Writing his college thesis on Bitcoin in 2012 and becoming Coinbase’s first employee in 2013, Olaf Carlson-Wee has been at the forefront of cryptocurrency for many years. Recently, he left Coinbase to start Polychain Capital, a hedge fund focused solely on investing in cryptocurrencies and protocol tokens. Olaf joined us to discuss his journey in the industry and the investment thesis behing Polychain.
Topics covered in this episode:

How Olaf Carlson-Wee became Coinbase’s first employee
The investment thesis behind Polychain Capital
Why protocol tokens represent a huge investment opportunity
The current state of tokensales
Why the blockchain crowdfunding campaigns will start resembling VC deal structure
His view on the state of the Bitcoin network and community

Episode links:

Polychain Capital
Beyond Bitcoin: The future of cryptocurrencies - The Signal
Bitcoin Will Never Be a Currency—It's Something Way Weirder | WIRED
The Golden Age Of Open Protocols – AVC
Blockchain Tokens and the dawn of the Decentralized Business Model
Fat Protocols | Union Square Ventures
a16z and USV invest $10m in new digital asset hedge fund
The future is a decentralized internet | TechCrunch

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/173