Crypto Day | Brian Armstrong, Balaji, Chris Dixon, Katie Haun & More
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Exploring Early-Stage Crypto Investment and Real-World Applications
This chapter features a guest from Volt Capital discussing their investment strategies in early-stage crypto companies. The conversation covers the challenges and opportunities in the crypto space, particularly around real-world applications of blockchain, stable coins, and the integration of AI and robotics.
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- (01:07) - Balaji Srinivasan is an American entrepreneur and investor known for his roles as former CTO of Coinbase and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. He co-founded several companies, including Counsyl, Earn.com, and Teleport, and authored The Network State, a book on building decentralized digital communities. Srinivasan holds multiple degrees from Stanford University and is an active angel investor in technology and crypto startups.
- (27:00) - Alon. @a1lon9 is the co-founder of Pump.fun, a Solana-based platform that enables users to create and trade meme coins instantly. Launched in January 2024, Pump.fun has facilitated the creation of over 6 million tokens and generated significant revenue through transaction fees. They have been a vocal figure in the crypto community, advocating for the democratization of token creation while addressing criticisms regarding the platform's role in speculative trading.
- (42:07) - Katie Haun is the founder and CEO of Haun Ventures, a $1.5 billion crypto-focused venture capital firm. A former federal prosecutor, she led high-profile investigations into the Mt. Gox hack and Silk Road case, and created the DOJ’s first cryptocurrency task force. Haun previously served as a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and was the first independent board member at Coinbase.
- (59:11) - Chris Dixon. Chris is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and founder of a16z crypto, overseeing over $7 billion in Web3 investments. He previously co-founded SiteAdvisor (acquired by McAfee) and Hunch (acquired by eBay), and was an early investor in companies like Coinbase and Oculus. Dixon authored Read Write Own (2024), a book advocating for a decentralized internet.
- (01:29:16) - Kyle Samani. Kyle is the co-founder and managing partner of Multicoin Capital, a thesis-driven investment firm specializing in cryptocurrencies, tokens, and blockchain projects. Before Multicoin, he founded Pristine, a health IT startup acquired by Upskill. Samani holds degrees in Finance and Management from NYU Stern and is recognized for his technical analysis and thought leadership in the crypto space.
- (01:42:52) - Ben Pasternak. Ben is an Australian tech entrepreneur who gained early recognition for creating the viral game Impossible Rush and later co-founding the social apps Flogg and Monkey. At 15, he became one of the youngest tech founders to secure venture capital funding. He used to be the CEO of SIMULATE, a food technology company known for its plant-based chicken nugget alternative, NUGGS, which has raised over $57 million from investors including Alexis Ohanian and Jay-Z.
- (01:58:03) - Tom Schmidt. Tom is a General Partner at Dragonfly Capital, focusing on early-stage Web3 and crypto investments. He previously led product at 0x and held product management roles at Facebook and Instagram. Schmidt holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science from Stanford University and has advised companies like Audius and Betty Labs.
- (02:15:01) - Konstantin Richter. Konstantin is the founder and CEO of Blockdaemon, a leading blockchain infrastructure provider for node management, staking, and wallet services. Before founding Blockdaemon in 2017, he held roles at Deutsche Telekom and Nokia, and built several SaaS platforms with successful exits. Under his leadership, Blockdaemon has raised over $400 million, reaching a $3.25 billion valuation, and serves major financial institutions including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Citi Ventures.
- (02:29:06) - Luca Netz. Luca (born Luca Schnetzler) is the CEO of Pudgy Penguins, an NFT brand he acquired for $2.5 million in April 2022. A former e-commerce entrepreneur, he revitalized the project by expanding into physical toys, selling over 1.5 million units through major retailers like Walmart and Target. Netz also launched the PENGU token on Solana and developed Pudgy World, aiming to establish Pudgy Penguins as a leading Web3-native IP brand.
- (02:44:27) - Dylan Abruscato. Dylan is the Emmy-nominated founder of Crypto: The Game (CTG), a viral crypto survival game blending elements of Survivor and Squid Game. Launched in 2023, CTG gained traction for its social gameplay and was acquired by Uniswap Labs in 2024. Prior to CTG, Abruscato held marketing roles at HQ Trivia, Uber, and Postmates, and began his career at Saturday Night Live.
- (02:59:10) - Brian Armstrong. Brian is the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, which he launched in 2012 after working at Airbnb and Deloitte. A Rice University graduate with degrees in computer science and economics, he has also founded GiveCrypto.org and NewLimit, a biotech startup focused on extending human healthspan through epigenetic reprogramming. Under his leadership, Coinbase went public in 2021 and now serves over 100 million users globally.
- (03:30:22) - Soona Amhaz. Soona is the founder and managing partner of Volt Capital, a venture firm investing in early-stage crypto startups like Nansen, Magic Eden, and LayerZero. Prior to Volt, she co-founded Token Daily and worked at Alation, with a background in engineering from the University of Michigan. Recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30, Amhaz is known for her contrarian investment approach and active participation in the crypto community.
- (03:45:24) - Mert Mumtaz. Mert is the co-founder and CEO of Helius, a Solana infrastructure company providing developer tools like RPCs and APIs to streamline blockchain app development. Previously a software engineer at Coinbase, he identified inefficiencies in blockchain tooling and launched Helius in 2022 to address them. Known for his outspoken presence on Crypto X, Mumtaz is a prominent advocate for Solana, often engaging in technical debates and challenging misconceptions about the network.
- (03:59:29) - Dan Romero. Dan is the co-founder and CEO of Farcaster, a decentralized social protocol designed to give users control over their identity and data. Before founding Farcaster in 2020, he was Vice President of Operations at Coinbase, where he joined as employee #20 and helped scale the company through its early growth. Romero is also an active angel investor in startups like Linear, Eight Sleep, and TipTop.
- (04:16:36) - Shehzan Maredia. Shehzan is the founder, CEO, and CTO of Lava, a Bitcoin-native lending platform that enables users to borrow dollars while retaining full self-custody of their BTC. Previously, he worked as an engineer at Google and earned degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Math from Duke University. Under his leadership, Lava raised a Series A co-led by Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund, and introduced innovations like seedless self-custody, Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs), and Lava Free Pay for gasless blockchain transactions.
- (04:27:00) - Brandon Millman. Brandon is the co-founder and CEO of Phantom, a leading self-custodial crypto wallet initially built for Solana and now supporting Ethereum and Polygon. Before founding Phantom in 2021, ...
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