👋 Hi ,

Welcome to this week's briefing! We have an exciting lineup of topics to share with you. From exploring the challenges faced by asset-rich but cash-poor individuals to diving into the principles of ReFi, the convergence of finance and sustainability at Digisustain 2023 and how we think about the future adoption of Blockchain.

Let's jump right in!

👨🏼‍💼Founder Spotlight: Ziv Keinan, Simetria

Are you Asset-rich but Cash-Poor?

I still remember my first Zoom call with Ziv Keinan, the founder and CEO of Simetria, a digital securities exchange platform that aims to provide liquidity and access to private equity. He vividly explained the pain of many entrepreneurs and employees of the US & Israeli Tech Unicorns who locked their capital in company shares or virtual stock options, that may take 15 years (or never) to vest via an IPO.

As more and more companies decide to stay private longer, there is literally no chance to sell shares although they are the big hope and lion's share of todays compensation packages of early-stage startups. At the Blockhash Podcast he shares his learnings, the journey on developing 🦋 Simetria and how to make private markets more liquid. Simetria is a Vanagon portfolio company.

🌊 Vanagon News

🤝 Carbon Credits with a one-tap customer experience

ReFi Basics: Introduction on how the next wave of the internet can help to renew our planet.

As the whole ecosystem of Regenerative Finance grows in a rapid pace I wanted to unpack some of the basic elements with a series on what the principles of ReFi are, what use cases we see in the space and how the public recognition, e.g. from our German Federal Ministries, looks like 😃 

🎥 ReFi Summit 2023 After Movie is online

A glimpse of an incredible friday night with our growing community! 🌟

The ReFi Summit 2023 brought together an exceptional community of entrepreneurs, innovators, professionals, investors, policy makers and enthusiasts. The ReFi Summit was not just another conference; it's a movement, a platform that redefines boundaries and reshapes the future of innovation. The after movie highlights key moments that made the ReFi Summit 2023 truly remarkable and I want to again say thank you to the man behind the lens for capturing the energy Daniel Petz 🙏 🙏 🙏 and our wonderful co-hosts and sponsors!

Susanne at Digisustain 2023 - Sustainability through Digitization

Susanne, GP of Vanagon, was part of a 90-minute session on #Blockchain & #Sustainability and spoke about the Vanagon approach of investing in Frontier Tech Innovations for a Regenerative Economy 💚 

The Digisustain Conference and Exhibition welcomes once a year a diverse crowd of changemakers, innovators and best-practice leaders who share their visions, missions and insights on sustainability through digitalization. For us it was great as some of our very own portfolio companies where also presenting and connecting to stakeholders at the event!

🌱 Ecosystem Updates

Show Me the Blockchain Killer Use Cases Already! 😡

Back in 2017, EY forecasted that the world of blockchain would require four major transitions to reach mainstream adoption. Just last week, EY added a fifth transition. Amidst all the current hype surrounding the "Rise of AI" (yes, that title has also been around for a decade in various magazines), it's easy to forget that several prerequisites must align before full adoption can take hold. These prerequisites create a turning point that leads to technological maturity, widespread adoption, and a new techno-economic paradigm in AI as well as in Blockchain.

But let's begin with the key thesis from Paul Brody's talk at the EY Blockchain Summit. EY draws parallels between the installation phase of the early web and the current state of blockchain infrastructure:

🔹 Websites
In the early days, only a select few companies had their own websites. Building a website was a complex task, far from easily accomplished. Additionally, most product catalogs lacked digital photos, posing challenges for businesses in showcasing their products online.

🔹 Encryption
It's difficult to imagine the internet without secure connections, but standard web-browser encryption didn't become widely available until late 1999. This encryption technology played a crucial role in protecting sensitive information and ensuring secure online transactions.

🔹 Supply Chain
Direct drop-shipping to consumers was not the norm during the early days of e-commerce. Many supply chain operators and package companies were ill-prepared to handle the scale and logistics necessary for efficient consumer drop-shipping. The evolution of supply chain processes has come a long way since then.

🔹 Broadband
Access to high-speed broadband internet wasn't readily available to everyone until 2007, when it finally reached 50% of the US population. Prior to that, internet speeds were significantly slower, limiting the possibilities of online activities and experiences. The widespread availability of broadband access revolutionized the internet landscape.

🧩 For blockchain adoption, we are already piecing together major elements of the protocol puzzle. According to EY, the shift from (pseudo)-anonymity to confidentiality will be the next building block, especially from an enterprise adoption perspective.

FC Barcelona launches its first NFT collection in association with Plastiks

🌍 Shamba mapped out the ever growing African ReFi eco-system, really amazed seeing the space grow

So long, have a great weekend!

Sandro