Episoder

  • In this 50th episode special edition, Ben sits down with three elite liquid token hedge fund managers. Pranav Kanade of Van Eck, David Kalk of Reflexive, and Joe McCann of Asymmetric represent some of the best CIOs, traders, and big-picture thinkers in our industry. Leading into a consequential election with BTC knocking on the door of all-time-highs, we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate 50 episodes of Scenius Studio than to get these three guys around the horn.

    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guests

    Pranav Kanade:

    Joe McCann

    David Kalk

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Chris Rhine, Head of Liquid Active Strategies at Galaxy. Chris spent the last two decades trading a variety of instruments and asset classes at Cohen & Steers and BlackRock. Now, Chris uses his wall street experience to develop and manage highly institutional investment products that offer LPs a risk mitigated long-only approach to the liquid token markets.

    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    Galaxy https://funds.galaxy.com/

    Follow Galaxy on Twitter/X https://x.com/galaxyhq

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

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  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Jason Kam, Founder of Folius. Folius has become the preeminent blockchain venture firm focused on the application layer, with a strong focus on China-based founders and companies. While Folius is known as a high-signal venture firm, the firm’s liquid strategy constitutes a notably larger percentage of AUM. Jason’s experience as a PM at a traditional emerging markets focused hedge fund give him the skills to navigate the chaotic digital asset public markets.

    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    Folius https://www.folius.ventures/

    Follow Folius on Twitter/X https://x.com/foliusventures

    Follow Jason on Twitter/X https://x.com/MapleLeafCap

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Matt Halstead, Director of Digital Assets and Real Estate Investing at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, also known as Texas Teachers.

    Matt built the digital assets program at Texas Teachers from scratch and has helped push the asset class forward via his highly institutional and sophisticated approach to crypto fund allocations.

    We typically hear from GPs on Scenius Studio but in order for the space to further develop and mature, it is essential we acknowledge and learn from the LPs who invest with rigor and size.

    Let's get into it.

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Jack Platts, CEO and CIO of Hypersphere. Jack was part of the founding team at Polkadot leading their BD and marketing efforts before launching Hypersphere in 2020. In 2022, Jack avoided the various implosions within blockchain and managed to return 620m in profits to his LPs. Now Jack is managing a multi-manager hedge fund as well as the fund’s next venture vehicle.

    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    Hypersphere https://www.hypersphere.ventures/

    Follow Hypersphere on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/hypersphere_

    Follow Jack on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/jackbplatts

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Travis Scher, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of North Island Ventures. Travis began his crypto career in 2015, where he led the venture team at Digital Currency Group. After leaving DCG, Travis launched North Island Ventures alongside Glenn and James Hutchins. Travis invests across a range of blockchain categories and possesses strong opinions regarding the entrepreneurs and ideas that will bring blockchain to the masses.

    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    North Island Ventures https://northisland.ventures/

    Follow North Island on Twitter/X https://x.com/NorthIslandVC

    Follow Travis on Twitter/X https://x.com/travisscher

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Carlos Pereira, Partner at BITKRAFT.

    BITKRAFT is a premier gaming focused venture firm and Carlos is the lead investor for their crypto-dedicated fund. His perspective into the innovation that crypto uniquely unlocks within gaming is insightful. Moreover, his assessment of the current blockchain gaming ecosystem highlights his experience investing in the sector and the observations he and his team have earned across cycles.

    Let's get into it.

    Resources Mentioned

    Fully On-Chain Games Thesis

    Project Awakening

    Ronin

    Karate Combat

    Sipher

    Connect with the guest

    Bitkraft https://www.bitkraft.vc/

    Follow Bitkraft on Twitter/X https://x.com/bitkraftvc

    Follow Carlos on Twitter/X https://x.com/cegapereira

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner of Dragonfly. Haseeb is highly respected in the space for his synthesis of complex topics, sharp opinions on contentious debates, and repeated ability to back category winners early. With Haseeb at the helm, Dragonfly has established itself as one of the industry’s premier global firms with strong footing in the US and Asia.

    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    Dragonfly https://www.dragonfly.xyz/

    Follow Dragonfly on Twitter/X https://x.com/dragonfly_xyz

    Follow Haseeb on Twitter/X https://x.com/hosseeb

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Min Teo, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Ethereal Ventures.

    Together with Joe Lubin, Min leads one of the industry’s most well-respected early-stage venture firms. With an impressive track record that includes seed stage bets in EigenLayer and Aztec Protocol, Min has a knack for uncovering blue ocean categories and companies before they become consensus.

    Lets get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    Ethereal https://www.etherealventures.com/

    Follow Ethereal on Twitter/X https://x.com/etherealvc

    Follow Min on Twitter/X https://x.com/_MinTeo

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Michael Dempsey, Managing Partner of Compound. At Compound, Michael oversees investments in AI/ML, robotics, biology, and of course crypto. His cross-industry knowledge and deep understanding of blockchain-native challenges and commercial opportunities makes him stand out from the crowd.
     
    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest
    Compound https://www.compound.vc/
    Follow Compound on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/compoundvc
    Follow Michael on Twitter/X
    https://twitter.com/mhdempsey

    Disclaimer 
    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Phil Bonello, Co-Founder and CIO of Plaintext Capital. Phil is an industry veteran, having spent time at Messari, Ikigai, and Grayscale before launching Plaintext. Phil is a fundamental investor who understands what moves crypto markets intimately. He has a proven ability to find emerging trends and then find creative ways to express related trades before the narrative gets hot.

    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    Plaintext Capital https://plaintextcapital.com/

    Follow Phil on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/PhilJBonello

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Ken Seiff, founder and general partner of Blockchange Ventures. Following a successful career as a founder and retail tech investor Ken discovered blockchain where he has repeatedly made contrarian, early bets that have paid off in spades. His insights into the history of internet innovation shine a light on where we are within the blockchain industry's growth and where we go from here.

    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    Blockchange https://blockchange.vc/

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with James Parillo, Managing Partner of Figment Capital. Following a career in taxation and accounting, Jim developed an expertise in digital assets, which opened up the door to the world of venture investing. Now, as part of a collaboration with Figment, the industry's leading institutional staking provider, Jim and his team invest into critical infrastructure and middleware supporting the growth of the blockchain industry.

    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    Figment Capital https://www.figmentcapital.io/

    Follow Figment Capital on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/FigmentCapital

    Follow James on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/VelvetMilkman

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Allan Cassis, Founder and CEO of LVNA Capital. Born and raised in Mexico City, Allan is a crypto OG and has been operating LVNA since 2017. Following early bets in Bitcoin and the Ethereum ICO, Allan currently operates a liquid and venture strategy that focuses on infrastructure and other pragmatic applications of blockchain and digital assets.

    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    LVNA https://lvnacapital.com/

    Follow LVNA Capital on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/lvnacapital

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Homer Sun, Managing Partner of Animoca Capital.

    Following an illustrious career as the CIO of Morgan Stanley’s Private Equity business in Asia, Homer took the web3 plunge to launch Animoca’s first growth equity fund. Now at Animoca Capital, Homer is investing in category defining blockchain-related businesses 3-4 years before a potential IPO or strategic acquisition. Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    Animoca https://www.animoca-capital.com/

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Larry Sukernik of Reverie. Larry led Digital Currency Group's corporate VC before launching Reverie's consulting and advisory business where he worked with leading crypto projects, such as Uniswap, dYdX, and Osmosis. Building off of his experience working with leading protocols and companies, Larry launched a 20 million fund to invest in founders at the earliest stages.

    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    Reverie https://www.reverie.ooo/

    Follow Larry on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/lsukernik

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Zoe Weinberg, Founder and Managing Partner of Ex/Ante, a venture firm investing in the next generation of privacy, security, and information tools.

    Prior to Ex/Ante, Zoe served on the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence and at Google AI. She has also had stints as an investor at the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank and at Goldman Sachs. Tune in for insights into Ex/Ante’s thesis of agentic tech and how blockchain represents a core component of the firm’s investment strategy.

    Let's get into it.

    Resources Mentioned

    National Secuirty Commission on Artificial Intelligence

    Signal Foundation

    Open Tech Fund

    The Metaverse is Coming, and the World is not Ready for it — Zoe Weinberg (NY Times article)

    Connect with the guest

    ex/ante https://www.buildexante.com/

    Follow ex/ante on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/buildexante

    Follow Zoe on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/zweinberg

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise.

    Jeff has had an illustrious career with a variety of roles at Morgan Stanley, Harvard Management Company, and Corbin Capital Partners before focusing his career on crypto and multi-manager solutions at Bitwise. Jeff’s insight into the forthcoming Bitcoin Spot ETF is timely and informative. Moreover, his measured approach when evaluating actively traded strategies demonstrates his mastery of various methods of alpha generation. Tune in for insights into active and passive digital asset investment strategies.

    Resources Mentioned

    Bitcoin, Blockchain, and Crypto — by Matt Hougan

    David Swensen, Yale Endowment Model

    Binance Tri-Party Agreement

    Hidden Road’s Route 28

    Connect with the guest

    Bitwise https://bitwiseinvestments.com/

    Follow Bitwise on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/BitwiseInvest

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sits down with Adam Benayoun Founder and General Partner of Collider Ventures. Collider is Israel’s preeminent blockchain-dedicated venture capital fund.

    Over the last five years, Adam has been investing in the asset class and steering blockchain and digital asset policy in Israel alongside Israeli-born blockchain unicorns such as Fireblocks and Starkware. Collider seeks to back Israeli teams where blockchain intersects with traditional areas of Israeli technological strength such as cybersecurity and cryptography. Amid the recent geopolitical turmoil in Israel and Palestine we thought this was an important episode to share.

    Let's get into it.

    Resources Mentioned

    Starkware

    Fireblocks

    Fhenix

    Connect with the guest

    Collider https://www.collider.vc/

    Follow Collider on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/ColliderVC

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.

  • In this episode, Ben sit downs with Alex Lange Founding Partner of Inflection based out of Berlin. Prior to launching Inflection Alex held roles at Google and Index Ventures where he leveraged his technical acumen and deep understanding of hardware to begin exploring cutting edge and non-consensus blockchain investing. Now at Inflection, Alex invests into both the infrastructure and application layer as the firm continues to build its brand as a premier European based early-stage venture fund.

    Let's get into it.

    Connect with the guest

    Inflection https://inflection.xyz/

    Follow Alex on Twitter/X https://twitter.com/AlexLangeVC

    Disclaimer

    Ben Jacobs is a partner at Scenius Capital Management. All views expressed by Ben and the guests of this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Scenius Capital Management. Guests and the host may maintain positions in the assets or funds discussed in this podcast. You should not treat any opinion expressed by anyone on this podcast as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy but only as an expression of their personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only.