VC exec makes the bull case for NFTs and the 'metaverse'

Crypto venture investing is heating up. 

In 2021, VCs poured $3.18 billion into crypto startups in Q1 2021, an increase from $1.1 billion in Q1 2020. 

On this episode of The Scoop, Vanessa Grellet, CoinFund’s newly joined Head of Portfolio Growth, joins the show for a discussion on the current state of the crypto venture capital market.

“If you compare the deal flow of crypto compared to private equity and hedge funds and the general space, it's still small. And I think there's a few cycles right now. We see the products getting product markets, trade and adoption with consumers. So you see a big deal flow of the more mature series coming up and institutional investors really getting interested here. And then innovation continues at a very rapid pace in the space,” she told The Scoop's Frank Chaparro.

Grellet, who previously led strategic initiatives for Ethereum at Consensys, also walked us through some of the investment opportunities CoinFund is eyeing. She touched specifically on NFTs and the metaverse — referring to a convergence of physical and digital lives in a digital space. Grellet is bullish that certain groups will begin spending more time in the digital world, buying up digital land, collectibles, and other NFTs. 

“[We’re] having digital first generations who are going to live in the Metaverse, who are buying land, who are buying clothes, who are buying experiences there, it creates almost like a second huge market for consumer goods and experience,” she said.

(CoinFund is known for its presence in the NFT market, having previously invested in Genies, Upshot, and other NFT groups.)

Grellet also teased an upcoming announcement from CoinFund on their new vehicle “Metaversal,” which will help capture consumer interest in NFTs in the metaverse. 

“We are already engaging with the community and CoinFund is going to be a core investor in that company. So, again, leveraging the entire CoinFund capabilities to support this very focused vehicle that will allow for people who really want to invest in NFTs but are hesitant on just taking a bet on one company or or specific NFT to invest. So we’re pretty excited about that... And I think, you know, NFTs are so much more than just the art, they’re so much more than just collectibles, think about contracts, think about other aspects of your life that are unique, anything that you can create an NFT out of," she said, adding, "So the sky's the limit.”