Mined with CoinFund

Since 2015, Jake Brukhman and Erik Voorhees have contributed greatly to blockchain innovation as early adopters, founders, and champions of crypto’s core tenets of decentralization, autonomy, and privacy. It's not surprising that they've both found their way to decentralized AI, an emerging approach to machine learning that preserves these ideals. We brought them together to discuss their insights on deAI, share their alpha on adoption, and help us understand why privacy in the agentic age is so important.Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, where Jake and Erik dig into why privacy and decentralization are just as important today in AI as they were a decade ago in crypto. Download the full episode on Apple and Spotify. http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNR

The rise of Bitcoin DeFi has created an abundance of new opportunities to earn yield on the asset. And at the forefront of this innovation is our portfolio company Neutron, whose Bitcoin Summer Vaults campaign has allowed users to bootstrap the ecosystem and earn income on their BTC. Hadron Labs Co-Founder & CEO Avril Dutheil joins CoinFund Co-Founder, CIO and Managing Partner Alex Felix and Partner Einar Braathen on the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund to discuss Neutron’s approach to DeFi, early findings from the Bitcoin Summer Vaults campaign, and the biggest challenges that face BTCFi adoption. They cover: Modular DeFi infrastructure (2:18) Passive market making (11:21) DeFi’s target audience (23:54) Bringing maxBTC to market (34:09) Challenges to attract supply & demand (43:20) Don’t miss the full episode, available to download on Apple and Spotify. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNR

In 2016, while interviewing for the role of CMO at Consensys, Amanda Cassatt declared she wanted to make Ethereum a “household name” like Starbucks and the MLB. Nearly a decade later, she’s one of the most influential voices in crypto marketing – and from leading marketing at Consensys to founding Serotonin, she firmly believes that it’s impossible to bypass identifying fundamentals or product-market fit when bringing an idea to the masses. Amanda joins CoinFund Founder, CEO and Managing Partner Jake Brukhman on Mined with CoinFund to discuss her background in marketing early Ethereum-based projects, how she’s observed adoption shift in recent years, and why she’s passionate about helping companies position themselves to optimize for longevity. They cover: Media & crypto's ideological contrast (2:34) Contextualizing the virtual machine (11:44) The state of dApp adoption (17:49) Building community to bring Ethereum to market (21:11) Looking beyond decentralized money (35:49) Why fundamentals and product-market fit truly matter (44:55) Don’t miss the full episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple or Spotify. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNR

Over the last 10 years as a crypto journalist, Laura Shin has observed many different trends in the industry, from ICOs to NFTs, come and go. But what has stuck through each cycle is the speed that money moves over blockchains, which she believes will contribute to crypto’s “tipping point." Unchained host Laura Shin joins CoinFund Founder, CEO and Managing Partner Jake Brukhman on Mined with CoinFund: The Builders’ Decade to chat about her transition from a personal finance reporter to a full time crypto journalist, her experience writing The Cryptopians following the DAO hack, and how she’s witnessed media consumption in crypto shift since launching Unchained. They cover: Diving down the rabbit hole as a reporter, and writing The Cryptopians (2:39) Revisiting The DAO hack (13:36) Building an audience in crypto media (21:36) Framing the narratives of the current cycle (41:08) Takeaways from the last 10 years (48:20) Download the full episode of Mined with CoinFund on Apple and Spotify. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNR

Robert Leshner is one of the most experienced founders in DeFi. From launching Compound to co-founding Superstate, his biggest takeaway from his years in the industry is that the most popular crypto networks and applications once stemmed from simple proofs of concepts. Robert joins CoinFund Founder and CEO Jake Brukhman and Managing Partner and Head of Venture Investments David Pakman on Mined with CoinFund for the first episode in our new series The Builders’ Decade, where we commemorate our tenth anniversary by interviewing founders on their observations from the past ten years in the industry. They cover: The birth of smart contracts & early DeFi (4:26) Building one of the first borrow-lend protocols (16:20) DeFi Summer’s parallels to today (26:08) Bringing traditional assets onchain (35:59) Biggest takeaway from the last decade in crypto (48:31) Be sure to download the full episode of Mined with CoinFund: The Builders' Decade on Apple and Spotify. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNR

Telegram is the leading messaging platform in crypto, and behind it is The Open Network – a flourishing ecosystem of developer activity that has leveraged Telegram for distribution to onboard new consumers to web3. TON Foundation Head of Growth Martin Masser and STON.Fi CMO & CBDO Andrey Fedorov join Managing Partner and CIO Alex Felix and Partner Einar Braathen on the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund to chat about the most popular applications on TON, growing DeFi activity on the network, and how users are continuing to onboard to crypto through the platform. They cover: TON’s leading user activity (3:51) DeFi adoption on TON (14:30)Virality & application scaling (24:22) Bringing degens to the network (27:25) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available where you listen to your podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNR

Stablecoin Summer is here, and we’re witnessing a profound shift in how value moves across the internet. It’s one of the reasons we’re excited to lead Dakota’s $12.5M Series A, a business banking platform that allows teams to operate between crypto and fiat rails. Dakota Co-Founder and CEO Ryan Bozarth joins CoinFund Managing Partner and CIO Alex Felix and Investor George Christopher on the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund to chat about the fundraise news, how Dakota is bringing stablecoins to businesses, and why global finance should live onchain. They cover: Bringing crypto rails to banking (3:01)The transition from fiat to stablecoins (15:56) Scaling Dakota during Stablecoin Summer (24:12) The road ahead for stablecoin adoption (33:56)Tune into the full episode of Mined with CoinFund on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TDyhVY2sH8&list=PLlntLQyv2uEh0qF8B8CkZS5yfzElkhSGi

At CoinFund, we believe that onchain finance should be accessible to everyone. It’s one of the many reasons why we’re proud to lead Veda’s $18M Series A funding round, a platform that’s democratizing access to DeFi. On this special episode of Mined with CoinFund, Veda Co-Founders Sun Raghupathi and Stephanie Vaughan join Partner and Director of Research Evan Feng and Investor Kavan Canekeratne to chat about the fundraise announcement, why vaults are one of the most innovative technologies in DeFi, and how crypto and TradFi will converge with onchain finance primitives. They cover: The journey to building Veda (2:23) Vaults & the BoringVault standard (8:04) Veda’s roadmap (22:14) Advice for fellow crypto founders (39:56) Don’t miss the full episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Spotify and YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850 https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNR

Circle’s IPO and the GENIUS Act are paving the way for these next few months to go down as Stablecoin Summer. But there’s a darker reality that concerns Rho Labs Founder Alex Ryvkin -- what happens if the infrastructure behind some of the most popular dollar-denominated assets collapses? Alex joins Mined with CoinFund hosts Jake Brukhman and Christopher Perkins to chat about the risks associated with stablecoins, building an onchain rates exchange, and the convergence of DeFi and TradFi. They cover: The biggest risks behind stablecoins (2:03) Rho’s crypto rates market (7:08) Closing the gap between TradFi and DeFi (20:35) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mfEDN0gwqs

Mobile-first experiences have the opportunity to onboard millions more users to crypto. According to Hello Moon CEO and Founder Walker Guffey, we’re still in the desktop era, but mobile applications like Telegram will help accelerate web3 adoption. Walker joins Mined with CoinFund hosts David Pakman and Einar Braathen to chat about the mobile adoption of crypto, Telegram and the TON ecosystem’s mobile-first approach, and Solana’s growth and institutional playbook. They cover: Telegram & mobile crypto applications (2:03) Solana’s long tail (13:56) The parallel evolution of Web 2.0 and web3 mobile apps (24:34) Institutional adoption of Solana (32:40) Listen to the full episode of Mined with CoinFund on Apple or Spotify, and watch the full video on YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzGLhRC2eu0

It’s been another wild week in crypto markets. But beyond price charts and tickers, what’s really been going on at the fundamentals level? CoinFund’s liquid team has all the insights. On this week’s episode of Mined with CoinFund, Head of Liquid Investments and Managing Partner Seth Ginns sits down with Senior Liquid Analyst Matt Potts to cover: SPACs and the altcoin space (1:27)ETH/BTC movement (7:03) Trump’s pause on tariffs (18:44) Delineating equity and tokens (25:35) Tune into the full episode on Apple, Spotify and YouTube: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/9si3YUe9ziI

Over the past few months, AI agents and their tokens have generated a tremendous amount of hype in crypto. Tickers aside, what are agents actually capable of accomplishing right now? For Perle Founder and CEO Ahmed Rashad and Coinbase Developer Platform AI Lead Lincoln Murr, it’s limited, and what makes an agent ‘good’ depends on the level of precision with which it can accomplish tasks. Ahmed and Lincoln join CoinFund CEO and Founder Jake Brukhman and Investor Bobby Beniers to chat about the current aptitude of agents, their scaling challenges, and where they can deliver value in the coming years. They cover: How agents perform right now (6:40) Intelligence or data bottleneck? (14:31) Pros vs. cons of agent proliferation (24:18) Where agents will excel in the future (33:08) Download the full episode of Mined with CoinFund on Apple or Spotify, and watch the full video on YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_ShP5gvAy0

In its first 100 days, the Trump Administration has shown America that it’s ready to become ‘the crypto capital of the world.’ So far, the regulatory agencies appear to be on the same page. In the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, veteran crypto lawyer and Magic Eden General Counsel Dan Burstein joins CoinFund General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer Stewart Eichner to chat about the impacts of the SEC’s 2-1 Republican majority, the intended role of crypto regulators, and where these regulators can provide better clarity. They cover: The road to becoming a crypto lawyer (2:46) The SEC’s Republican majority (6:41) Do ‘friendly’ regulators exist? (21:34) Navigating regulatory gray areas (32:02) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple or Spotify. This episode was recorded before current SEC Chair Paul Atkins was confirmed. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNR

Web3 is bringing creativity and ownership closer than ever. In the second episode of Around the Block: Web3 IP, CoinFund Head of Venture Investments David Pakman chats with four of the most innovative leaders in this sector. Sitting down all together for the first time, hear from Austin Hurwitz, Head of Strategy and BD at Doodles, Nic Cabana, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Claynosaurz, Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins, and Zagabond, CEO and Founder of Azuki as they cover: The current state of onchain IP (1:49) Defining ownership (24:10) Launching a token as a web3 brand (43:52)Building games on top of web3 experiences (1:02:37) Listening on the go? Download the audio on Apple or Spotify. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/vLycEtTSNL4

Staking is a critical unlock for blockchains. While it’s a great incentive to kickstart activity in an ecosystem, over time, locked assets can have adverse effects such as high inflation and little activity. That’s what Drop Co-Founder Mitya Argunov views as one of the most pressing problems in staking, which he discusses with Lido Alliance Lead Contributor Nemo on the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund. Hear their interview with hosts Jake Brukhman and Alex Felix as they cover: Staking’s cryptonative audience (6:09) What is yield? (10:52) AI’s role in optimizing yield (27:55) The institutional adoption of yield (36:02) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. https://youtu.be/3R7L5SMf0Vkhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNR

Crypto and zero knowledge (ZK) both share an ethos of privacy and verifiability. With the rapid acceleration of AI, there has never been a more important year to prioritize proofs. While ZK has flourished within web3, what needs to happen for proofs to underpin all of our data? In the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, Partner Einar Braathen digs into the heart of this question with some of the brightest individuals in our portfolio who are building proofs. Hear from Matter Labs Head of Business Development Omar Azhar, Sindri Co-Founder Stasia Carson, and Icebreaker Co-Founder Jack Dillé as they cover: Why ZK adoption needs to happen now (2:50) Centralized vs. decentralized provers (15:49) Web 2.0’s demand for ZK (27:35) The convergence of AI and ZK (38:20)Catch the full roundtable on YouTube, and to listen on the go, download the audio on Apple and Spotify. https://youtu.be/kSnpfh2YVOQhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNR

Ethereum interoperability and chain abstraction are some of the hottest topics in web3. Dig in with founders in our portfolio in CoinFund Bites, our founder fireside series. Catch interviews with: LiFi Founder Philipp Zentner and Managing Partner Chris Perkins (1:06) Rhinestone Co-Founder Kurt Larsen and Partner Einar Braathen (5:52) Download on Apple or Spotify, and hit subscribe on YouTube for more.

The rapid rise of DeepSeek earlier this year provided many developers the tremendous validation that open source AI could overtake centralized machine learning. Still, there’s one nonconsensus approach to training models that is hotly debated in the deAI sphere. CoinFund portfolio company Pluralis Founder Alexander Long and Topology Ventures Founder and Managing Partner Casey Caruso join Mined with CoinFund host Jake Brukhman to discuss decentralized training: how it works, why people are critical of its potential, and how open source AI can uproot regimes of control over information. They cover: - Why skeptics believe decentralized training won’t work (3:50) - Training AI as a public good (12:08) - DeepSeek’s threat to traditional AI (17:54) - Web3’s contributions to broader AI (28:33) - Monetizing open models (38:08) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/os1zx6dL0nQ

As large companies race to build the next best AI models, the competition for data becomes increasingly fierce. Without a real business model for obtaining differentiated IP, how will these AI organizations be able to scale their models? According to Story Protocol Co-Founder Jason Zhao, this is where blockchain can step in to help create an “unstoppable market for AI training data.” Jason and CoinFund portfolio company Livepeer Founder Doug Petkanics join Mined with CoinFund hosts Jake Brukhman and Evan Feng to talk about the intersection of AI & IP. They cover: The AI data question (4:26) Bringing the agents to IP (18:10) Democratizing the creation of video (27:21) The role of copyright in an AI-dominated world (35:42) Don’t miss the full episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple, Spotify and Youtube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/_2OUQGyxJxo

Last week’s $LIBRA launch was not like other pump and dump schemes. Between Argentina’s President Javier Milei tweeting about the coin, creator Hayden Davis’ role in launching $MELANIA, insider trading and sniping accusations and its impact on the price of Solana, does this mark the end of memecoins as we’ve known them for the past year? CoinFund Partner Einar Braathen and Principal Bobby Beniers chat about the $LIBRA saga, Solana’s ecosystem narrative, and whether or not memecoins are here to stay. They cover: Timeline of events after $LIBRA launch (1:32) Memecoins and attention games (5:26) Differentiating good from grift on Solana (10:07) The benefit of memecoin mindshare (16:44) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/FZp7V1qA79Y

Thousands of tokens launch everyday in crypto.While many of these tokens share similar traits, Superstate CEO and Co-Founder Robert Leshner argues that there are few standards for complex assets like security tokens, but once established, can bring much greater composability to DeFi. Robert joins Mined with CoinFund hosts Seth Ginns and Christopher Perkins to chat about crypto token norms, regulation’s impact on tokenization, and what opportunities lie at the intersection of TradFi and crypto. They cover: Today’s token standards (2:45) Superstate & smoother regulatory waters (11:30) Why tokenize assets (27:22) Multichain strategy (33:04) The future of finance (44:24) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/Ultu9WwiXv4

The gig economy has taught us that strong incentives help coordinate human behavior on a large scale. With the rise of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs), Raad Labs Co-Founder TJ Ragsdale believes the most effective way to scale communities of niche labor is to use crypto to reward participants with upside in the network they help create.TJ joins Mined with CoinFund hosts David Pakman and Bobby Beniers to chat about human capital networks, DePIN tokenomics, and how Raad is onboarding drone pilots to crypto. They cover: Defining decentralized human capital networks (5:59) Building a drone pilot-owned community (12:15) Incentivizing with tokens (20:26) Coordinating niche labor (37:01) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/04ovsUPWbss

The explosion of DeepSeek sent shockwaves through markets this week, and AI companies and consumers are scrambling to make sense of its rapid success. But according to Akash Network Founder Greg Osuri, the answer is simple: open source development always wins, as we’ve seen in the history of the adoption of the internet. Greg and portfolio company Prime Intellect Co-Founder Vincent Weisser join Mined with CoinFund hosts Jake Brukhman and Evan Feng to chat about DeepSeek’s impact on AI development, how to catalyze decentralized adoption, and what’s in store for decentralized AI in the coming months. They cover: DeepSeek’s validation of open source development  (3:43) Energy as a bottleneck to catalyze adoption (16:03) Centralized vs. decentralized training (25:42) DeAI Summer 2025 (35:47) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/Eb-XhauNLNE

President Trump’s inauguration has kicked off a new era of crypto’s regulatory acceptance in the US. But after launching his $TRUMP memecoin over the weekend and raking in billions, many are left with mixed feelings about what the next four years will look like under the first pro-crypto president. According to Jito Labs Chief Legal Officer Rebecca Rettig, despite heavy criticism, memecoins are important drivers of culture, and if you don’t like them, you don’t have to participate in the market. Rebecca joins Mined with CoinFund hosts Chris Perkins and Einar Braathen to chat $TRUMP and $MELANIA, the tokens’ impact on Solana and Jito, and what the new administration will mean for crypto’s regulatory clarity. They cover: Do memecoins matter? (5:59) Regulatory risks & launching tokens in the US (13:12) A post-Gensler SEC (22:56) Crypto companies building a US strategy (33:50) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/BNldu0csVNw

The competition between blockchain networks is fierce. Will monolithic or modular blockchains take the lead? Which L1 will come out on top? Which L2? Instead of asking these questions, ether.fi Co-Founder and CEO Mike Silagadze argues that users shouldn’t have to care about what chain they’re transacting on. Instead, users should just go ahead and transact for their benefit. Mike and ether.fi Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer Rok Kopp join Mined with CoinFund hosts Alex Felix and Evan Feng to chat about the current state of Ethereum, the competition between blockchain networks, and the importance of preserving decentralization while onboarding new users. They cover: Ethereum’s fight for mindshare (4:33) Winning the L1 game (14:49) Onboarding to the future of finance (18:31) Preserving decentralization (29:31) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/3naJ2meQY3Y

Web3 is comprised of some of the most advanced technological innovation to date. But gamers don’t care to interact with it, at least today. According to Gunzilla Games’ Director of Web3 Theodore Agranat, in order to onboard the next billion people to the industry, web3 user experiences need to mimic the ease of opening and closing an iPhone app. Theodore and Ava Labs SVP of Corporate Development and Blizzard Fund Investor Lydia Chiu join Mined with CoinFund hosts David Pakman and Evan Feng to chat about the challenges to building web3 games, crypto’s ongoing marketing problem, and how Gunzilla’s breakout title Off The Grid was a smashing success upon its launch in October. They cover: Challenges in web3 marketing and onboarding (5:29) Abstracting away the technology (15:57) Retaining gamers post-launch (22:41) The biggest obstacles in building web3 games (34:51) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/wdw_rWD2ZrQ

What’s one thing in crypto that no one is talking about, but should be paying attention to? According to Alex Gluchowski, Co-Founder and CEO of Matter Labs – the company behind zkSync – it’s that ZK is the only technology that enables trust automation, and no other technologies can accomplish full transaction verifiability. Alex joins Mined with CoinFund hosts David Pakman and Jake Brukhman to chat about how developers approach building proofs, the timeline of building verifiable computation, and scaling privacy. They cover: ZKsync & how developers approach ZK (6:36) Verifiable computation’s timeline (14:57) Appchains vs. monolithic chains (27:13) Scaling privacy (31:30) The most pressing problems in ZK (41:39) Download the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund on Apple and Spotify, and catch the full video on YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/rpJfhJGdeWA

One of the most non-consensus narratives in AI today is decentralized training. While some claim it will never work, others believe that open-source innovation is the key to democratizing AI. CoinFund CEO and Founder Jake Brukhman sits down with Bagel Founder and CEO Bidhan Roy, Gensyn COO Jeff Amico, Kiva Founder and CEO Ahmed Rashad, Pluralis CEO and Founder Alex Long, and Prime Intellect Co-Founder and CTO Johannes Hagemann – some of the brightest minds in decentralized AI in our portfolio – to chat about how they envision a world in which models are built by the people, for the people. Want to watch the whole video? Check out our Youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ichh_3gQF94&t=2s

In 2021, hundreds of creators launched NFT collections, with plans to build robust brands around digitally-native IP. Today, only a handful of projects have been able to do so, and one colony of penguins has taken the lead in bringing unique IP to consumers on and offchain.Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins, joins CoinFund's Head of Venture Investments David Pakman on Mined with CoinFund to discuss web3 IP distribution, building a digital and physical web3 brand, and how consumer crypto has reached a critical moment that will determine its success or failure. They cover: Pudgy’s origin story (3:03) Building between the physical and digital (12:18) Branding & co-owning novel IP (19:34)Consumer crypto: memecoins vs. NFTs (30:33)Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRhttps://youtu.be/cONRLdDfSjY

Since 2020, CoinFund’s investment thesis in World – formerly Worldcoin – has been driven by the idea that biometric proof of personhood is critical for identity verification. While World was met with criticism in the summer of 2023 for its iris-scanning orbs, today, it’s become clear that amid the rapid expansion of AI, identifying who’s human and who’s not will play an important role in payments, social media, elections, and more. Alex Blania, CEO of Tools for Humanity – the company behind World – sat down with CoinFund CEO Jake Brukhman to discuss World’s approach to proof of personhood, its emerging ecosystem of projects, and why identity verification is an urgent problem to address. They discuss: From Worldcoin to World (2:45) Building on World Chain (7:36) Distributing identity (24:08) Why proof of personhood (28:55) The underlying rails for adoption (41:58) Tune into the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, available on YouTube. https://youtu.be/9xpAnu0QRG8

Web3 has attracted some of the most technical developers across the world, finding innovative ways to leverage blockchain framework. But often, builders tend to forget that crypto’s nomenclature problem can alienate consumers from seeing the true value of a decentralized technology. What gets lost in translation? It’s just one of the challenges developers face in solving some of the hardest problems in web3, and this week on Mined with CoinFund, David and Jake dig into how different facets of the industry can address these concerns to usher in adoption. They cover: L2s & ZK (10:22) Decentralized training (16:31)Scaling consumer crypto (25:39) Can AI automate coding? (33:17) Web3 adoption patterns (38:47) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund, now available on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. https://youtu.be/f-3obdfasow

It’s commonly known in crypto that if you’re launching a Layer 1 blockchain, you should ensure it has absolutely zero bugs. To accomplish this, you need a thorough security audit that carefully combs through your code and pinpoints all vulnerabilities. While there’s plenty of demand for these services, Zellic Co-Founder and CEO Luna Tong believes that in the age of AI and automation, only humans can scale web3 cybersecurity. Luna joins CoinFund CEO and Managing Partner Jake Brukhman to chat about the day-to-day operations of a web3 cybersecurity auditor, the trajectory of growing these kinds of firms, and how AI lacks human ingenuity. They cover: The business of web3 cybersecurity (4:16) AI’s role in security audits (11:18) Is web3 cybersecurity scalable? (17:17) The pre-mainnet auditing process (26:04) Web3 cybersecurity ≠ Web 2.0 (32:28) Be sure to download the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund where you get your podcasts, and subscribe to CoinFund’s YouTube channel for more. https://youtu.be/OjgrCT0CWyg

While crypto may be considered insular, AI is already a global phenomenon demonstrating Web 2.0-sized scale and implications. As large machine learning companies rapidly release new applications, their valuations have soared, partnering with legacy technology companies to distribute their tools to the masses. What people aren’t talking enough about, according to Decentralized AI Society Chairman Michael Casey, are the dangers of these models being trained and controlled by one party. Michael joins Mined with CoinFund hosts Jake Brukhman and David Pakman to chat about what decentralized AI might look like and how it can mitigate the current problems facing machine learning development. They cover: DAIS & the argument for decentralized AI (4:32) DeAI’s threat to the ‘Magnificent Seven’ (18:58) Increasing the adoption of DeAI (25:09) AI’s impacts on media (28:16) Download the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund to get the hottest takes in crypto – you don’t want to miss this one. 

One of the core narratives around decentralization is that anyone in the world can create, contribute to, or interact with a protocol. But when looking at regional and vertical adoption, it’s clear that crypto is still too insular to truly be a global technology.Coinbase Ventures Investor and CoinFund’s first employee Ryan Yi joins Mined with CoinFund hosts Alex Felix and Jake Brukhman to chat about the global adoption of web3, spotting killer apps, and how he thinks about investing. They cover: CoinFund’s early days (2:55) Global in its mission, insular in practice (7:32) Cryptonativity and rails for adoption (16:02) How to spot a ‘killer app’ (23:06) Coinbase Ventures’ approach to investing (31:14)Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund. Be sure to check out the full video on YouTube. https://youtu.be/9vf0e8CRdhI

Institutional adoption is regarded as one of the most important milestones for crypto. Between ETF approvals, big banks being bullish, and wall street traders making bets on digital currency, it seems like those at the helm of the global financial system determine crypto’s fate. For Jeremy Allaire, CEO and co-founder of Circle – the issuer of stablecoin USDC – crypto adoption is surprisingly driven from the bottom-up, and the future of web3 adoption is in the hands of users. Jeremy joins Mined with CoinFund hosts David Pakman and Jake Brukhman to discuss stablecoin use cases, USDC adoption, and Circle’s path to regulatory clarity. They cover: The unlock of public infrastructure (4:25) Blockchain adoption is actually driven from the bottom-up (10:07) Popular stablecoin use cases (18:08) EURC and European regulation (24:31) Onboarding to USDC (28:33) U.S. stablecoin regulation & the election  (31:52) Circle’s future approach to stablecoins (38:05) Download the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund and watch the full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xKo39idm_VQ?si=xZbWpnL49RTHKV63

In order to have a sustainable economy onchain, you need takers – and makers – to be profitable over time. In the world of DeFi, Logan Jastremski, co-founder and Managing Partner of Frictionless Capital, thinks that long-term market maker profits will ultimately derive from order flows. Logan joins Mined with CoinFund hosts Jake Brukhman and David Pakman to discuss these nuances within trading, and the case for highly-scalable blockchains. They cover: Implications of MEV (4:38) Logan’s journey to starting Frictionless (6:39) Defining highly scalable blockchains and their applications (11:01)Scaling blockchains for market making (21:21) From improved infra to improved consumer products (30:06) Don’t miss the latest episode of Mined with CoinFund. Download on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mined-with-coinfund/id1758988850https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZxUQqsbsjLvtjyyTxHoNRWatch the full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VH8Ngm4U0Qo

It’s our most controversial episode yet. The tokens are broken and have destroyed the consumer playbook too, according to Icebreaker co-founders Dan Stone and Jack Dillé. What if we put less things onchain and leveraged crypto to build trust and serendipity where it really matters?Dan and Jack join Mined with CoinFund hosts Jake Brukhman and Alex Felix to discuss the current problems facing social networking platforms, and how Icebreaker brings trust back online through cryptography and privacy onchain. They cover: Why tokens can’t create incentive mechanisms (04:35) Current social data landscape & Icebreaker’s vision (10:07)How do we get off of LinkedIn? (20:40)Assigning value to data ownership (31:07) The future of cryptographic attestations (35:08) Subscribe where you get your podcasts, and be sure to check out coinfund.io to learn more. https://minedwithcoinfund.buzzsprout.com/

Crypto is plagued by incomprehensible buzzwords. Does anyone really know what ‘non-fungible’ means in the context of NFTs? Ridhima Kahn, VP at Dapper Labs, argues that the crypto industry must cater to the audience it's trying to reach – we need to drop the jargon. Ridhima joins Mined with CoinFund hosts David Pakman and Jake Brukhman to discuss NFT development amid quieter markets, leveraging IP on the blockchain, and how we can onboard more users. They cover: The current state of NFTs & their user experience (3:36)IP onchain (19:18)The web3 nomenclature problem (28:26)Interoperability & Flow blockchain (31:39)The future of financializing NFTs (38:19)Subscribe where you get your podcasts, and be sure to check out coinfund.io to learn more. 

It’s no secret that zero knowledge is a highly technical realm of the web3 space. How do you deliver novel value while working to onboard the masses? That’s the biggest issue in ZK right now, according to Stasia Carson (@etainos), co-founder of Sindri. Stasia joins Mined with CoinFund hosts David Pakman (@pakman) and Jake Brukhman (@jbrukh) to discuss the usability problem, and how ZK must foster adoption in order to play a critical role in the future of decentralization and digital trust. They cover: Crash course: what is ZK? (4:01) Does ZK improve decentralization? (13:34)The road to ZK adoption (21:44) The future of ZK’s user experience (36:12) Subscribe where you get your podcasts, and be sure to check out coinfund.io to learn more. https://minedwithcoinfund.buzzsprout.com/

What’s that one thing in crypto that not enough people are talking about? For Marvin Ammori (@ammori), most recent Chief Legal Officer at Uniswap Labs, it’s that progressives have yet to embrace crypto. In this episode, Marvin joins Mined with CoinFund hosts David Pakman (@pakman) and Jake Brukhman (@jbrukh) to discuss crypto’s policy narrative in the summer ahead of the November’s Presidential election. They cover: How the political rift in crypto came to be (4:06)Crypto’s potential to sway the election (17:31) Trump’s crypto platform (21:32) Catalysts to help push crypto adoption (31:14) This episode was filmed before President Biden dropped out of the race and Vice President Kamala Harris announced her run, as well as the Bitcoin 2024 conference. Subscribe where you get your podcasts, and be sure to check out coinfund.io to learn more. https://linktr.ee/coinfund

What’s one big idea in crypto that everyone is missing? Time to dig in: Introducing Mined with CoinFund. Mined is a weekly show that explores the unearthed narratives within the crypto space. There’s so much noise across the echo chamber of crypto culture. What’s something people aren’t talking enough about? At CoinFund, we pride ourselves on being early with precision. As a team of early stage investors and operators, our business is built on idea-spotting: catching a glimmer of one intriguing idea that could become a market-shaping opportunity. Mining is a cryptographic process, but in the physical world, it is digging through boulders to find gems. We aim to uncover unpopular truths and unspoken perspectives that deserve to be debated.In our first episode, CoinFund CEO Jake Brukhman and Head of Venture Investments, David Pakman, speak with Chief Experience Officer at Ledger, Ian Rogers, about how inconsistency in wallet security is one of the biggest blockers of crypto adoption. Make sure you subscribe to Mined on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Youtube, and leave us some feedback on the first episode. Let’s kick this show off!