(Bloomberg) — Jason Greenblatt is starting a blockchain and crypto technology investment fund in Israel, joining other former Trump administration officials who’ve launched financial firms with links to the Middle East.
Greenblatt — one of the key figures behind former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan — is launching Silver Stone Global Partners alongside Danny Ayalon, the former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., and Uri Gutman, the former Israeli ambassador to South Korea. The team also includes tech entrepreneur Lior Maimon under the umbrella of Silver Road Capital Group.
Silver Stone has raised about $40 million so far and is targeting an initial funding round of $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity as the matter is private.
“Marrying the Israeli tech scene with blockchain offers us a tremendous opportunity,” Greenblatt said in an interview. “I think the diplomatic experience we have helps differentiate ourselves from other players.”
Israel is already home to several of the fastest-growing companies and funds operating in the crypto space.
In January, Fireblocks Inc. raised $550 million at an $8 billion valuation in a Series E round led by D1 Capital Partners and Spark Capital. The Bank of Israel, which has dabbled with Ether, is conducting technical studies on the feasibility of offering its own version of digital money.
Before joining the White House, Greenblatt was in-house legal counsel at the Trump Organization. Other former Trump administration officials have previously tapped into their connections in the Middle East to set up new business ventures.
Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last year raised about $2.5 billion, mostly from Gulf sovereign wealth funds. Trump’s son-in-law and former senior adviser, Jared Kushner, has also sought backing from government-controlled funds in the region.
Roy Ramon, a former investor at Intel Capital, will co-manage the fund, which also intends to focus on deep technology.
He said about 70% of the portfolio will be concentrated in Israel while also targeting investments in Europe, the U.S. and the UAE.
“We try to identify intrinsic value that can generate revenue rather than short trendy investments like Dogecoin,” Ramon said. “There’s a very unique lineup of companies on our radar.”
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