Viewpoint: Still optimistic about structural opportunities in the crypto market

Author: Zixi.eth Source: Twitter: @Zixi41620514

Structured opportunities still exist

I did not participate in many conferences and side events this time in 2049. The advantage of playing at home is that I brought my close friends and seniors to the small tea table in our office to chat privately. Since the environment was very chill and the privacy was excellent, I was able to chat a lot. Very in-depth topic.

It is worth mentioning that the small yellow coffee table in the office is about to become a crypto hub. My refrigerator will be completely empty in 2049 - half a bucket of tea, 30 bottles of Perrier, 12 cans of Coke, 8 cups of yogurt, and three bottles Beer, two liters of coconut water that was about to expire, and more than half a dozen disposable water bottles.

This time, we invited all our portfolios from the past year and a half to the office, and each person spent 1.5-3 hours to talk to me about past progress, recent pipelines, future plans, difficulties encountered, and progress.

The communication with the portfolio can be condensed into:

1. Everyone is gradually expanding into web2 and traditional markets

For example, a certain data company has begun to become a supplier of Bloomberg, a certain derivatives exchange has begun to be connected by traditional maker takers, and a certain decentralized data annotation company has begun to serve Microsoft. These are all things we hope to see. , **That is, web3 can start to serve traditional web2 large customers from point to point. This is because some blockchain technology can achieve better distribution and expansion, and some is because large companies are forced/actively accept web3 from bottom to top. . **

2.Get out of the sea

If the company wants to grow bigger and globalize, some of the team’s core executives must go overseas without discussion. Only if you stay in the inner circle overseas for a long time can you know what the latest stories and directions are outside. **Some cities in China are like boiling frogs in warm water. You have to find a way to jump from the novice village to SG/HK or other places where the max-level bosses are. In some projects that I have observed, the progress made by the big brothers in the past year is obvious to all. After going overseas, your consumption may be downgraded. You cannot afford to live in a big house in SG, and there is no car for you to drive. You also have to eat at restaurants frequently. Everything is expensive, but you should do this.

The ROI in the long term is definitely positive.

3. Today’s market trends are either going to the left or to the right, there is no middle choice

Previously, we imagined that there were many long-tail small and medium-sized companies in this market that could support huge SaaS or data and transaction services. Now we realize that in today’s market, there are only C’s who are pure leeks and big B’s who are pure rich. The projects that are currently performing well are either pure servicing C’s of leeks, or they are kneeling down to lick Big B. It is far from this time yet to make money by serving small and medium-sized businesses. **Strongly recommend that everyone abandon this illusion. **

The general discussion after communicating with respected bosses can be summarized as:

**1. At least from the current point of view, the xxx that we all expect web3 to subvert web2 and recreate web2 is a bit idealistic. **

The core factor is that some of the distribution of interests in web2 are so powerful that they cannot be shaken. No matter how much technological innovation you make to allow users to control their own data and solve the trust problem in transactions, you do not let the vested interests of web2 make money :). **The paradigm upgrade will not make vested interests earn a penny more. The money will still be the same. What will change is the user experience for you and me, and the potential huge costs for vested interests. **Family members, think about it, have the more than 2,000 years of history from the Qin Emperor and Han Dynasty to the Westernization Movement taught us one thing repeatedly: It is impossible for those with vested political interests to complete self-revolution. **

**2. Following the above ideas, what web3 can change is only the track where vested interests are not yet so strong, and the track that can help web2 vested interests make more money. **

Let’s give an example. For tracks where vested interests are not that strong, such as open source communities, AI data annotation, and other tracks that are very scattered and chaotic and have no solution for web2, web3 can upgrade the paradigm and reshape it. The entire industry is worth investing heavily in. Tracks that help vested interests make more money, such as transactions, games, and some non-big b2 big b payment scenarios in the third world, are also worthy of our focus. **It is worth mentioning that the third world is a good soil to do this. **YGG is a good example. Our portfolio is already being implemented, and we hope that more and more family members can provide us with new directions. There is another way of thinking, which comes from the fact that large manufacturers are forced to carry out self-revolution through bottom-up promotion, but there is not much chance for you and me. For example, grab has connected to polygon. According to my research, users can recharge through polygon in the future. Go to grab’s web3 wallet, and then convert USDT into funds in grab (similar to bank card recharge with Alipay), which can be used smoothly within the grab ecosystem. On the contrary, you can also withdraw money to polygon (is it provided to your family again? New ideas for money launderinghhhhh). I think this is a good compromise.

**3. Because the SEC is chasing the top big projects in North America, smart North American big brothers have switched to AI, and there is a serious brain drain in North America. **And the collapse of FTX means that the only exit channel in North America has been lost. Therefore, in this year 2049, more and more Americans come to SG. This is similar to what I have experienced for more than a year. More and more North American funds and project developers have begun to open head of Asia offices in SG. Since Singapore was founded as a country, it is not to struggle, and it is an English-speaking city in the Commonwealth. Therefore, foreigners In fact, I prefer SG, which radiates to Southeast Asia and China, rather than HK.

** Therefore, I suggest that domestic project executives, even if they do not live in SG, must come to SG frequently. **Our office is always open for portfolios, and everyone must go overseas more often. There is no mention of a large amount of Infra, because I think the top priority is no longer to do a good job in infra to serve the inside of the circle for pvp, but to do a good job in infra to serve users outside the circle.

The above ideas are just my thoughts on web3 as a traditional fund manager. We are still optimistic about the opportunities of market structuring and hope to bring more web2 users (maybe more from the third world) and funds (maybe more from the first world) and developers entering the scene.

Zixi.eth was written when I couldn’t sleep on the plane.