As more and more people come to crypto to learn about a new way of holding, trading and investing in assets, venture capital firms should pay close attention to the rising world of Web3 to ensure their business practices match their promise to invest in new and promising ideas. Here at LongeVC, we are proud to not only integrate crypto into our funding structure but also collaborate closely with the growing crypto space to ensure mutually beneficial sharing of visionary ideas. After all, we invest in early-stage innovation - so we find the boundless potential of crypto aligns well with the cutting-edge science we see in our current and potential future portfolio companies.
Accepting Crypto
For the LongeVC team, a crypto investment has the same value and power as a contribution made in fiat currency. We recognise the barriers crypto holders can face in using their assets to invest in new ideas and tech. It is important to us that these barriers do not exist for LongeVC partners and have developed a seamless donation process that covers all major cryptocurrencies to overcome this.
While our LPs sign a subscription agreement in fiat currency, LPs can store their liquidity entirely in crypto and support their commitment to the fund using these digital assets. LongeVC will then convert crypto donations into traditional liquidity at no expense for the contributor. While we wait for the industry to integrate more crypto into its structure, which would allow us to conduct more of our investment process using digital currencies, our current process allows our crypto contributors to donate in their preferred asset type without facing any interoperability issues. In doing so, we offer crypto investors a path to access sector expertise, pre-vetted deal flow, co-investment opportunities and countless opportunities to learn more about another up-and-coming area of tech.
One of our Managing Partners, Garri Zmudze, further explores this idea in a blog post he wrote for Cointelegraph entitled “It’s time for the philanthropic sector to embrace digital currencies”. Accepting donations in crypto is the very least VCs, non-profits and other funding organisations can do to show their adaptability to modern technological advancements. We are excited about a future where we can incorporate more decentralised principles into our investment structure and encourage other VCs to do the same.
Embracing Crypto
Beyond accepting investments in crypto, LongeVC is committed to embracing the innovative and forward-facing outlook present in the crypto community. Crypto is a rapidly expanding asset class backed by people willing to try something radical and new. We commonly see this pioneering spirit in our main investment areas: biotech and longevity. We are excited about the biotech and longevity sectors because they have the potential to unlock discoveries that will change the very nature of our lives–crypto tells a similar story.
A number of our portfolio and partner companies are already integrating aspects of crypto and other distributed ledger and emerging technologies into their scope. Longenesis uses the power of blockchain to securely store medical data and unlock research trial opportunities for individuals. The Longevity Science Foundation has adopted a decentralised approach to governance, with its voting programme based on the blockchain. While not strictly DLT-based, Insilico Medicine uses Artificial Intelligence, another emerging technology, to discover new drugs, with the first candidate entering human trials earlier this year. Our portfolio companies are shining examples of how companies can embrace new technologies to change lives, industries, and ideas. We are honoured to welcome investors who believe in these same principles.
As crypto grows, we will continuously evaluate how we can be crypto-friendly and crypto-forward. There is an incredibly impactful wave of innovation sweeping the tech field, and we look forward to riding that wave to a future that centres and celebrates visionary ideas, digital assets and longer and healthier human lives.