Crypto VCs say "this is the way" on decentralization

As the crypto market digests the past few days of chaos, venture capitalists see the moment as a warning, but also an opportunity for the growth of decentralization and maturation of the larger blockchain space.

“As venture investors, we take a long-term view on the industry; despite the current market turmoil, we are actively assessing and investing in the right opportunities,” Marc Weinstein, founding partner of Mechanism Capital, said to journalist. “The premise of DeFi has, if anything, been strengthened by the collapse of centralized entities from opaque counterparty relationships.”

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is often associated with trusting blockchain technology to execute services through smart contracts, while centralized finance (CeFi) usually refers to more traditional business models and involves having people manage funds and manually execute services.

Historically, the venture market doesn’t get “too offended” by what transpires in secondary markets, David Gan, general partner at OP Crypto, said to journalist. Regardless, he said, the seeming death of FTX is saddening for everyone, “not just in the VC space, but across the board.”

When there are massive crashes and burns, it speaks to what we’ve been seeing over the past decade: It’s the Wild West out there, Samantha Lewis, principal at Mercury, said to journalist.

“When summarizing it all, I see it a continuation of the phase that started when winter hit and we saw Luna and all these crazy companies crash and burn like BlockFi, Celsius and now we have FTX,” Lewis said. “As an early-stage venture investor, it’s telling me the hype is now for sure gone. But that ushers in the maturation of the space that a lot of us have been craving for a really long time.”