Scenius Studio

In this episode, Ben sits down with Zoe Weinberg, Founder and Managing Partner of Ex/Ante, a venture firm investing in the next generation of privacy, security, and information tools. Prior to Ex/Ante, Zoe served on the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence and at Google AI. She has also had stints as an investor at the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank and at Goldman Sachs. Tune in for insights into Ex/Ante’s thesis of agentic tech and how blockchain represents a core component of the firm’s investment strategy. Let's get into it. Resources Mentioned National Secuirty Commission on Artificial Intelligence Signal Foundation Open Tech Fund The Metaverse is Coming, and the World is not Ready for it — Zoe Weinberg (NY Times article) Connect with the guest ex/ante https://www.buildexante.com/ Follow ex/ante on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/buildexante Follow Zoe on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/zweinberg 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 Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise. Jeff has had an illustrious career with a variety of roles at Morgan Stanley, Harvard Management Company, and Corbin Capital Partners before focusing his career on crypto and multi-manager solutions at Bitwise. Jeff’s insight into the forthcoming Bitcoin Spot ETF is timely and informative. Moreover, his measured approach when evaluating actively traded strategies demonstrates his mastery of various methods of alpha generation. Tune in for insights into active and passive digital asset investment strategies. Resources Mentioned Bitcoin, Blockchain, and Crypto — by Matt Hougan David Swensen, Yale Endowment Model Binance Tri-Party Agreement Hidden Road’s Route 28 Connect with the guest Bitwise https://bitwiseinvestments.com/ Follow Bitwise on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/BitwiseInvest 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 Adam Benayoun Founder and General Partner of Collider Ventures. Collider is Israel’s preeminent blockchain-dedicated venture capital fund. Over the last five years, Adam has been investing in the asset class and steering blockchain and digital asset policy in Israel alongside Israeli-born blockchain unicorns such as Fireblocks and Starkware. Collider seeks to back Israeli teams where blockchain intersects with traditional areas of Israeli technological strength such as cybersecurity and cryptography. Amid the recent geopolitical turmoil in Israel and Palestine we thought this was an important episode to share. Let's get into it. Resources Mentioned Starkware Fireblocks Fhenix Connect with the guest Collider https://www.collider.vc/ Follow Collider on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/ColliderVC 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 sit downs with Alex Lange Founding Partner of Inflection based out of Berlin. Prior to launching Inflection Alex held roles at Google and Index Ventures where he leveraged his technical acumen and deep understanding of hardware to begin exploring cutting edge and non-consensus blockchain investing. Now at Inflection, Alex invests into both the infrastructure and application layer as the firm continues to build its brand as a premier European based early-stage venture fund. Let's get into it. Connect with the guest Inflection https://inflection.xyz/ Follow Alex on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/AlexLangeVC 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.

Rennick Palley, Founding Partner of Stratos, talks about his research and understanding of blockchain infrastructure, the importance of investing in seed rounds, comparing valuations of monetary assets, token dynamics, and exciting projects like Celestia. He also shares his contrarian takes within and outside of crypto.

Evgeny Gokhberg, founder and CIO of re7 Capital, discusses the future of on-chain finance and the challenges of working with service providers in the DeFi space. They also talk about R7's strategies and new vehicles, the possibility of turning on the fee switch for Uniswap, blending decentralized finance (DeFi) with centralized finance (CFI), DeFi themes and real-world assets, and the importance of active asset management in crypto investing.

In this episode, Ben sits down with David Kalk, founder and CIO of Reflexive Capital. Dave recently spun Reflexive out of Commonwealth Asset Management where he was head of global macro and digital assets. Prior to Commonwealth, Dave was CIO of Peter Thiel’s Macro Fund and a trader at Goldman Sachs. At Reflexive, Dave brings an institutional mindset and cross asset market experience to liquid tokens and the early stage venture space. Let's get into it. Resources Mentioned Commonwealth https://www.cwamgroup.com/ Connect with the guest Reflexive Capital https://www.reflexive.xyz/ 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.

Anand Iyer, Founder of Canonical Crypo and angel investor, talks about the intersection of AI and blockchain, the importance of decentralization in AI growth, and the significance of fully homomorphic encryption. He also discusses the underwriting process for pre-seed investments, the role of AI agents, and the popularity of projects like FrenTech in the crypto space.

In this episode, Ben sits down with Jon Moore and Gaby Goldberg of The Chernin Group Crypto. At TCG, Gaby and Jon invest in web3 consumer applications and related infrastructure. Deploying out of a $120mm Fund I, TCG has and continues to invest in payments, collectives, gaming, entertainment, and consumer related utility products. The fund has a unified thesis around digital ownership unlocking net-new and business accretive opportunities. Tune in for unique insights into the application layer, mobile, wallets, and more. Let's get into it. Timestamps 2:00 What consumer use-case has the opportunity to onboard durable new users to crypto? 4:25 What is your background? 10:27 How has the team developed TCG's thesis and how has it evolved? 16:21 Are there examples of "passion" not driven by speculation/financialization in crypto? 19:08 Can you elaborate on how Arkive represents a new consumer experience? 24:21 Web2 brands integrating web3 tooling vs. web3 native brands? 31:03 How do you think about the integration of consumer with crypto infrastructure when investing? 36:18 How can crypto transition into mobile? 42:47 What is GMI vs. NGMI in crypto gaming? 43:41 What is GMI vs. NGMI in crypto music? 44:50 What is GMI vs. NGMI in crypto payments? 45:51 What is GMI vs. NGMI in DAOs? 46:50 What are some projects that you’re excited about? 55:29 What is your spiciest take within crypto? 58:22 What is your spiciest take outside of crypto? 1:01:16 Where can people learn more about you? Resources Mentioned Bright Moments Hume Arkive Flamingo Medallion Pudgy Penguins Y00ts to Ethereum Rainbow Wallet Sphere Curio Jia Finance Fairer by TCG Ledger Recover Once Upon - Block explorer Connect with the guest TCG Crypto Gaby Goldberg Jon Moore 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 Evan Fisher, Founder and General Partner of Portal Ventures. Evan started his career at Goldman Sachs and Insight Partners before launching Portal. At Portal, Evan invests across the industry, globe, and fundraising stage as he applies his traditionally trained venture skillset to protocol investing. Evan is a pragmatist with a business model oriented investment framework that has thus far resonated with founders and builders across the blockchain industry. Lets get into it. Timestamps 1:45 How was ETHcc and your trip to Paris? 2:58 How should crypto-natives share with others what the state of the industry is? 3:44 What is your background? 6:44 How does your classical venture investment experience translate into protocol investing at Portal? 8:17 What is different about traditional investing and protocol investing? 12:41 What needs to change in crypto in order to attract institutional investors? 16:15 How can non-layer one tokens hold value without being deemed as securities? 18:05 Where do you feel like you have an edge? 20:45 What are the business models in crypto that are emblematic of where the space can go?  22:56 What are some emerging categories that you’re most excited about? 26:06 What is Urbit? 29:10 How do you invest in Urbit? 31:03 What is built on Urbit that can attract the interest of crypto native people? 35:19 What is next for DeFi? 38:41 How was the Ion deal sourced? 42:56 What are some of the retail ready projects that you are excited about? 47:48 Is there anything in AI that you’re excited about? 52:01 What is your most contrarian take within crypto? 52:22 What is your most contrarian take outside of crypto? 56:50 Where can people learn more about you? Resources Mentioned Medici Network Fully Homomorphic Encryption Urbit Holium Tlon Landscape Ion Protocol Connect with the guest Follow Evan on Twitter https://twitter.com/evanbfish Follow Portal on Twitter https://twitter.com/PortalVentures Portal Ventures https://portal.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.