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Is the Crypto-Native Era Coming to an End? - Lessons From 10 Years in Crypto with Joey Krug, Founders Fund Partner
AI Summary
In this episode, Joey Krug examines whether the crypto‑native era is waning as institutions adopt blockchain infrastructure without its original culture, drawing on his experience with Augur and Founders Fund. He explains how prediction markets like Polymarket achieved product‑market fit, the regulatory challenges they face, and what this means for future founders in a distribution‑first, post‑cypherpunk landscape. Krug also shares insights on crypto valuation, the intersection of crypto with AI and frontier tech, and his current investment thesis, concluding that while upside may be reduced, opportunities remain for innovative, privacy‑focused projects.
Episode Description
Joey Krug (Founders Fund partner, former Pantera co-CIO, and Augur co-founder) returns to unpack whether the “crypto-native era” is fading as institutions and mainstream apps adopt crypto rails without adopting crypto culture.
We dig into prediction markets’ breakout (and why Polymarket finally found product-market fit), the coming regulatory fights around market structure and “insider” edges, and what’s next for founders building in a post-cypherpunk, distribution-first phase of crypto.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
5:45 Is Crypto-Native Dead?
16:37 Lessons From Augur
20:29 Prediction Market’s Success
25:24 Just Gambling?
27:50 Prediction Market Regulation
41:03 Founders Fund Polymarket Bet
44:37 FBI Raid
46:47 Founders Fund Crypto Investment Thesis
53:46 DATs
57:02 Layer1 Valuation
1:00:40 ETH Valuation
1:04:32 What Would Joey Build Today?
1:06:13 Crypto x AI
1:10:09 Frontier Tech x Crypto
1:14:26 4-Year Cycles
1:16:16 Less Upside in Crypto Now?
1:19:37 Crypto Privacy
1:20:41 Last & Next Decade
1:23:05 Closing & Disclaimers
RESOURCES
Joey Krug
https://x.com/joeykrug
Augur
https://augur.net/
Founders Fund
https://foundersfund.com/
Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Show Notes
Joey Krug (Founders Fund partner, former Pantera co-CIO, and Augur co-founder) returns to unpack whether the “crypto-native era” is fading as institutions and mainstream apps adopt crypto rails without adopting crypto culture. We dig into prediction markets’ breakout (and why Polymarket finally found product-market fit), the coming regulatory fights around market structure and “insider” edges, and what’s next for founders building in a post-cypherpunk, distribution-first phase of crypto. ------ 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔵COINBASE | ETH & BTC BACKED LOANS https://bankless.cc/coinbase-borrow 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, & EARN https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP | CONTINUOUS CLEARING AUCTIONS https://bankless.cc/uniswap-cca 🛞MANTLE | GLOBAL HACKATHON 2025 https://bankless.cc/mantle-hackathon 💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 5:45 Is Crypto-Native Dead? 16:37 Lessons From Augur 20:29 Prediction Market’s Success 25:24 Just Gambling? 27:50 Prediction Market Regulation 41:03 Founders Fund Polymarket Bet 44:37 FBI Raid 46:47 Founders Fund Crypto Investment Thesis 53:46 DATs 57:02 Layer1 Valuation 1:00:40 ETH Valuation 1:04:32 What Would Joey Build Today? 1:06:13 Crypto x AI 1:10:09 Frontier Tech x Crypto 1:14:26 4-Year Cycles 1:16:16 Less Upside in Crypto Now? 1:19:37 Crypto Privacy 1:20:41 Last & Next Decade 1:23:05 Closing & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES Joey Krug https://x.com/joeykrug Augur https://augur.net/ Founders Fund https://foundersfund.com/ ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
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