Conference Presentation, Interview
A Conversation About Crypto-currencies and ICOs with Andy Bromberg
- The market will require solutions to separate signal from noise in political discourse, with success expected for products addressing this specific need.
- The startup ecosystem is predicted to transition from single massive fundraising events to staged token sales mirroring traditional venture capital rounds (seed, Series A, Series B).
- Investors anticipate the eventual convergence of token networks toward venture capital norms through the implementation of vesting schedules and lockups to align incentives.
- Future infrastructure development may enable seed-stage startups and established companies to raise equity using tokens rather than traditional documents like SAFEs.
- The crypto landscape is forecasted to contain a relatively small number of blockchains but a high number of tokens, with many issued on existing chains like Ethereum instead of independent networks.
- Tokenization is expected to expand beyond protocol tokens to represent real-world assets, such as building ownership or company equity, though this requires robust infrastructure for liquidity and interoperability.
- Current ICO funding, which has surpassed venture capital for 2018, is largely directed toward projects deemed unlikely to succeed due to the market being too early to distinguish viable tokens.
- The industry trend favors increased liquidity and speed to liquidity, with tokens accelerating this trajectory compared to traditional venture capital models.
- Network upgrades are considered inevitable despite current difficulties, while unpopular changes could lead to protocol forks (e.g., "Filecoin Cash") where users create new versions.
- Large companies attempting to launch tokens today are expected to start with a centralized route while evaluating future opportunities in the crypto space.
- Pragmatic business models may deviate from the core crypto philosophy of avoiding central authority, acknowledging its potential necessity for certain operations.
- The ICO market's volatility does not preclude continued development, as infrastructure providers intend to support both protocol and security token sales regardless of a "nuclear winter."
- While not all startup candidates are suitable for tokenization today, the future outlook suggests a broader set of businesses will find tokenization viable as infrastructure matures.
- Any predictions made regarding the current ICO market are considered to have a lower probability of accuracy due to the nascent stage of the industry.