Standard Crypto co-founder on leaning into the ‘weirdness’ of crypto

Episode 7 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Alok Vasudev, co-founder at Standard Crypto.

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For some, a landscape of colorful NFTs and crypto anons can be daunting — yet for traditional investors, it can present an array of new challenges that require near-constant adjustment or reinvention.

But as novel use cases evolve under the twin banners of “Web3” and “the metaverse,” business interests such as VC firm Standard Crypto are eyeing the opportunity to leap into such a world. 

During this episode of The Scoop, Alok Vasudev, co-founder at Standard Crypto, joined The Block’s Frank Chaparro to discuss the future of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and NFTs, when a project “merits” a DAO, and how Vasudev learned to stop worrying and embrace the ‘weirdness’ of crypto. 

Vasudev contends that, unlike other venture firms, Standard Crypto doesn’t follow themes but rather operates first as fans of the innovations technology can present.

“We’ve always likened ourselves as entrepreneur followers rather than being overly thematic about where things are going and trying to develop too much kind of a fund-specific thesis.” This broad investment approach has recently included DAOs, which Vasudev said he believes could one day potentially function like companies in the future, with the added benefit of on-chain governance.

“One thing that we talk about is whether DAOs in how they’re structured are actually going to evolve to look a little bit more like companies than they have in the past, but with radically different accountability structures because of token holder governance,” he remarked.

Vasudev also believes NFTs and projects being built for Web3 may likely serve as the proving ground for the future iterations of internet success stories like Angry Birds or Facebook, explaining:

“We’re believers that these cultural outgrowths of crypto and Web3 are actually going to become mainstream and become some of the most sought after and recognizable imagery and characters and IP that’s out there.”

Using Angry Birds as an example, Vasudev compared the potential of NFTs to forge a franchise:

“I think I remember the first time I was kind of stunned that they were actually making an Angry Birds movie… and next thing you turn around and it’s actually being made in feature films. So this idea that kind of internet culture is just going to become mainstream culture, I think is already proven out. And now I think NFTs are the next chapter in that story.”

During this episode, Vasudev and Chaparro also discuss:

• When a project “merits” a DAO
• Why Vasudev believes new token projects could still have plenty of room to grow
• How the consumer market isn’t ready yet for ‘tokenized houses’
• Why investors shouldn’t “get ahead of their skis” in terms of what crypto is capable of today

© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. 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.