May 14, 2018 · 23m · 20vc
20VC: Why Crypto Is The Biggest Disruptor To Hit VC In A Decade, The State of Crypto Today & Why Investing In Decentralized Platforms Requires A New Mental Model with Boris Wertz, Founding Partner @ Version One Ventures
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In this episode of The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews Boris Wertz, Founding Partner at Version One Ventures, to explore how cryptocurrency and decentralized platforms are disrupting traditional venture capital. Wertz shares key insights on evaluating crypto market cycles, analyzing white papers versus team execution, and adapting investment frameworks for token-based economies.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Harry holds 35.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Harry as informed peer 3.4 Guest teaching 4.0 Guest disagreement 1.6 Harry pushing back 2.6
speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 19:43 Rejecting Extreme Views on Decentralization
Boris explicitly rejects both extremes of the industry narrative—crypto maximalists who believe decentralized platforms will take over everything and deniers who see no change—arguing that true value lies in a hybrid model.
Hardest push from Harry ▶ 11:47 Challenging Investor Engagement in ICOsHarry directly challenges Boris's assertion that traditional investor support won't go away in crypto, questioning whether the influx of ICO participants inherently dilutes active investor engagement.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 4:32 Contextualizing Crypto Market Cap vs 1999 Tech BubbleBoris educates Harry by separating technological maturity from financial market maturity, contrasting 1995 Netscape-era tech readiness with a $500B market cap relative to the $4T dot-com peak.
Harry holds his own ▶ 9:48 Citing Industry Perspectives on White Paper LiteracyHarry showcases his industry knowledge by citing Polychain founder Olaf Carlson-Wee's requirement that investors must read white papers, using it to press Boris on his evaluation standard.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Harry as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Harry pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boris Wertz's Background and Venture Capital Journey | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | Harry sets up the discussion by comparing current crypto hype to the 1999 internet bubble and asking whether uneducated capital could harm the ecosystem long term. Boris provides historical perspective, comparing crypto's technical state to Netscape in 1995 while noting its financial market cap is already at $500B compared to the $4T tech bubble peak. | |
| How Decentralized Platforms Reshape Venture Capital | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | Harry prompts Boris to explain why decentralized platforms represent the largest disruption to VC in a decade. Boris outlines three structural shifts: protocol-level value accrual, global open competition via ICOs, and operational challenges like key management and LP agreement restrictions. | |
| Navigating the Crypto Learning Curve and Evaluating White Papers | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | Harry demonstrates domain knowledge by citing Polychain's Olaf Carlson-Wee on white paper literacy and pushes back on whether widespread ICO participation diminishes investor value-add. Boris clarifies that top founders are returning to private rounds prior to ICOs to gain focused investor support. | |
| Telegram ICO and Native Crypto vs. Retrofitted Platforms | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | Harry presses Boris on the Telegram ICO and asks him to take a stance on whether retrofitting existing platforms or building native crypto projects ground-up is superior. Boris takes a nuanced stance favoring native crypto projects while acknowledging Telegram's product execution strength. | |
| Quick-Fire Round with Boris Wertz | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | In a brisk quick-fire round, Harry asks about books, investment dry spells, and Silicon Valley culture. Boris shares a contrarian take rejecting both crypto purists and deniers, arguing the winning model combines centralization efficiency with decentralization trust. |
Statements from this episode (15)
Boris Wertz: Version One Ventures is investing out of a $35M fund
“We're now investing out of a thirty five million dollar early stage fund called Version One Ventures.”
Wertz: Crypto Technology Maturity Is Currently Equivalent to Internet in 1995
“Technology wise, we feel like it's 95. It's kind of around the emergence of the Netscape browser, which at the time was kind of the first time that, you know, kind of the masses could really use the Internet. And that's really feels we're around that in terms …”
Wertz: Crypto Market Cap ($500B) Lags Far Behind 2000 Dot-Com Peak ($4T)
“When you think Internet bubble kind of burst in March, 2000 at the time, it was about a four trillion dollar market cap. With cryptocurrencies, we're now currently at about five hundred billion.”
Wertz: Crypto Value Will Accrue Primarily at Protocol Level
“A lot of the value will accrue at the protocol level and will be monetized through a token business model, right?”
Wertz: ICOs Present Global Competition for Venture Capital
“So there's suddenly a tremendous global platform for raising money for startups, and that's certainly a new competition for these VCs.”
Wertz: Most VC LP Agreements Prohibit Direct Token Investments
“A lot of the LP agreements with current funds are not allowing for, you know, actually directly investing in token currencies.”
Wertz: Crypto protocol success requires evaluating team execution beyond technical white papers
“I think, first of all, I think it's super important, especially if you can invest at the protocol level to really understand the technical details of a white paper. At the same time, I think to build a successful protocol, build a successful community of devel…”
Wertz: Top Crypto Founders Are Returning to Private Pre-ICO Rounds
“A lot of the smartest entrepreneurs are going back to privately negotiated rounds, at least for the first step.”
Wertz: Telegram will probably raise up to $2B in ICO
“They certainly have had a lot of financial interest in the ICO, and will probably raise up to two billion or so.”
Wertz: Native crypto platforms will likely outperform retrofitted platforms
“I think it's going to be generally hard to retrofit in an existing platform, especially an existing platform at the scale of Telegram to crypto. But, you know, jury's out. I personally believe that native crypto projects will most likely be more successful.”
Wertz: Version One Ventures invested in Polychain and Metastable
“So for example, we invest in Polychain and Metastable.”
Wertz: Version One went seven months without making an investment in 2016
“Second half of 2016, I had not done an investment for seven months for version one.”
Wertz: Most successful crypto projects will combine centralized and decentralized elements
“I actually believe that truth is really in the middle, that centralized platforms are amazing for efficiency. Decentralized platforms are amazing for trust. And I think the most successful project is going to pick the best out of both worlds. And it's not the …”
Wertz: Andreessen Horowitz operates internally like an agile startup
“Andreessen Horowitz is kind of a daily example of how they try out things, how they innovate, how they come up with new ideas, quickly test them. So it's amazing to see how it's really being run like a startup that is continuously trying to develop new ideas a…”
Boris Wertz: Version One invested in Coinbase's Series D funding round
“So he invested in Coinbase late last year. And you know, as you know, this was a series D, so it's a little bit later than we usually invest in, but we really thought that Coinbase can be one of these iconic companies of the crypto ages, and you know, we're in…”