Castle Island - Matt Walsh (Episode #22)

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

• McHenry, Thompson, Hill, Johnson Release Digital Asset Market Structure Proposal

• An (Institutional) Investor’s Take on Cryptoassets — John Pfeffer

• Telecommunications Act of 1996

• Waters Floats Stablecoin Bill Draft Ahead of Thursday House Hearing

• Beijing releases white paper for Web3 innovation and development

• Operation Chokepoint 2.0 — Nic Carter

• Halborn

• CAT Labs

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.