Research on Move as an Investor

On the 5th of March, Pontem hosted a panel discussion at MoveCon featuring industry leaders from  Bixin Ventures, M6 Ventures, and Kinetic Ventures. The topic of the discussion was Research on Move as an Investor.

You can listen to the full recording on Twitter or YouTube.

Meet the Speakers:

• Allen: Managing Partner of Bixin Ventures, a venture capital firm that has a rich history of supporting innovative products, including one of the earliest Bitcoin wallets.  Bixin Ventures, have been actively supporting developers within the Move ecosystem including Pontem.

• Garlam: Managing Partner of Momentum 6, an ecosystem-agnostic fund with a strong interest in emerging Layer 1 technologies and money markets. Momentum 6 has also invested in Pontem and several other projects building with Move.

• Jehan Chu: Founder of Kinetic Ventures, one of the earliest blockchain Venture capital firms in Asia. They have invested in approximately 250 projects to date, including Pontem, as well as a handful of Move projects that are being built on the Aptos and Sui blockchains.

Investing in Crypto: Balancing Risk and Reward

Investing in the crypto space can be a challenging endeavor given the multitude of available projects. Nevertheless, industry experts recommend several crucial factors that one must evaluate when considering potential investments in the crypto space. These factors include:

• The team behind the project:

In the early stages of a project, there may not be much to go on other than the team's expertise, their previous capacities, and how well they work together.  These factors can be a good indicator of the team's potential for success.

Additionally, the team's position in the community and their level of education can also be important considerations.

• The character and integrity of the founder:

In a post-FTX world, the integrity of the founder is becoming even more closely scrutinized. Investors are looking for founders who are moving fast and breaking things but are not willing to cross certain lines.

• Strong reputation and mindshare:

Unlike traditional finance, where operational expertise and quarterly earnings reports are key metrics to track, the cryptocurrency space is still largely driven by narratives and news.

As such, having a strong mindshare and a powerful presence within a particular ecosystem is a critical factor to consider when evaluating potential investments.

While many may believe that a serial entrepreneur with a track record of success in the crypto space is necessary for a project to succeed, some investors have found success in backing younger founders with a strong sense of the market and crypto ideology. As long as they are smart and willing to learn, new blood can often bring fresh perspectives and ideas to a project.

Investing in the Future: Opportunities and Trends in the Crypto Industry

Investors are always on the lookout for the next big thing - the opportunities and trends that have the potential to disrupt existing markets and create new ones. They are particularly interested in businesses that have unique ideas, innovative technologies, or disruptive business models that can scale quickly and generate high returns.

The emergence of high-performance blockchains, such as Aptos, has enabled a new generation of Web3 applications that are more efficient, scalable, and user-friendly, offering faster transaction times and lower costs. Hence investors are seeking teams that are building the necessary tools to bridge between these high-performance blockchains.

As a result of the recent SEC crackdown on crypto, investors are also looking for businesses that can proactively onboard mainstream users and solve the problems of enterprise customers. By finding ways to abstract the complexity and risk from conventional modes of thinking and providing real value to users outside of the crypto community, these businesses can position themselves as key players in the digital economy of the future.

Alternative Layer 1s Vs Ethereum: Will Ethereum Ever Die?

Ethereum's longevity as the dominant Layer 1 blockchain continues to linger. Despite several attempts at developing Ethereum killers in the past, Ethereum has remained a formidable force, and its hold on the market remains strong.

One thing to consider is that each Layer 1 blockchain has unique characteristics that can make it more suitable for certain applications. It's not just a matter of which Layer 1 blockchain is the "best," but rather which Layer 1 blockchain is the best fit for a particular use case.

Some platforms may excel in speed, while others may be more secure or offer a better consensus mechanism. It's up to application developers to determine which platform is best suited for their needs which is why some applications are moving away from Ethereum onto their app chains.

Despite these developments, Ethereum is unlikely to become irrelevant as it embodies the ideal ethos of what Web3 should be, with a vibrant community of passionate developers building on it.

Surviving the Regulatory Wave: Can DeFi Companies Adapt

The DeFi industry is on the cusp of a major regulatory shift, with up to 80-90% of the industry expected to be regulated within the next three years. As a result, many companies are re-evaluating their business models and considering alternative approaches to token economics.

According to Jehan, DeFi protocols need to explore alternatives to native tokens, which may be becoming increasingly impractical for mainstream adoption. Stable coins, for example, offer a more stable value proposition and may be more attractive to traditional companies looking to enter the DeFi space.

This shift away from native tokens may seem like a departure from the original vision of DeFi, which was based on decentralized, token-powered economies. However, it may be necessary for businesses to adapt to changing regulatory and market conditions if they want to survive.

Move: Providing Competitive Edge to Blockchain Applications and Teams

Ethereum will continue to be the default option for DeFi and other use cases unless a challenger manages to take a significant market share.

However, as the space continues to attract more users, the need for robust, scalable, and user-friendly infrastructure has become increasingly apparent. This is where ecosystems like Move come into play, as they offer a unique competitive edge that is rooted in their ability to provide extra support to applications, teams, and founders.

What sets Move apart from other layer ones that have emerged in recent years is its ability to create a completely new narrative and challenge Ethereum's dominance through innovative features such as parallel transactions.

Moreover, the fact that Move emerged from a Web2 tech giant lends it a unique perspective on what a blockchain ecosystem could look like, potentially paving the way for a new era of blockchain technology.  

Exploring  the Competitive Advantages of the Move Ecosystem

The Move ecosystem possesses several key features that grant it a competitive advantage in the market.

Some of these features include:

1. Safety and asset ownership

Move's focus on asset ownership and safety is one of its core features, enabling developers to write smart contracts that ensure the safety of users' assets.

2. Middleware tools for Web 2 businesses

Middleware tools and products are being developed within the Move ecosystem to assist Web 2 businesses in navigating the Web 3 environment with greater safety and efficiency.

3. Spread of crypto-native ideas

The Move ecosystem is also seeing the spread of crypto-native ideas such as social graph projects and tooling that are solving problems efficiently.

4. Potential to onboard enterprises

Move exhibits substantial potential for expanding its user base and reaching institutions that have yet to venture into the cryptocurrency space.

5. Potential to attract developers

Move is attracting more senior developers who are coming from Rust and are interested in understanding and utilizing Move's features.

Emerging Trends in the Move Ecosystem: Key Patterns to Watch

As the Move ecosystem continues to evolve, there are several key patterns and trends that are emerging.

For example, there is a growing focus on NFTs on Sui while there is a lot of activity in terms of building the foundational infrastructure of the Move ecosystem on Aptos.

Nevertheless, there are potential avenues for the Move ecosystem to distinguish itself. For instance, Move developers could prioritize providing the best possible user experience and reliability, which would be appealing to institutional users who require high uptime and dependability.

Surviving the Crypto Market: Advice for Founders in a Liquidity Crunch

The bull market of the past led to a lot of missed due diligence and a lack of careful analysis. Now, with the industry experiencing liquidity crunches and systemic risks, it's more important than ever for founders to be strategic in their fundraising.

Rather than simply knocking on investors' doors with a brand-new idea, founders need to show traction and a clear plan for success. This means being conservative in their approach and prioritizing survival in the current market climate. It also means being true to themselves and their vision, while recognizing the phase of the market they are in and adjusting accordingly.

Investors are looking for lean teams that have already demonstrated some measure of success, whether through revenue, user acquisition, or some other metric. By showing investors a clear path to growth and profitability, founders can increase their chances of securing funding.

ABOUT PONTEM

Pontem is a product development platform that enables global financial inclusion through blockchain technology. Pontem is developing infrastructure and decentralized tools for the fastest and most scalable Layer 1 blockchain – Aptos.

The Pontem Wallet is the gateway to the Aptos ecosystem available for Chrome,  Firefox, and iOS. Pontem Wallet users can send and receive tokens, connect to decentralized applications, and explore the Aptos ecosystem.

As a result of its partnership with Aptos, Pontem has developed foundational dApps like the Move Playground IDE, Liquidswap AMM, and ByteBabel code translator.