Scenius Studio

In this episode, Ben sits down with Hootie Rashidifard, Founder and General Partner of Hash3. Hootie recently announced Hash3’s first fund dedicated to investing in disruptive crypto middleware and infrastructure. With a roster of LPs with experience leading unicorn tech start ups, Hash3 works closely with its investor base and venture partner network to help crypto founders operate and scale their protocols and businesses.

Connect with the guest

In this episode, Ben sits down with Kyle Samani, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital. Kyle has been at the forefront of blockchain technology and innovation since founding the firm in 2017. Kyle is known for his non-consensus perspectives and his ability to break down business concepts and market structures to their core essence. Let's get into it.

Timestamps

2:50 What are the lessons learned from Pristine?

6:20 What were the biggest takeaways from Vision Pro?

12:30 How do you best consume information?

13:47 What is your process for developing investible theses?

16:30 Was the value proposition for Helium clear to you immediately? 

18:48 Lessons learned from evaluating DePIN projects?

22:12 Evaluating market structures?

25:14 Opportunities at the intersection of AI x crypto?

30:25 What do you think about Zero Knowledge tech and Privacy?

34:47 Issues with restaking and EigenLayer?

38:39 How has VC in crypto evolved?

40:51 Do you consider MultiCoin to be a generalist?

43:07 What emerging categories are most appealing to you at the moment?

46:53 What is your most contrarian take on crypto?

49:32 What is your most contrarian take outside of crypto?

50:54 Where can people learn more about you?

Resources Mentioned

Connect with the guest

Follow Kyle on Twitter https://twitter.com/KyleSamani

Follow Multicoin on Twitter https://twitter.com/multicoincap

Multicoin https://multicoin.capital/

Disclaimer 

Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

Quick reminder that despite our guest this week being a managing partner of a registered investment adviser, nothing in this podcast should be considered an offer of Multicoin’s investment advisory services or should otherwise be confused for investment, tax, legal or other financial advice.

In this episode, Ben sits down with Matt Walsh, Founding Partner of Castle Island Ventures. Matt was instrumental in the development of Fidelity's blockchain efforts before leaving to found Castle Island in 2018. Matt is a leading crypto VC with a deep understanding of tech innovation driving adoption, and the regulatory dynamics impacting the blockchain industry.

Let’s get into it.

Timestamps

3:15 What is your background?

5:04 Why was Fidelity open to Bitcoin in 2014?

8:10 What gave you the confidence to leave Fidelity and launch Castle Island?

10:26 What was it like raising capital for a new crypto fund in 2018?

12:07 How has the Castle Island thesis evolved since founding the firm?

18:17 What exit opportunities are available to equity-based blockchain companies?

23:15 What is the current state of venture in crypto?

26:25 Walk us through McHenry's market structure bill

30:18 What would this bill unlock within the U.S.?

32:54 Would this bill impact the proliferation of U.S. dollar denominated stable coins?

36:15 What is the status of blockchain acceptance in China?

39:17 Where does operation chokepoint 2.9 stand right now?

44:00 What impact will Ordinals have on BTC beyond NFTs?

48:12 What emerging opportunities are you excited to be backing now via Castle Island?

50:30 What is your most contrarian take within crypto?

52:55 What is your most contrarian take outside of crypto?

53:01 Where can people learn more about you?

Resources Mentioned

Connect with the guest

Follow Matt on Twitter https://twitter.com/MattWalshInBos

Follow Castle Island on Twitter https://twitter.com/CastleIslandVC

Castle Island https://castleisland.vc/

Disclaimer 

Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

In this episode, Ben sits down with Arthur Cheong, Founding Partner of Singapore-based DeFiance Capital. Arthur is a DeFi OG with a track record of early home run bets in Synthetix, Aave, and DYDX. Arthur is now leading DeFiance as the firm executes on its liquid venture thesis. 

Let's get into it. 

Timestamps

1:43 What are things like in Singapore at the moment from a general business perspective?

3:45 What are the dynamics between Singapore and Hong Kong?

5:58 Are there lobbyists that are pushing the crypto agenda in Asia?

10:42 What is your background?

12:27 What were the early days of DeFi like?

15:35 Explain in your words DeFiance's liquid venture thesis?

17:48 What type of liquid assets are you looking for?

23:50 How does your strategy compare to an active trading strategy?

26:38 What does the one-to-n phase in DeFi looks like?

29:56 What categories need to have their zero-to-one moments?

31:42 Are you still investing in infrastructure?

35:11 What are your thoughts on real-world assets and crypto?

37:53 What are your thoughts on crypto and AI?

39:59 What risk management operations and procedures have you put in place?

47:46 How are you evaluating counterparties?

51:04 What is your most contrarian take within crypto?

53:50 What is your most contrarian take outside of crypto?

58:19 Where can people learn more about you?

Resources Mentioned

Connect with the guest

Follow Arthur on Twitter https://twitter.com/Arthur_0x

Follow DeFiance on Twitter https://twitter.com/DeFianceCapital

DeFiance https://defiance.capital/

Disclaimer 

Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

In this episode, Ben sits down with Pranav Kanade, Portfolio Manager of Van Eck's Digital Assets Alpha Fund. Pranav left an illustrious career as a credit Portfolio Manager at Millennium to lead Van Eck’s active crypto hedge fund strategy. The institution's robust platform paired with Pranav's thesis-driven investment process shines a light on how TradFi and crypto are blending together at the highest level of the investment world. 

Let's get into it.

Timestamps

2:47 What is the Ethereum Shapella upgrade and how important is it?

7:03 What is your background?

14:33 How does your credit and distressed investing experience contribute to your current work at Van Eck?

16:31 What was your pitch to Jan Van Eck on launching an active crypto hedge fund strategy?

22:19 What’s it like running a crypto strategy within a highly regulated, large institution?

25:30 What are the investment themes that you are most focused on in the short-term?

29:41 What are some NFT innovations that are under appreciated?

32:40 What infrastructure needs to be built for institutions to participate on-chain?

36:20 USDC vs. a potential US Dollar denominated CBDC?

43:00 How correlated are assets currently and how does that influence your portfolio construction?

47:06 What is your most contrarian take in crypto?

50:35 What is your most contrarian take outside of crypto?

56:29 Where can people learn more about you?

Resources Mentioned

Shapella

ERC-4337

Van Eck Bitcoin Strategy ETF

Homebase

Auto-GPT

Connect with the guest

Follow Pranav on Twitter https://twitter.com/pkan90

Follow VanEck on Twitter https://twitter.com/vaneck

Van Eck https://www.vaneck.com/corp/en/

Disclaimer 

Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

In this episode, Ben sits down with Joe McCann, Founder, CEO, and CIO of Asymmetric. Joe and Asymmetric blend deep technical knowledge and expertise with an institutional trader's mindset to market structures, trading strategies, and risk management. Joe and his team have decades of experience in finance and technology and therefore are able to take advantage of opportunities in both the private and liquid token markets.

Let's get into it.

Timestamps

2:30 What is your background?

12:57 With crypto, what do traditional finance people get wrong and what do tech people get wrong?

21:55 Why did you split Asymmetric into multiple funds?

30:32 Are you worried about the optics of applying your trader's mentality to venture?

39:00 What’s your opinion on the utility of liquid tokens?

48:07 Why are you a Solana bull?

56:25 Will Solana matter as much with the implementation of ETH scaling solutions?

1:02:09 What catalysts need to happen for crypto to become a meaningful store of value asset usurping gold?

1:12:19 What is your most contrarian take in crypto?

1:18:47 What is your most contrarian take outside of crypto?

1:19:24 Where can people learn more about you?

Resources Mentioned

NodeSource

Microsoft Edge Crypto Wallet

Solana NFTs on Arweave

Brave Browser $BAT Token Sale ($35M in 30 Seconds)

SIMD

Nakamoto Coefficient

xNFT Backpack

Connect with the guest

Follow Joe on Twitter https://twitter.com/joemccann

Follow Asymmetric on Twitter https://twitter.com/goasymmetric

Asymmetric https://asymmetric.financial/

Disclaimer 

Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

In this episode, Ben sits down with Lewis Harland, Portfolio Manager and Head of Research at Decentral Park Capital. Lewis is a prolific writer with deep research into cutting edge valuation methodologies that leverage on chain data and analysis. His top-down valuation frameworks are widely recognized among leaders in the crypto industry while also helping steer Decentral Park's investment strategy and portfolio construction. Let's get into it. 

Timestamps

2:21 How has writing publicly online influenced your career?

6:26 What are your resources to find signal amid the noise?

10:39 What is your background?

15:10 How does your research feed into your investment process?

19:17 Can you share some examples where your top-down investment thesis was right and/or wrong?

26:10 Do valuation frameworks matter in crypto?

32:02 Can you explain your guide on how to value a blockchain?

38:18 Please define the Lindy effect?

44:45 How do you think about new technological disruptions and their impact on valuation methodologies?

50:24 What is your most contrarian take in crypto?

54:07 What is your most contrarian take outside of crypto?

56:56 Where can people learn more about you?

Resources Mentioned

GlassNode

Into The Block

Thermocap

On Blockchain Valuations

Cryptonetwork Governance As Capital

Nexus Mutual

EigenLayer

Connect with the guest

Follow Lewis on Twitter https://twitter.com/_LewisHarland_

Follow Decentral Park Capital on Twitter ​​https://twitter.com/DPCio

Decentral Park Capital https://www.decentralpark.io/

Disclaimer 

Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.