Pantera Blockchain Summit 2023 | Opening Remarks
Introduction
The speaker welcomes everyone to the event and explains that the purpose of the event is to bring together academics, portfolio companies, regulators, and others for a conversation about blockchain. The speaker emphasizes that this is an opportunity for attendees to contribute their ideas throughout the day.
Importance of Blockchain
The speaker discusses why blockchain is important and notes that investors from 27 different countries are present at the event. He shares an anecdote about Margaret Thatcher stressing the importance of property rights in making Britain successful. He also mentions that digital property rights are becoming increasingly important.
Importance of Property Rights
The speaker continues discussing the importance of property rights, sharing another anecdote about dogs in poor countries recognizing property boundaries. He emphasizes that blockchain's borderless nature makes it ideal for global business.
Concentration of Companies in US
The speaker notes that 60% of all companies invested in by his firm over 10 years are located in the United States, with half being within three miles of his office on Sand Hill Road.
History of Summit
The speaker explains that this summit is a continuation of one held back in 2013, which brought together a mix of people including regulators and startup founders to exchange dialogue. He expresses appreciation for former CFTC Chairman Christian Carlo's engagement with constituents regarding blockchain.
Changes Since Launching First Crypto Fund
The speaker reflects on how much has changed since launching his firm's first crypto fund in the US. He notes that there were only two portfolio companies at the time (Ripple and Trade Hill), but now there are many more successful exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken. He also mentions that Bitcoin is the only currency that has really succeeded.
Introduction
In this section, the speaker introduces upcoming conferences and compares the market cap of Bitcoin to that of Urban Outfitters.
Upcoming Conferences
- The speaker mentions upcoming conferences in a couple of months in New York and San Juan.
- They invite attendees to come to these conferences.
Bitcoin Market Cap
- The speaker compares the market cap of all cryptocurrencies at the time to that of Urban Outfitters.
- They express their belief that Bitcoin will have a much bigger impact on the world than companies like Johnson & Johnson.
Global Community
In this section, the speaker talks about their global community and investments made around the world.
Investors from Different Countries
- The speaker mentions having investors from 52 different countries.
- Half of their capital in their last fund came from outside the United States.
- Amsterdam and New York City are two biggest sources of capital for them.
Investments Around the World
- The speaker mentions investing in 35 different countries around the world.
- They were trying to decide where to hold their Summits outside California, and Singapore was chosen as it is an important economic model for rational policies.
Investment Funds
In this section, the speaker talks about investment funds offered by their firm.
Venture Style Funds
- These funds are commitments called down over a period of time and invested over eight or ten years.
Hedge Funds
- These funds offer liquidity on a quarterly basis.
Bitcoin Fund
- This fund was created as a passive tracker for Bitcoin when they thought it would take some time until an ETF was approved by SEC.
- It has been 10 years since then but still no ETF has been approved.
Consistent Investing Approach
In this section, the speaker talks about their consistent approach to investing in good protocols and companies.
LPS
- A third of their LPS are invested in more than one fund.
- They have quite a few LPS that are literally invested in every fund they have.
Consistent Investing
- The speaker mentions being convinced that blockchain is going to change the world.
- They come in every day and try to invest in good protocols and companies.
- They don't get too worked up about all the outside FUD (uncertainty doubt) regarding crypto.
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Introduction
The speaker welcomes everyone and thanks them for joining. He talks about the goal of the event, which is to focus on the future and what it might hold.
- Half of the room may be surprised at how different things were 30 years ago, while the other half may be amused by old hairstyles.
- Business leaders and investors often make three core errors when trying to think through the future: assuming that it will be too similar to the past, overestimating short-term achievements, and underestimating long-term achievements.
- The focus of today's event is not on Pantera but rather on discussing what the future might hold.
Thinking About The Future
The speaker discusses some core beliefs about what the future might hold.
- Web 3.0 is a set of decentralized applications that run on a blockchain.
- Trust and accountability will become innate rather than being paid for by individuals.
- Decision making will become more open source and not done by decree.
- Digital assets can hold tangible real-world value.
- Financial products and services will become accessible to everyone everywhere.
Progress Made So Far
The speaker talks about progress made in digital assets so far.
- Bitcoin was introduced only 14 years ago, yet hundreds of millions of people around the world are already using digital assets.
- Monthly developer activity on blockchain continues to grow, with a concentration of some of the world's best builders and smartest capital.
Ethereum and Pantera's Strategy
In this section, the speaker talks about the success of Ethereum and decentralized exchanges. They also discuss Pantera's investment strategy, which is built on three pillars: being the partner of choice for crypto-native founders, being the advisor of choice for influential investors, and being a leading investment crypto firm.
Ethereum's Success
- Ethereum has over 30 million smart contracts operating on its platform.
- In March 2021, over $110 billion was transacted on decentralized exchanges.
- The growth of decentralized exchanges has gone beyond Bitcoin.
Pantera's Investment Strategy
Founder Strategy
- Pantera aims to be the partner of choice for the world's best crypto-native founders.
- They have an amazing brand in the founder community with over 50 years of cumulative crypto investment experience.
- Pantera is a value-added investor that helps their founders solve unique and challenging problems.
- They help their founders quickly acquire their first 10 to 15 clients or partners to enable them to iterate towards product-market fit.
Advisor Strategy
- No bullet points available.
Leading Investment Crypto Firm Strategy
- No bullet points available.
Working Together to Solve Problems
The speaker discusses the importance of different parts of the industry working together to solve problems.
Importance of Collaboration
- Collaboration is necessary to solve problems in the industry.
Partnering with Influential Investors
The speaker talks about partnering with influential investors to empower them and give them access to markets.
Empowering Investors
- Pantera partners with influential investors.
- Goal is to empower investors and give them access to markets.
Focusing on Customer Service and Transparency
The speaker emphasizes the importance of customer service, transparency, and improving from where they are now.
Providing Transparency and Improving Customer Service
- Customer service is important for Pantera.
- Providing transparency is important for Pantera.
- Improving customer service is a priority for Pantera.
Importance of Community Amongst Investors
The speaker highlights the importance of community amongst investors.
Building Community Amongst Investors
- Community is important amongst investors.
- Events are hosted regularly by Pantera to bring people together.
Principles Around Which Pantera Is Built
The speaker discusses the principles around which Pantera is built.
Mission Driven and Focused on Excellence
- Pantera's core principles include being mission-driven and focused on excellence.
- People who work at Pantera are committed to the space long-term.
- Pantera hires people who are focused on producing excellence.
Fundamental, Systematic, and Diversified
- Pantera is fundamental, systematic, and diversified in its approach to investing.
- The firm deeply understands cause-effect relationships that drive the world.
- Pantera builds a systematic system based on deep understandings of markets.
- Humility is important for Pantera as they know they won't be right on everything.
Cutting Edge and Rock Solid
- Pantera needs to be cutting edge and rock solid in order to support growth in the industry.
Being Bold and Humble
- Pantera's motto is to be bold and humble.
- They dare to be right when others can't see it but are paranoid about what they could be wrong about when others point it out.