Crypto markets serve as a reminder for how quickly things can change. Just a few months ago I wrote about navigating the silence across the industry as an investor. Crypto prices may have bottomed a little earlier in the year, but when I wrote the post in September it felt as if investor and builder sentiment was at a low.
Fast forward a few months and the world looks very different again. Public markets have been on a tear, several tokens including Bitcoin have reached their all time highs, and there’s excitement bordering mania abound again. It feels like we’re in the early innings of a bull market.
There are many great aspects to bull runs. A rise in prices raises general interest in crypto, which typically initiates an influx of new people into the space, an increase in investor activity and the launch of more companies.
However, bulls runs also come with aspects I don’t enjoy. One aspect that feels particularly pronounced this time around is the degree of degeneracy. The name of the game is to make as much money as quickly as possible, and people aren’t even trying to hide it anymore.
Part of me recognises the honesty of that approach. It’s better to be upfront about one’s intentions than not.
Yet that approach doesn’t resonate with me and never will. As an early stage VC, I take long term views on teams that I believe can fundamentally make a difference. I strongly believe in the potential of crypto and that true breakthroughs require time and patience.
There are of course many ways to play the venture game, and even more so in crypto because of the role of public markets. Crypto is different to traditional early stage venture in that projects make their tokens available to the public far earlier than companies do with their equity. Public markets are a tool. They can be a powerful avenue to build a long term community, or a way to get quick exit liquidity. The way in which they are used reflects the intentions of their user.
We have bought tokens of projects we believe in long term from the public markets and will continue to do so in the future. We will continue to invest in companies that are private and advise them to use public markets with a long term view. We will never compromise on playing long term games. That’s the game we play.