Cryptocurrency Investing

Portal Ventures closes a second crypto fund at $75 million #Portal Ventures, a pre-seed #VC based in New York City, has successfully closed its second crypto-focused fund, securing $75 million. Led by Evan Fisher and Catrina Wang, the firm is known for its unique strategy of backing just one founder per category within the crypto space, making it an exclusive early-stage supporter for top projects. This round attracted a powerful group of Limited Partners, including notable family offices like those of Henry Kravis and Marc Andreessen, alongside leading institutional backers such as Accolade, Theta Capital, and CrossLayer Capital. Portal Ventures has a proven track record of identifying blue-chip projects early on, often making the first investment before major players join. They have supported projects like Arch, Blueprint, Plume, and Rome, with later stages backed by prominent funds like Multicoin, Polychain, and Haun Ventures. Both Fisher and Wang bring impressive experience to the firm; Fisher previously invested $600M+ globally across sectors at Insight Partners, while Wang’s background includes significant roles at Protocol Labs and Hivemind Capital. With this new fund, Portal Ventures reinforces its commitment to the emerging #crypto market, focusing on pioneering projects that define the future of decentralized finance and blockchain technology. The article on #VCwiretech in the first comment.

Stop trying to get rich quick. My top 15 learnings from investing in the crypto markets: 1. Never invest in something because someone told you to. Do your own research. Develop your own conviction. And then ask others questions about your thesis. Analyze their answers to figure out if you know more than they do. Do this enough and you’ll develop conviction in your view vs the market view. 2. Write. The thoughts in your head aren’t real until you write them out. 3. Study onchain data. Artemis 4. Observe the market. If you aren’t observing the market, you are the market. Write out notes on a monthly basis about what you are seeing in the market. Observe the fear and greed of your friends and associates. The market is always telling you something. 5. Price moves first. This is extremely unique in crypto. Price. Moves. First. Fundamentals come later. Study Solana over the last year if you don’t believe me. 6. The name of the game is survival. Only invest what you are comfortable losing. If you are up at night worried about your investments, you’ve already lost the game. 7. Always leave some cash on the sideline. I keep a higher portion of my portfolio in cash than most (+10%). It keeps me calm. And I always feel like I can go on offense when an opportunity presents itself. 8. Never chase an opportunity out of FOMO. The next opportunity is right around the corner. Be patient. 9. Meditate daily. Meditation is the practice of observing your thoughts. Practice being mindful of that voice in your head. Do this enough and you’ll get better at observing your emotions and not let them get the best of you. This is a superpower not just for investing but for life. 10. Don’t forget to take profit. The market doesn’t owe you anything. Your price target isn’t real. Always re-assess and take profit or get out of a trade as information changes. 11. Never, ever, attach your identify to an investment. This is probably the biggest mistake I see in crypto, which is known for online communities, which function like cults. Everyone knows what happens to cults when everyone drinks the kool-aide. 12. Stay humble. Just when you start to think you’re a genius is when the market will hand you some L’s. 13. Pattern recognition is real. Why? Human behavior. 14. If you don’t understand macro, you don’t understand crypto. 15. Stop trying to get rich quick. Name of the game is *time in the market.* _______ The most obvious thing I see in the market right now? SOL will outperform ETH. Solana infra will outperform Ethereum infra (e.g. Pyth > Chainlink) Solana DeFi will outperform ETH DeFi (e.g. Jupiter > Uniswap) Solana memes will outperform ETH memes (e.g. Giga > Pepe) [none of this diminishes ETHs significance long-term. just the reality of the market today] SUI and TIA look like the alt L1 plays this cycle. What would you add? Data: Solana vs Ethereum Daily Fees powered by @artemis

The rise of cryptocurrencies has opened incredible opportunities for wealth creation, but with great wealth comes great responsibility. Managing crypto wealth isn’t the same as managing traditional assets—it demands a unique approach. Here are three key principles: 1️⃣ Diversify Smartly: Don’t put all your holdings in one token or platform. A balanced portfolio protects against volatility and maximizes potential. 2️⃣ Tax Planning is Key: Crypto taxation is complex, but ignoring it can be costly. Proper tax planning ensures you stay compliant and retain as much of your gains as possible. 3️⃣ Secure Your Assets: With the decentralized nature of crypto, safeguarding your wallets and private keys is paramount. A single misstep can lead to irreversible loss. At Nephos Group, we specialize in helping high-net-worth individuals and crypto entrepreneurs navigate these challenges. Whether it’s tax strategies, compliance, or tailored advice, we’re here to help you grow and protect your digital wealth.

#Blockchain | #Tokenization : 🚀 BNP Paribas Asset Management Takes a Major Step in Tokenisation - tokenised Money Market Fund (MMF) shares. BNP Paribas Asset Management has officially launched natively tokenised Money Market Fund (MMF) shares, leveraging Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in collaboration with Allfunds Blockchain as the tech provider and BNP Paribas Securities Services as the transfer agent and fund dealing services provider. This marks a significant milestone following the 2024 Eurosystem wholesale CBDC experiments — and represents a leap forward in the evolution of security tokens for institutional clients. By issuing a native tokenised share class of an existing Luxembourg-based MMF and enabling cross-border transactions with a French counterparty, BNPP AM is demonstrating how blockchain can radically improve fund operations. 🔹 Real-time order execution based on NAV 🔹 Increased operational efficiency 🔹 Instantaneous on-chain transactions 🔹 Future-ready for faster settlement cycles Beyond institutional use, this technology lays the groundwork for expanding MMF access to retail investors, enhancing liquidity, transparency, and accessibility. Read more at - https://lnkd.in/ggfwnw8D Let's look at some of the recent developments in this space - 🌐 Blockchain Integration and Infrastructure - A. Spiko, a French #fintech company, deployed its tokenized US and EU Treasury Bill Money Market Funds on the Arbitrum One network. These funds are regulated under the European Commission’s UCITS framework, offering daily liquidity and interest corresponding to the risk-free rate . B. Archax and XDC Network collaborated to tokenize four major MMFs managed by asset managers including abrdn, Fidelity International, BlackRock, and State Street. This initiative enhances transparency, efficiency, and accessibility for institutional investors 🏦 Major Asset Managers Embrace Tokenization - 1. BlackRock expanded its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) to the Solana blockchain, increasing its assets under management to $1.7 billion. The fund is now accessible across seven blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Polygon 2. Fidelity Investments filed with the SEC to launch a tokenized share class of its Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund (FYHXX) on the Ethereum blockchain. This move aims to enhance transactional efficiency and broaden institutional adoption . 3. Franklin Templeton expanded its Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) to multiple blockchain networks, including Stellar, Polygon, Ethereum, and Solana, pushing its assets beyond $580 million . 4. abrdn, in partnership with Archax, launched a tokenized MMF on the Hedera network, leveraging its high transaction throughput to enhance fund operations EmpowerEdge Ventures

𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: Approaches to Crypto Investing 🛣️ This week on the newsletter, we're sharing our views on crypto. We see crypto not as one asset class - if anything, it is a theme that can be played through a variety of ways. As follows, you can see which categories we most frequently see in clients portfolios: 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬: In the simplest form, buying Bitcoin. Beyond BTC, there’s a countless other tokens, ranging from large projects like to project-specific tokens to ‘meme coins.’ 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬: Actively managed strategies that invest in crypto and its derivatives (i.e. futures, options, ‘DeFi’ strategies). They range from strategies as simple as a ‘token fund’ that actively trades large tokens to sophisticated ‘quant funds’. 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Investments in the equity of companies with crypto exposure. That could range from a crypto miner, to a crypto technology provider (i.e. wallets, analytics) to companies building crypto-native projects (i.e. a new blockchain or a DeFi trading tool). 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬: As counterpart to active liquid strategies, (VC) funds make diversified bets into the equity and/or tokens of specific crypto projects/companies. As usual with VC, they might range from early-stage all the way to late-stage, established projects. Now that we know the categories - how do investors think that they stand to benefit from the crypto theme through the respective sub-asset class? 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞. Investors are directly exposed to changes in price of the respective token. The general idea is that especially large tokens such as BTC or ETH allow investors to capitalize on the technological trend as a whole without having to take a project-specific bet. 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐥𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲. ‘Long-only’ crypto funds try to outperform the outright token purchase through active trading. Market neutral’ strategies try to implement strategies known from traditional financial markets (i.e. arbitrage, carry trades, etc.) as well as crypto-unique strategies (i.e. DeFi lending, staking) to generate ideally ‘risk-free’ returns. 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬. While also betting on the crypto theme as a whole, they try to make differentiated bets that might generate excess benefits over larger tokens (i.e. a certain DeFi project) or that might benefit regardless of price movements in the crypto markets (i.e. infrastructure or analytics providers). 

What happened during the last two weeks in digital assets & tokenization ? 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠’𝙨 𝙪𝙥𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚, 𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨: » Mastercard & JPMorgan to integrate blockchain for cross-border payments. The collab combines Mastercard’s MTN & Kinexys (formerly Onyx) for efficient settlement using tokenized deposits, stablecoins, & CBDCs. » NexBridge Digital Financial Solutions & Bitfinex Securities launch USTBL, a regulated tokenized U.S. Treasury fund on Bitcoin’s Liquid Network. The offering complies with El Salvador’s digital asset law & aims for a $30M soft cap. » CFTC endorses tokenized collateral for derivatives. Its advisory subcommittee supports using tokenized assets like bonds as collateral, citing efficiency & 24/7 transferability with no rule changes required. » UK to deliver a crypto regulation framework by 2025. The initiative includes rules for stablecoins, staking, & tokenized markets, with plans to pilot digital gilts as part of the Digital Securities Sandbox. » Cantor Fitzgerald invests in Tether.io with a 5% stake, valuing the stablecoin issuer at $600M. Cantor also explores a $2 billion Bitcoin lending program with Tether. » European Investment Bank (EIB) issues a €100M digital bond settled using Banque de France’s wCBDC, leveraging Goldman Sachs’ tokenization platform for atomic settlement. » Deutsche Bank invests $20M in Partior to support on-chain euro & dollar transactions, expanding its role as a settlement bank in tokenized payments infrastructure. » Plume Network partners with Particula to advance tokenized assets, combining expertise in risk management with Plume’s blockchain infrastructure for RWA issuer. » HAUCK AUFHÄUSER LAMPE receives BaFin approval to register crypto securities, becoming a leader in tokenized financial instruments under Germany’s eWpG. » Ethena Labs & Securitize propose USDtb, a stablecoin backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL, for Spark’s $1 billion tokenization competition, with features to optimize reserves. » Hong Kong launches grants for digital bond issuances, offering up to $321,000 to support tokenized financial products and platforms in the region. » Cyprus adopts MiCA-compliant stablecoin guidelines, establishing rules for e-money & asset-referenced tokens to enhance payment stability. » 21X secures the first EU-regulated blockchain trading license under BaFin, enabling tokenized securities trading & settlement through its DLT platform. » Euro-backed stablecoins see trading volumes soar, with EURI & EURC dominating the market under MiCA, while Tether’s EURT exits due to regulatory pressures. » Hashnote’s USYC surpasses BlackRock’s BUIDL in market cap, reaching $559M due to its strong DeFi ecosystem integration. __ What else caught your attention? Let’s discuss in the comments! 💬

It’s an honor to announce that our new research paper has been published on SSRN: Catching Crypto Trend: A Tactical Approach for Bitcoin and Altcoins With the crypto market now worth over $3 trillion, more and more investors are adding digital assets to their portfolios. But holding crypto passively can lead to big losses during downturns. That’s why it’s important to use a tactical approach to follow the trends while managing risk effectively. Together with my co-authors, Alberto Pagani and Prof. Andrea Barbon (an expert in blockchain and DeFi), we tested a trend-following portfolio diversified across trend speeds and crypto markets. Using CoinMarketCap data, we backtested the strategy on all cryptocurrencies ever traded since 2015. The historical results are very attractive, with risk-adjusted returns more than twice as high as simply holding Bitcoin. The paper also includes a helpful section on the pros and cons of using centralized vs. decentralized exchanges when trading digital assets. All rules and results are explained in the paper. 📄 To read the paper → bit.ly/CryptoTrendsPaper 🎧 To listen to the paper → bit.ly/CryptoTrendsAudio 🎧 To listen on Spotify → spoti.fi/428HSKQ If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at carlo@concretumgroup.com A special thanks to Mohamed S. Gabriel, Leonardo Falconi and the other trend-following experts who reviewed the work and provided valuable feedback.

𝗢𝗻𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗙𝗶 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟱 From Sony entering the L2 wars to Kraken securing a Nasdaq listing vehicle, investors are doubling down on infrastructure, payments, and the bridge between traditional finance and regulated crypto. The 14 deals of the week (1/26 – 2/1, 2026): 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 • Mesh: $75M (Series C) — The "Plaid for crypto" led by Dragonfly. • Talos: $45M (Series B Ext) — Trading rails backed by Robinhood & Sony. • Flying Tulip: $25.5M (Series A) — Sophisticated DeFi infra from Andre Cronje. • Startale Labs: $13M (Strategic) — Sony betting big on L2s/Web3 gaming. • Doppler: $9M (Seed) — Solving the "broken launch" problem for protocols. • Tenbin Labs: $7M (Seed) — Middleware for tokenized commodities/FX. • Everything: $6.9M (Seed) — Universal exchange abstraction layer. • Bleap: $6M (Seed) — A stablecoin-based consumer neobank. 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 & 𝗜𝗣𝗢𝘀 • KRAKacquisition Corp: $345M (IPO) — Kraken-backed SPAC listed on NASDAQ. • Openmarkets Group: $300M (De-SPAC) — Regulated market infrastructure. • Streamex Corp.: $35M (Public Offering) — Pivot to tokenized commodities. 𝗠&𝗔 • DefiLlama: Acquired Bulletin to capture OTC/private market data. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 • Propy Inc.: $100M (Credit Facility) — Scaling onchain real estate settlement. 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 • Escape Velocity (EV3) Ventures: $61.7M (Fund II) — A dedicated fund for DePIN hardware networks. The team at the Global Venturing Labs analyzes the highest-impact developments and transactions shaping the onchain finance transition. Full analysis link in the comment: https://lnkd.in/efbMCRNK

I've analyzed dozens of fintech companies pivoting into crypto. Here are the 5 common traits in every successful implementation. Most enterprise crypto implementations fail because they overlook these critical success factors—the same patterns I've seen across multiple industries and company types. 1. Pain point specificity Successful companies focus on solving specific problems like remittances (where stablecoins cut fees from 6.5% to under 1%) and treasury management. JPMorgan's Onyx platform demonstrates this by processing billions in institutional transactions, reducing settlement times by over 90%. 2. Regulatory integration Winners build compliant solutions within existing frameworks. Circle achieved MiCA compliance in Europe, Société Générale launched EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) for regulated settlements, and PayPal's PYUSD operates within established financial guardrails. 3. Enterprise-first approach The most effective implementations prioritize B2B partnerships. Visa collaborates with Circle for USDC settlement, processing $3B in stablecoin payments in 2024. Mastercard aims to reduce cross-border fees by 50% through similar infrastructure. 4. Operational reliability Successful teams emphasize transaction stability. Stablecoin trading volume reached $1.81 trillion in November 2024, requiring institutional-grade infrastructure. Companies like Brale provide banks with robust compliance tools and liquidity management solutions. 5. Business-centric framing They communicate in terms of measurable business outcomes. Cross-border payments reduced from 3 days to seconds. Transaction costs dropping from 6.5% to under 1%. Real-time liquidity for 24/7 treasury operations and settlements. This approach applies across banking, payments, and financial services. The growing stablecoin market (projected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2035) provides the foundation for this transformation. The most valuable implementations transform financial operations while maintaining transparency for business leaders.

A Tectonic Shift in Institutional Confidence-BlackRock and Fidelity Investments buy $125 M worth of Ether The recent acquisitions of Ether by financial giants BlackRock and Fidelity mark a pivotal moment in the evolution of institutional crypto adoption. Together, these two titans have injected over $125 million into Ethereum markets in just a matter of days—BlackRock acquiring $100 million and Fidelity adding $25 million through its spot Ethereum ETF. More than headline numbers, these moves represent a tectonic shift in institutional confidence toward Ethereum as a core #digitalasset. BlackRock’s acquisition coincides with a significant accumulation trend among Ethereum whales, signaling a broader alignment of smart money. Fidelity’s aggressive buying also reflects rapidly growing inflows into spot ETH ETFs. With over $1.69 billion in net ETF inflows across its crypto offerings, Fidelity’s strategy reinforces Ethereum’s emerging role in diversified portfolios. The firm’s accumulation has contributed to pushing total U.S.-listed spot ETH ETF inflows beyond $4 billion despite ongoing market uncertainty. Together, these strategic moves by BlackRock and Fidelity represent more than just investment—they are a public endorsement of Ethereum’s long-term viability. As regulatory clarity improves and infrastructure matures, these acquisitions signal that Ethereum is no longer a speculative fringe but a foundational asset in the #future of #finance. Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source 3blockchain platform that enables the creation and execution of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). Launched in 2015, it features its #cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), which is used to pay for transactions and computational services on the network. Unlike Bitcoin, which primarily serves as a #digital currency, Ethereum functions as a programmable blockchain, allowing developers to build and deploy blockchain-based solutions. Ethereum is transitioning to a proof-of-stake model to improve energy efficiency and scalability through its Ethereum 2.0 upgrade. Ethereum stands apart from its competitors due to its first-mover advantage, mature developer #ecosystem, and robust smart contract infrastructure. BlackRock and Fidelity likely chose Ethereum over other platforms due to its institutional-grade infrastructure, regulatory momentum, and pivotal role in #Web3 #innovation. Ethereum's strong network effects and proven use cases make it a compelling long-term investment amid growing demand for digital assets. #finance #fintech #ecosystem #strategy #digital #currency #assets #wealth #investing #future