Venture capital firm TMT Investments joins the crypto craze while announcing their own ICO

Will launch a new fund that is focused on digital currencies and startups using the blockchain

It's pretty obvious at this point that crypto is here to stay. With skyrocketing prices in Bitcoin and new startups emerging every day that utilize the blockchain, the big challenge now not only making this something that the everyday, non-tech person can utilize, but also getting traditional VC funds on board with the decentralized economy, while still maintaining some level of compliancy.

With initial coin offerings passing traditional early stage VC funding in number of dollars ($1.2 billion raised through ICOs) it should come as no surprise that the economy itself is getting traditional firms interested - with one recent example being TMT Investments.

The firm has just announced the start of a $60 million fund that will solely be used to invest in the blockchain space in the early stages of of the companies they fund. "What we want to do is start helping these companies in [the] pre-ICO and pre-pre-ICO period," says TMT partner Igor Shoifot in an interview with Business Insider. "[Teach them] what a startup is, what business is, how to build an actual business, not just a technological dream."

The thing with many blockchain startups is that there simply isn't a lot of business knowledge flowing. These startups require high level of technical prowess, but many times that does not necessarily transfer to business sense and professional contacts that can be used for funding, promotion, business plans, etc. That's where TMT sees themselves in the grand scheme of blockchain startups - as that connection and funding for the blockchain.

While $45 million of the fund will be coming from traditional fiat currency and investors, $15 million will be raised through TMT Investments' own ICO. These tokens could be used as a vehicle for buying and selling on exchanges. While ICOs still hold some grey areas, as typically anyone can invest, TMT stated that their ICO would only be available to accredited investors as a way to keep the token compliant with traditional investment rules and regulations.