Does Venture Capital Investment Violate the Ethos of Crypto? Sequoia Says No - Ep. 367

Shaun Maguire and Michelle Bailhe, partners at Sequoia, discuss their long term view and thesis about crypto, what do they look for to invest in a crypto project, the takeaways from the blowup of Terra, the insolvency of crypto companies, and much more. Show highlights:
what is Sequoia’s long term view and thesis about the crypto industry how different our lives will look in 20 years from now due to blockchain technology how Sequoia had to adapt to invest in this new asset class and what are the similarities and differences with investing in traditional startups when a product or service on the internet should be offered in a decentralized or centralized way how Sequoia decides whether to invest in the entity behind a project or in the tokens whether having venture capitalists involved at all goes against the ethos of decentralization why Shaun believes that Ethereum proved that decentralization can be achieved even when you start being centralized whether people underestimate the value that VCs can add to a project why Shaun believes that Solana is moving towards decentralization Sequoia’s thesis about privacy in crypto and the potential of zero-knowledge proofs  how Michelle sees the macroeconomic environment impacting crypto and whether this cycle is different from the previous ones the importance of product market fit in crypto projects what crypto projects should be focusing on and the business model they should be pursuing the main takeaways of the Terra collapse and how it was a major setback for algo stablecoins how crypto founders should always do the right thing even though there is no clear regulation whether SBF is the Berkshire Hathaway of crypto today the lessons to be learned from the potential insolvency of some crypto lenders and investment firms how demand for blockspace will keep increasing and whether a single blockchain could supply all that space the future of the metaverse and how it can be defined Michelle’s mental model for crypto and the phases for achieving worldwide adoption
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EPISODE LINKS
Shaun Maguire:  Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/shaunmmaguire Sequoia Profile: https://www.sequoiacap.com/people/shaun-maguire/
Michelle:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/michellebailhe Sequoia Profile: https://www.sequoiacap.com/people/michelle-bailhe/ Michelle’s investment thesis: https://www.sequoiacap.com/article/ask-not-wen-moon-ask-why-moon/


Bear Market:
Michelle’s Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/michellebailhe/status/1526373378516365312?s=20&t=c7vdmdg2mnQ34rsAGIm0lg Insolvency of crypto lenders: Voyager: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/06/22/voyager-digital-requests-loan-repayment-from-3ac-considers-issuing-default-notice/ BlockFi: https://decrypt.co/103422/blockfi-secures-250-million-line-of-credit-from-ftx Celsius: https://www.theblock.co/linked/151522/crypto-lending-firm-celsius-pauses-withdrawals-and-transfers-citing-market-conditions Celsius possible bankruptcy: https://www.theblock.co/linked/154100/crypto-lender-celsius-hires-more-advisors-ahead-of-possible-bankruptcy-wsj Previous Unchained Coverage:  Why Possible Insolvencies by Celsius and 3AC Could Spell Disaster for Crypto: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-possible-insolvencies-by-celsius-and-3ac-could-spell-disaster-for-crypto/ Cobie and Chris Burniske on How to Navigate a Crypto Bear Market: https://unchainedpodcast.com/cobie-and-chris-burniske-on-how-to-navigate-a-crypto-bear-market-ep-354/


Terra
Shaun’s take on stablecoins:  https://twitter.com/shaunmmaguire/status/1524420727968976898?s=20&t=26DylQ2_YbW36Y4ZMwxVFw
Previous Unchained Coverage:  Kevin Zhou on the risk of UST’s death spiral: https://unchainedpodcast.com/heres-why-usdn-de-pegged-from-the-dollar-and-why-ust-might-too/  The Legal and Regulatory Fallout From Terra’s Collapse: Who Will Pay?: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-legal-and-regulatory-fallout-from-terras-collapse-who-will-pay-ep-363/ The Chopping Block: Does the New Terra Have Any Chance?: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-chopping-block-does-the-new-terra-have-any-chance/ Why Terra Collapsed and Whether an Algo Stablecoin Can Ever Succeed: https://unchainedpodcast.com/why-terra-collapsed-and-whether-an-algo-stablecoin-can-ever-succeed/ The 5 Biggest Lessons From Terra/Luna’s Collapse, According to Tascha Che:  https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-5-biggest-lessons-from-terra-lunas-collapse-according-to-tascha-che/