What this billion-dollar crypto VC thinks about blockchain gaming and the Metaverse

Episode 73 of Season 3 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Adam Goldberg, Co-Founder at Standard Crypto.

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“We're not art investors. We're investing in things that have communities”

On this episode of The Scoop, Adam Goldberg co-founder of Standard Crypto joined host Frank Chaparro to discuss his work as a crypto VC and how his company is looking at the DeFi market in an unconventional way.

Standard Crypto is $1 billion in size, according to a source familiar with the fund.

Today, their investment team is primarily focused on projects in three areas: infrastructure, networks and apps. Thus far, Standard Crypto has made investments in major companies like OpenSea, Axie Infinity, Matrixport, Aave and Telegram, among others. The firm also has stakes in projects such as Audius, BitClout/Deso and Instadapp.

Goldberg framed Standard Crypto's focus on the types of investments that have an ability to execute on and build a community.

"When you have a network that's owned by its participants, the rules can't change without the community being on board. And that's what makes us feel like crypto networks are the hardest thing to disrupt that we've ever seen in humanity, in that they evolve with their communities as things change and shift over time," said Goldberg.

Gaming and the Metaverse in focus

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Goldberg told Chaparro that Standard Crypto is actively looking at companies advancing social and gaming projects in crypto. He sees the metaverse convergence of games and in-game economies as a new kind of development that's different from gameplay itself. 

“I think with the metaverse, something that's really, really interesting is we've seen this trend where now game economies and in-game assets, and this is now extending beyond gaming, is quite separate from game mechanics. ” Said Goldberg. "You know, Axie is not just a game, it's a new movement. It's sort of like a new generation of Pokemon or of of Angry Birds. And it's possible that we'll see, you know, movies or other types of experiences built around that IP."

NFTs

Standard Crypto is also looking closely at NFT’s, of which Goldberg said he sees a lot of opportunities to capture value as “new types of productive assets”. Standard Crypto are current investors in NFT marketplaces OpenSea and Foundation.

Goldberg likened the opportunities of the metaverse to how traditional holding companies hold businesses for cash flow. “We think there will be opportunities that look like holding companies, you know, a Berkshire Hathaway of the Metaverse, if you will, that are cash flow generating and hold a number of these productive assets. In the old world it used to be businesses, but now assets themselves can be productive. And I think when you sort of think about NFTs, they really can be so many things, right? It started as art and became art and culture and, you know, gaming economy assets. And we're seeing that rapidly expand to even more things."


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].