The Next Bull Market is Here, and Obvious | Spencer and Aleks, Blockchain Capital
Crypto prices are weak, OG sentiment is exhausted, and institutions are leaning in. Blockchain Capital GPs Aleks Larsen and Spencer Bogart join David Hoffman to explain why this disconnect may be the opportunity. They unpack crypto’s shift toward application-layer value, stablecoins as onchain working capital, tokenized equities, Aave V4, public blockchains, and BCAP. Is the cypherpunk dream fading, or becoming the foundation of global finance?
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Buybacks, Burns and Tokenholder Trust
5:47 Why Blockchain Capital Is Doubling Down
14:38 Institutions Arrive as Crypto OGs Lose Faith
21:03 From Infrastructure Scarcity to Abundant Blockspace
30:24 What AI Can Learn From Crypto
38:43 Stablecoins Become Onchain Working Capital
44:41 The Stablecoin Revenue Multiplier
47:40 Aave and Open Financial Infrastructure
55:08 The Roadmap for Tokenized Equities
59:41 Public Chains, Ownership and Compliance
1:04:24 Blockchain Capital’s Tokenized Fund
1:09:03 Bringing BCAP Fully Onchain
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RESOURCES
Spencer Bogart
https://x.com/CremeDeLaCrypto
Aleks Larsen
https://x.com/alekslarsen
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
The 4 Factors That Will Determine Which Spot Bitcoin ETFs Win Market Share - Ep. 591
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
The past few days have been a busy stretch in the run-up to a potential spot Bitcoin ETF approval by the SEC. Goldman Sachs was revealed as a possible authorized participant (AP) for BlackRock and Grayscale’s offerings, the SEC met with representatives of major stock exchanges, and a report skeptical of an imminent SEC approval likely caused a 7% decline in Bitcoin. Spencer Bogart, general partner at venture capital firm Blockchain Capital, joined Unchained to break down what all of these events mean, as well as discuss who the likely winners will be among ETF issuers, the impact of a spot bitcoin ETF on companies such as MicroStrategy and Coinbase, and how a spot ETF will affect Bitcoin futures ETFs and leveraged crypto ETFs.
Show highlights:
Why the newly authorized participants in the spot Bitcoin ETFs are critical for maintaining the ETF’s price alignment
The reasons behind the excitement over Goldman Sachs becoming an authorized participant in the spot Bitcoin ETFs
How the Matrixport report led to a 7% drop in BTC value
The importance of seed funding for ETFs and its impact on their stability and growth
The pivotal role of distribution in an ETF and why Spencer emphasizes its significance
Whether the fees charged by ETF issuers will become a decisive factor for consumers in choosing their preferred ETF
The potential impact of changes in the Grayscale board on its aspirations to launch an ETF
How the introduction of a spot Bitcoin ETF might influence BITO, the futures-based Bitcoin ETF
Whether the launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF could affect the stock value of MicroStrategy
Spencer's reasoning behind why Coinbase stands to "absolutely benefit" from the introduction of a spot Bitcoin ETF
Thank you to our sponsors!
Arbitrum Foundation
Popcorn Network
iTrustCapital
Guest
Spencer Bogart, General Partner at Blockchain Capital
Links
Previous coverage of Unchained on spot Bitcoin ETFs:
Why the SEC May Want Cash Creation of Spot Bitcoin ETFs
Why It Looks Like BlackRock Could Win America’s First Spot Bitcoin ETF
Why a Spot Bitcoin ETF Will Probably Launch No Later Than January 10
How Much Money Will Flow Into Bitcoin ETFs? Here’s One Projection
Why It Looks Like BlackRock Could Win America’s First Spot Bitcoin ETF
The Chopping Block: Are We Back? The ‘Low IQ’ Response to the Potential Spot Bitcoin ETF
Matrixport report
Why the SEC will REJECT Bitcoin Spot ETFs again
Jihan Wu’s tweet defending the analyst
Unchained: Why Did Bitcoin's Price Dip as ETF Approval Nears?
Market participants:
Unchained: Goldman Sachs Could Take Vital Role in BlackRock, Grayscale Spot Bitcoin ETFs: Report
The Block: Nasdaq to meet with SEC today to discuss spot bitcoin ETFs: Source
Reuters: BlackRock, VanEck among asset managers that submitted updated filings for spot bitcoin ETF
CoinDesk: BlackRock, Valkyrie Name Authorized Participants Including JPMorgan for Bitcoin ETF
8-As
The Block: Fidelity, Grayscale filing 8-A forms show progress for spot bitcoin ETF applications
Fees
Fidelity set their fee to .39%
Invesco/Galaxy chose to waive fees
Grayscale:
Unchained: DCG CEO Silbert, President Murphy Exit Grayscale Board
Learn more:
Unchained:
Bitcoin ETFs Explained: What Are They & How Do They Work?
Why The Spot Bitcoin ETF Is a Big Deal
Deciding on Bitcoin: Should New Investors Jump In Now or Wait for an ETF?
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Blockchain Capital's Spencer Bogart on the Future of Crypto and DeFi
Today we're diving deep into the mind of Spencer Bogart, who is a partner at Blockchain Capital.
Spencer has played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of decentralized technologies and digital assets over the last decade.
We get into his journey impact in the blockchain sector, their investment thesis around the controversial WorldCoin, how he's continued to thrive among many economic downturns, and we get into their recent news of a $580 million for two new funds.
But first, Spencer tells us about the history of the firm.
Blockchain Capital's $580M Dollar Bet on Crypto | Spencer Bogart & Aleks Larsen
In today's episode of Empire Jason and Santi interview Blockchain Capital General Partners Aleks and Spencer. Blockchain Capital recently closed two new funds, early stage and opportunity, totaling $580 million. Since its inception in 2013, Blockchain Capital has invested in more than 110 companies, protocols and crypto assets across the ecosystem. Today's discussion dives into their fund thesis and overall managing strategy, the time horizon for mass adoption, deploying capital in U.S. based projects, and existing discounts in later stage start-ups.
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Follow Aleks: https://twitter.com/_alekslarsen
Follow Spencer: https://twitter.com/CremeDeLaCrypto
Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz
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Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/
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Timestamps:
(00:00) $580M Fund Raise
(08:00) Fund Performance and Power Dynamics
(16:45) Time Horizon for Mass Adoption
(22:04) Allocating Capital in U.S.
(29:58) Exciting Innovation
(38:30) Bumper Ad
(39:34) Vouch ad
(40:42) Balancing Portfolio Competition
(44:50) Investment Stage Discount
(47:18) What's Misunderstood about WorldCoin
(51:01) Potential of AI & Crypto
(54:09) Lessons Learned from Previous Cycles
(58:56) Revisiting Old Ideas
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Resources:
Blockchain Capital
https://www.blockchaincapital.com/blog/doubling-up-while-doubling-down-announcing-our-latest-funds
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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Spencer Bogart on the $20 Trillion in Store-of-Value Assets - Ep.138
Spencer Bogart, general partner at Blockchain Capital, the first VC firm to tokenize one of its funds, talks about how well offering tokenized shares has worked out, why it didn't do so for the following fund, the appeal of security tokens generally and what advantages tokenized securities offer over non-blockchain platforms like Second Market, in which investors can trade shares in private companies. He also explains what entrepreneurs are looking for from VCs now that they have more ways to raise from the crowd, how Blockchain Capital decides between investing in equity vs. tokens when there is an option, and why the firm believes there will only be five or fewer dominant blockchains. He describes why he thinks it's likely Bitcoin will take the lion's share of the market, noting its $200 billion market cap vs. the $20 trillion in other store-of-value assets such as gold, real estate and art, and whether or not it's possible to invest in Lightning, the second layer built on top of Bitcoin. We also cover the Bitcoin ETF proposals, stablecoins, how crypto might take off in video games and its 66x return within two years on its investment in Block.One.
Thank you to our sponsors!
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CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained
Episode links:
Blockchain Capital: https://blockchain.capital/
Spencer Bogart: https://twitter.com/CremeDeLaCrypto
Unchained interview with Brock Pierce: https://unchainedpodcast.com/this-vc-is-sure-venture-capital-is-about-to-be-disrupted/
BCAP Q2 Nav: https://blockchainloop.com/blockchain-capital-releases-q2-2019-bcap-token-nav/
Upgrading of BCAP to Securitize platform: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/09/04/1565117/0/en/BCAP-Tokens-to-be-Upgraded-Utilizing-Securitize-Platform.html
Funding of Securitize: https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-backs-security-token-startups-12-75-million-funding-round
Blockchain Capital’s fourth fund: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blockchain-capital-closes-fund-iv-at-150-million-300617495.html
Story about Blockchain Capital trying to separate itself from Brock Pierce: https://decrypt.co/6876/is-blockchain-capital-trying-to-scrub-co-founder-and-mighty-ducks-star-brock-pierce-from-its-history
Interview with Brock Pierce in which he describes leaving Blockchain Capital: https://hackernoon.com/brock-pierce-interview-tales-from-the-bitcoin-floor-e479693a49bd
Lightning Network statistics: https://bitcoinvisuals.com/lightning
Tweets from LNBig on how they earned $0.10-$0.30 a day on Lightning fees: https://twitter.com/lnbig_com/status/1163055682964348934?s=20
https://twitter.com/lnbig_com/status/1159538637597487104?s=20
LNBig on how they spent $1,000 or so to open their Lightning channels: https://www.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/bxh0ny/lightning_network_capacity_takes_a_sudden_dive/eq9x4i9/
Profitability of running a lightning node: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/a9dmzw/how_profitable_is_running_a_lightning_node/
Letter to the SEC: https://blockchain.capital/examining-bitcoins-valued-attributes-a-letter-to-the-sec/
Blog post about Bitcoin’s likely dominance: https://blockchain.capital/the-past-future-of-blockchain-where-were-going-and-why/
Spencer's Reddit post with questions/concerns about MakerDAO: https://www.reddit.com/r/MakerDAO/comments/asb9n6/a_couple_questions_concerns_about_maker_and_mkr/
+ tweetstorm: https://twitter.com/cremedelacrypto/status/1103428046621618178
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Unconfirmed: Spencer Bogart on Bitcoin's Maturation and the SEC Overhang on Crypto
Spencer Bogart, partner at Blockchain Capital, discusses why he think Bitcoin's growing pains are a sign of success, how the SEC regulatory gloom could affect the development of crypto and how a liquidity crunch could affect crypto hedge funds. We also take a peek at the coming platform wars.
Blockchain Capital: http://blockchain.capital/
New crypto hedge funds: https://hackernoon.com/the-fate-of-crypto-hedge-funds-ca5850e8421c
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