Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Olaf Carlson-Wee – The Future of Crypto (EP.257, Crypto for Institutions 2 – EP.04)

Jun 23, 2022

Olaf Carlson-Wee, the Founder and CEO of Polychain Capital, shares insights from his crypto journey as Coinbase's first hire. He discusses the transformative potential of cryptocurrency for institutional investment and the evolution of his strategies since launching his $5 billion firm. Olaf dives into decentralized platforms' impact on the creator economy, the future of NFTs, and the dynamics of stablecoins, while challenging common misconceptions about the crypto landscape. His vision underlines the significance of innovation in this rapidly changing ecosystem.

59:28

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Olaf Carlson-Wee

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Episode notes

Intro

2min

Exploring Crypto Landscape for Institutions

4min

From Bitcoin Beginnings to Venture Innovations

28min

Decentralization and the Creator Economy

12min

Exploring the Future of NFTs, DeFi, and DAOs

4min

Exploring the Risks and Dynamics of Stablecoins in Cryptocurrency

2min

Unraveling the Misconceptions of Cryptocurrency

2min

Personal Philosophy and Growth

8min

Olaf Carlson-Wee is the Founder and CEO of Polychain Capital, a $5 billion investment firm that was one of the first institutional crypto funds upon its launch in 2016. Olaf is among the crypto OGs, he was the first hire at Coinbase and led risk management before founding Polychain with initial investments from Sequoia, a16z, Union Square Ventures, and Founders Fund. He was named to both the Forbes 30 Under 30 and Fortune 40 Under 40. Our conversation explores Olaf’s vision for what is to come in the crypto ecosystem. We cover his early discovery of cryptocurrency, his experience at Coinbase, and his founding and strategy at Polychain. We then turn to Olaf’s perspective on the present and future of incentive systems, social media, bear markets, layer 1 protocols, bridges across protocols, NFTs, DeFi, DAOs, and stablecoins.

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