Dear Friends & Family,

When did you buy your first Amazon share?

Anecdotal evidence suggests that retail investors in Europe only began investing in tech stocks around 2015, nearly two decades after the internet became mainstream with the introduction of Microsoft Windows 95.

However, this initial boom was short-lived, with the sector appearing to be 'dead in the water' in the early 2000’s only to regain unprecedented relevance in our lives years later.

Most people don't realize that the pendulum of every new technology swings wildly. It's normal, and crypto is no exception.

Who would have thought in December 2022 that Bitcoin would reach an all-time high only 15 months later? What a difference a year makes.

Sam Bankman-Fried may no longer be able to participate in the thriving crypto ecosystem, but honest and diligent innovators from Bangalore, Berlin, Barcelona, and Denver will drive the next remarkable technological shift.

Blockchain technology will become an integral part of our technical infrastructure and indispensable within the next two decades.

Similar to how open-source Linux today powers 96% of global servers and runs on virtually every smart device, blockchains that do not belong to a corporate tech behemoth will provide the smart databases businesses will run on.

Resilient, safe, fast and efficient.

Going to ETH Denver

Speaking of innovators in Denver, our colleagues Ben and Sagar packed their bags to attend the ETH Denver event at the end of February.

It allowed them to reconnect with some of our US-based portfolio company founders, meet new entrepreneurs, and immerse themselves in the latest Web3 and blockchain developments.

A highlight of the event was meeting Gameboard founders, Shail Mehta and Tim Schukar, and receiving an update on their device's rollout, which is starting to make its way into living rooms across the USA and, subsequently, around the world.

Hardware is hard, they say, but as Elon Musk proves time and again with Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and many other hardware companies, it's those companies that will leave their footprint on society.

So, keep an eye out for Gameboard's availability in your country!

Coming to Dubai Token2049 - April 19

With our friends from Jumper, bitsCrunch, Biconony, and Gelato, we are hosting an invite-only brunch on the Palm Jumeirah during the Token2049 convention in Dubai on April 19.

Dubai has established a thriving ecosystem for crypto businesses and enthusiasts and Token2049 is seen as a key event in the industry.

If you happen to attend, and would like to meet our colleague Sagar to talk about becoming an investor in our fund, getting venture funding or compare notes with fellow VCs from around the world, register here.

Everything you always wanted to know about investing in Crypto Assets (*but were afraid to ask)

Investing in crypto is complicated. Or so it seems.

Options range from buying and holding Bitcoin directly or through a Blackrock ETF to investing in a liquid token fund with Pantera or choosing a venture capital fund like ours at Blockchain Founders Capital that invests in 30-40 promising companies.

The reality is that, to date, most family offices and asset managers have had limited exposure to investing in crypto assets.

Marcel, with over two decades of experience working with asset managers, and I want to provide a bit of help.

In the coming months, we will be visiting family offices and wealth managers to demystify blockchain technology and share our enthusiasm for its investment potential.

Naturally, we will showcase some of the companies we've invested in, which we believe are poised to become industry leaders.

We offer these sessions both in person and online, tailored for Family Offices, Asset Managers, and (semi-)professional investors.

This program is complimentary, though our capacity is limited. Please contact us if you're interested.

At worst, you waste sixty minutes, but much more likely, you'll gain a fresh perspective on crypto and blockchain technologies.

The internet also took some time to explain thirty years ago, as evidenced by this old "David Letterman meets Bill Gates" video, a timeless classic.

Recommended

One of my favorite reads is the weekly newsletter from our venture capital colleagues at Angular Ventures, written by Gil Dibner and David Peterson.

A tidbit from last week's edition encapsulates beautifully the essence of a pre-product-market-fit startup's mission:

"Remember, at its core, a startup is perhaps best defined as a small group of people dedicated to testing a novel hypothesis for creating outsized value. If you’ve just raised a round of capital, you have between 12-24 months to run a series of experiments to put that hypothesis to the test. In other words, the clock is ticking. So run as many experiments as you can!"‍

We’re investing

There is a considerable gap between what is possible with technology and what is being done today.

And that is why we wake up each morning filled with great optimism about the potential for technology to leave a positive and enduring legacy.

We are always on the lookout for founders using Web3 technologies to solve problems more effectively, efficiently, or affordably by an order of magnitude. If you should come across a great team in this space, we would love to hear about them.

As always, we welcome your comments or questions—feel free to reply directly to this newsletter.

Wishing you a joyful Easter break

Wolfgang, Ben, Marcel, and Sagar