VC firm Paradigm taps Facebook, Instagram vet David Swain

Cryptocurrency venture capital firm Paradigm has appointed David Swain as its new chief marketing officer.

Swain previously served as head of global communications at Instagram and senior director of technology communications at Facebook, and as vice president of global partnerships at social fitness app Strava.

According to The Block, Swain said he was excited to join Paradigm, citing his extensive experience in the technology sector and his belief in the transformative potential of cryptocurrencies.

The report also noted that Paradigm’s managing partner and chief operating officer, Alana Palmedo, praised Swain’s understanding of technical breakthroughs and valuable perspective for the company’s portfolio and the broader crypto industry.

The appointment of the experienced executive comes shortly after Paradigm reaffirmed its commitment to supporting blockchain initiatives and other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

The venture capital firm managed to raise $850 million in June for its fund, which aims to continue its support for early-stage crypto projects.

At the time, Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang emphasized the VC firm’s belief in the importance of cryptocurrencies as a technical and economic change, and that sentiment has only grown stronger since Paradigm’s founding.

So far in 2024, Paradigm has played key roles in the financing of more than 10 major crypto projects. Notable investments include leading a $225 million Series A round for layer 1 blockchain developer Monad and a $150 million Series A round for decentralized social networking protocol Farcaster.

The investment giant also made significant contributions to the $70 million round for Bitcoin (BTC) staking protocol Babylon and the Series A round that raised $55 million for zero-knowledge proof startup Succinct Labs.

Swain’s new role at Paradigm is expected to improve the company’s outreach and communications efforts and help further its mission to support the next generation of crypto innovators.