architecture, scalability and innovation.

Layout : Betting on infrastructure and DeFi

According to RootData data, Maven 11 has invested 20 times in the past year, ranking 25th among crypto-native funds, and its current portfolio has expanded to 97 projects and led 13 investments. Its investment scale is mostly concentrated between 1 million and 10 million US dollars, focusing on blockchain infrastructure and DeFi track.

Maven 11's representative investment projects include star projects such as Celestia, Fuel, and Saga. In addition, as of now, 3 investment projects of the fund have been acquired and 6 projects have been suspended.

The following are projects that Maven 11 has invested in:

Future: Increase investment and explore new growth points

According to The Block, in the next 3 to 4 years, Maven 11 plans to continue to increase investment, focusing on seed rounds, A rounds of financing and subsequent follow-up investment in emerging projects. Its latest third fund is expected to invest between $500,000 and $5 million in a single investment, focusing on consumer-grade applications, blockchain infrastructure, and the intersection of AI and crypto, betting on the core growth track in the future.

The journey of Maven 11 is still accelerating. With the full deployment of the third fund, a new round of layout is being launched.

Standing at the node of a decade of journey, Maven 11 has grown from a VC to an important force in the crypto-financial landscape. How will it continue to write legends in the next decade? Perhaps, a more magnificent chapter is slowly unfolding.