SATOSHI RIDES THE WAVES OF CHANGE

Blockchain Coinvestors Newsletter

Vol. 4, No. 11, May 2022

SATOSHI RIDES THE WAVES OF CHANGE

Before we move to the substance of this week's newsletter, we would like to invite you to join us for one of our two webinars this Wednesday May 11th about the launch of our sixth fund which is an investment strategy for mid stage growth opportunities in blockchain. Please click one of the two following links to register.  

Fund VI - Mid Stage Growth Fund Launch

- May 11th, 7:00am PT

- May 11th, 12:00pm PT


 SATOSHI RIDES THE WAVES OF CHANGE

 

The image that opens this newsletter is a piece of art created by artist Chiefmonkey that we have hanging on our wall at home. Created in 2019 the mountain range (bitcoin price) goes up to March 30th, 2019. The artist posits that a much mightier peak wave is coming and if you look closely you can see Satoshi Nakamoto surfing it. We love the piece and we also love the nod to one of our favorite artists of all time. Hokusai and his greatest of works; The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.

 

Chiefmonkey accompanies the piece with the following words:

 

“You either ride the waves of change or just float in the ocean. After the correction, developers carried on doing what they do best, improve and innovate… in March 2019 the fruits of the community began to be realised… it is now impossible to ignore the tsunami of blockchain innovation that is heading towards society." Chiefmonkey 2019.


You can learn more about Chiefmonkey by going to www.hodlr.rocks or by looking for him on Twitter at @HodlrDotRocks.

 

HOW DO POLITICIANS CHANGE THEIR VIEWS?

 

We know that politicians understand that they are there to serve and that democracy is for the people by the people. However, it is not easy to be a representative of the people. Sometimes mighty waves begin as small ripples. The beating of butterfly wings across the world, reverberating to change the system chaotically. First gradually, then suddenly. 

 

When does a politician decide to take on a new cause?

 

What we have observed is that when politicians begin to see how votes will be gathered, new causes get added to platforms and change begins to accelerate. No prospective political representative wants to be floating in an ocean - they all want to be riding the waves of change (and votes).

 

And in the last four weeks we may have just reached a tipping point.

 

WHERE LIES THE RESISTANCE TO CHANGE?

 

To understand what just happened, it is worthwhile understanding the nature of the resistance that has to be overcome so that every elected lawmaker takes digital monies, commodities, and assets as a central issue of their electoral platform. What needs to change.

 

In Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 22 (HESTER PEIRCE, SEC COMMISSIONER, NAILS IT) we shared a powerful synthesis of the US SEC Commissioner who most understands what needs to change in the current malaise of legacy regulation, and the confusion in which the past seeks to resist its inevitable future. We will not reduce her masterpiece to a summary. We much prefer you read her words in the original so please take a moment to click on the link and reread the earlier newsletter so you can fully appreciate what follows.

 

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

 

Around the world, some very important political statements have been made that will shape the coming political discourse. There are many more than the following, but these are the ones that took our attention as we prepared to write this newsletter:

  1. USA: Ohio. In Ohio ALL of the candidates for one of the most important senatorial races of 2022 added 'Pro Crypto' to their campaign manifestos. Republican and Democratic winners both say they want to see the future we have been sharing with you. Read more here.

  2. USA: California. In our home state, our Governor followed President Biden's executive order with one of his own in which he firmly nailed California's flag to the mast. The Bear Republic will be a global leader in blockchain and crypto. Read the executive order here.

  3. UK: In our country of birth, the UK Treasury announced moves that will see stablecoins recognised as a valid form of payment as part of wider plans to make Britain a global hub for cryptoasset technology and investment. Read the UK government statement here.

  4. UK: In parallel, we were lucky enough to have dinner in San Francisco two weeks ago with John Glen, the UK Economic Secretary to the Treasury and a former Accenture consultant who explained to us why he is such a big believer in blockchain. Read his keynote speech to the British people here.

  5. Canada: Just North of where we sit writing this newsletter, the front-runner to become the next leader of Canada’s opposition Conservatives, Pierre Poilievre, said he would ban the Bank of Canada from issuing a central bank digital currency if he became prime minister. Read more here to understand his core philosophy behind this statement.

  6. France: In the country we like to visit a lot, Binance - the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume - has gained regulatory approval to provide digital asset services in France. This is much more important than it might appear since Binance has been shunned by most jurisdictions to date. Read more here.

We could go on and on, but that is probably sufficient to make the point.

 

All of a sudden politicians around the world are adding pro blockchain, pro crypto narratives to their electoral platforms and they are being rewarded for doing so.

 

Who is voting for them when they do so?

 

IT IS ALL ABOUT TOMORROW'S VOTES

 

In Newsletter Vol. 4, No. 2 (THE DIGITAL NATIVE TAILWIND) we provided some of the key population dynamics that are driving these important political changes of heart among the world's elected - and candidates to be elected - officials. 

 

In that newsletter we specifically explained the New York and Miami mayoral wins to pro blockchain and crypto candidates. In those cities more than half the voters are under the age of 45 which means they are digital natives. In New York the average age of a Manhattan resident is 36. Digital natives consistently say they are between 80% and 95% in favor of blockchain and crypto in surveys we have seen.  Any politician who talks to their constituency directly gets the message quickly.

 

Expect this phenomenon to just keep on building until it is a wave of massive peak and power.

 

Let's watch all of the world's politicians (in touch with their constituents and the future) riding the waves of change.

 

Alongside Satoshi Nakamoto

Thank you for reading.

Alison Davis
Matthew C. Le Merle

ABOUT BLOCKCHAIN COINVESTORS

 

Launched in 2014, our goal is to provide broad coverage of the emerging unicorns and fastest growth blockchain companies and crypto projects. The strategy is now in its 9th year and has to date invested in more than 40 pure play blockchain venture funds in the Americas, Asia and Europe; and in a combined portfolio of 400+ blockchain and crypto projects including approximately 50% of all blockchain unicorns. Our funds rank in the top decile amongst all funds in their respective categories on both Pitchbook and Preqin. Headquartered in San Francisco with a presence in Grand Cayman, London, New York, Zug and Zurich, the alternative investment management firm was co-founded by Alison Davis and Matthew Le Merle.

FUND PERFORMANCE

 

Blockchain Coinvestors Fund III (Fund of Funds) was created to provide diverse coverage of the best blockchain pure play venture funds in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Blockchain Coinvestors Funds I and II have already experienced significant appreciation. Fund I Net TVPI is 4.72x with an IRR of 72%. Fund II shows equally impressive early results with Net TVPI of 2.08x and an IRR of 146%. Almost all of our fund investments are performing as top quartile against the Cambridge Associates Venture Benchmark.

BLOCKCHAIN COINVESTORS FUNDS

Blockchain Coinvestors’ goals are to provide broad coverage of the emerging unicorns and fastest growth blockchain companies and to capture superior returns from investing in the leading blockchain venture partnerships. Our funds are open to investors that meet the Qualified Client definition with a minimum subscription level of $250,000 at the discretion of the Manager. 

 

  • Blockchain Coinvestors Fund III (Fund of Funds) was created to provide diverse coverage of the best blockchain pure play venture funds in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Blockchain Coinvestors Funds I and II have already experienced significant appreciation. Fund I Net TVPI is 3.64x with an IRR of 69%. Fund II shows equally impressive early results with Net TVPI of 1.72x and an IRR of 161%. Almost all of our fund investments are performing as top quartile against the Cambridge Associates Venture Benchmark.

  • Blockchain Coinvestors Fund IV (Early Stage Token) provides direct access to promising private stage token projects accessing our relationships with many of the world’s leading blockchain investors. We leverage asymmetrical information from our 40+ VC Funds to pick the most attractive opportunities. This is a continuation of the direct token investing strategy of the Fund Manager that has included private stage investments in Acala, Filecoin, NEAR, Polkadot, Structure, and others.

  • Blockchain Coinvestors VI (Mid Stage Growth) provides direct exposure to the emerging category leaders in the blockchain and crypto ecosystem. The fund leverages our unique sustainable competitive advantage (USCA) in blockchain, web3, and fintech to create a concentrated portfolio of between 20 and 30 investments with attractive return profiles and visible paths to liquidity. The fund assesses the more than 400 blockchain and crypto projects in which we are direct and indirect investors and employs a robust investment framework to select investment opportunities into the leading mid stage growth rounds - typically Series B, C and D. This is a continuation of the mid stage investing strategy of the Fund Manager that has included investments in Bitwise, Brex, InfiniteWorld, Securitize, Uphold, Wyre, and others.

Please visit the Blockchain Coinvestors website to learn more about our offerings. You can also reach our Investor Relations team directly at ir@blockchaincoinvestors.com.

BLOCKCHAIN COINVESTORS SWISS

We are excited to announce that Blockchain Coinvestors Funds are now available through Swiss certificates for those of our non-US investors who prefer this approach. The underlying fund is the same, however, our Zurich based team at Blockchain Coinvestors Swiss, who will introduce in future weeks, can provide detailed information regarding this investment option. Email us at mlemerle@blockchaincoinvestors.com to learn more.

BLOCKCHAIN COINVESTORS ANGELLIST SYNDICATE

Continuing the theme of the democratization of investing, we have a rapidly growing Blockchain Coinvestors syndicate on AngelList providing access to selected coinvestments. Please join us and our partner Lou Kerner on AngelList.

Click here to receive the insightful weekly crypto newsletter and webinar invitations from our Blockchain Coinvestors partner Lou Kerner.

REGISTER NOW FOR UPCOMING WEBINARS AND CALLS

 

Our investment team hosts bi-monthly webinars and calls to help educate our community about the Fifth Era, fintech, blockchain and crypto. We discuss important trends, tailwinds and investment themes including what we have learned and how we are using our knowledge to inform our own investment thesis and actions. Below is a list of upcoming webinars for which you can register by clicking the links:

 

Fund VI - Mid Stage Growth Fund Launch

- May 11th, 7:00am PT

- May 11th, 12:00pm PT

 

Blockchain Coinvestors Investment Thesis

- June 6th, 7:00am PT
- June 6th, 12:00pm PT

 

What Are NFTs?

- June 20th, 7:00am PT
- June 20th, 11:00am PT

 

Recordings of past webinars and calls can be found at www.blockchaincoinvestors.com/webinars.

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