The World Network Opportunity: A Greenfield for Builders

Derek Walkush + others

Leighton Cusack

Crypto Developers Infra +

Nov 14, 2024

Investing in Sapien

Jesse Walden + others

Derek Walkush + others

Jack Gorman + others

AI Crypto Investments

Oct 30, 2024

Investing in Satflow

Alana Levin + others

Derek Walkush + others

Crypto Investments Web3

Oct 23, 2024

Investing in delta

Jesse Walden + others

Alana Levin + others

Cooper Kunz + others

Crypto Developers Investments

Oct 9, 2024

Variant Research Day: Future of Crosschain

Variant Team

Crypto Infra Web3

Oct 2, 2024

A Practical Guide to Geofencing

Jake Chervinsky + others

Daniel Barabander + others

Crypto Legal Regulation +

Sep 30, 2024

The Next Ten Years of Smart Contract Blockchains

Jesse Walden

Crypto Web3

Sep 29, 2024

Only with Crypto / Better with Crypto

Jesse Walden

Crypto Web3

Sep 28, 2024

Toward a More Connected Internet

Alana Levin

Crypto Web3

Sep 23, 2024

What Credit Card Networks Can Teach Us About Stablecoin Opportunities

Alana Levin

Crypto Web3

Sep 18, 2024

How Enforceability of Terms of Service Relates to UI

Daniel Barabander

Crypto Legal Web3

Sep 9, 2024

Browser Extensions, the CFAA and User Control

Daniel Barabander + others

Cooper Kunz + others

Legal

Aug 19, 2024

Joining Variant: Cooper Kunz

Cooper Kunz

Crypto Joining Variant Web3

Aug 5, 2024

How to Build a Pitch Deck

Alana Levin

Crypto Developers Web3

Aug 2, 2024

On DeFi Superapps and Their Bottlenecks

Alana Levin

Crypto DeFi Web3

Aug 2, 2024

Investing in Morpho (Again)

Jesse Walden + others

Geoff Hamilton + others

Crypto Investments Web3

Aug 1, 2024

Things We’re Excited About in Crypto

Variant Team

Crypto Web3

Aug 1, 2024

The Future of DEX Trading

Derek Walkush + others

Jack Gorman + others

Crypto Marketplaces Web3

Jul 24, 2024

Examining SEC v. Consensys

Daniel Barabander

Crypto Legal Regulation +

Jul 17, 2024

Variant Builder Day (Security): Spearbit

Variant Team

Crypto GTM Variant Builder Days +

Jul 16, 2024

Variant Builder Day (Security): Turnkey

Variant Team

Crypto Variant Builder Days Web3

Jul 16, 2024

Variant Builder Day (Interoperability): Reservoir

Variant Team

Crypto Infra Marketplaces +

Jul 10, 2024

Variant Builder Day (Interoperability): Across Protocol

Variant Team

Crypto Infra Variant Builder Days +

Jul 10, 2024

Variant Builder Day (Interoperability): Hyperlane

Variant Team

Crypto Infra Variant Builder Days +

Jul 10, 2024

How to Structure Engineering Organizations for Efficiency and Operational Rigor

Alli Pope

Crypto Web3

Jun 27, 2024

A Framework for Thinking About Opportunities in Tokenized Marketplaces

Li Jin

Crypto Marketplaces Web3

Jun 25, 2024

Crypto as Culture, Crypto as Tech

Jesse Walden

Crypto Web3

Jun 20, 2024

Tokenized Marketplaces: Bootstrapping and Scaling Active vs. Passive Supply

Mason Nystrom

Crypto Marketplaces Web3

Jun 20, 2024

AI and the ‘Why Now’ of Data DAOs

Li Jin

AI Crypto DAOs +

Jun 18, 2024

Reflections on the State of Crypto: Q2 2024

Alana Levin

Art Crypto DeFi +

Jun 18, 2024

All Media Onchain: Crypto as a Port of Entry

Jesse Walden

Crypto Web3 Web3 Social

Jun 11, 2024

Crypto and Net-New Marketplaces

Li Jin

Crypto Marketplaces Web3

Jun 7, 2024

Signal to Noise

Jesse Walden

Crypto Web3

Jun 4, 2024

How We’re Thinking About AI

Variant Team

AI Crypto Legal +

May 31, 2024

Verticalization of the Web3 Social Stack

Mason Nystrom

Crypto Marketplaces Web3 +

May 30, 2024

Investing in Farcaster

Jesse Walden + others

Alana Levin + others

Crypto Investments Web3 +

May 21, 2024

On the Intersection of AI and Crypto

Li Jin

AI Crypto Web3

May 17, 2024

AI Models with Taste

Alana Levin

AI Art Crypto +

May 7, 2024

On Non-Transferability, Geofencing, and the Regulatory Risk Spectrum of Token Distributions

Jake Chervinsky

Crypto DeFi Legal +

Apr 30, 2024

Requests for Startups for the Farcaster Ecosystem

Variant Team

Crypto DeFi Marketplaces +

Apr 1, 2024

Crypto as the Next Iteration of the Attention Economy

Li Jin

Consumer Crypto NFTs +

Mar 29, 2024

Memecoins as the New GTM Strategy

Li Jin

Consumer Crypto GTM +

Mar 26, 2024

DeFi Opportunities on High-Performance Chains

Derek Walkush

Crypto DeFi Web3

Mar 8, 2024

ETHDenver Conversation: Why Sufficient Decentralization Is No Longer Sufficient

Jesse Walden + others

Jake Chervinsky + others

Variant Team + others

Crypto Web3

Mar 5, 2024

Crypto Goes on Offense in the Courts

Jake Chervinsky + others

Amanda Tuminelli

Crypto Legal Regulation +

Feb 26, 2024

Dissecting the Points Meta: Best Practices for User Loyalty

Li Jin + others

Jake Chervinsky + others

Consumer Crypto Web3

Feb 14, 2024

New Opportunities in the Farcaster Stack

Alana Levin

Crypto Infra Web3 +

Feb 7, 2024

Headless Marketplaces: Go Where the Wallets Are

Jesse Walden

Consumer Crypto Marketplaces +

Jan 29, 2024

Investing in Gevulot: A Performant Market for Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Jesse Walden + others

Alana Levin + others

Crypto Investments Web3

Jan 29, 2024

Multi-Hit Wonders: Embracing Apps With Short Shelf Life

Li Jin

Consumer Crypto Web3 +

Jan 25, 2024

Onchain Namespaces: An Emerging Crypto Business Model

Mason Nystrom

Consumer Crypto Web3

Jan 25, 2024

Requests for Startups: Crypto Projects We’d Like to See in 2024

Geoff Hamilton + others

Alana Levin + others

Derek Walkush + others

Mason Nystrom + others

Jack Gorman + others

Consumer Crypto DeFi +

Jan 5, 2024

A Tale of Two Cryptos: Speculation vs Decentralization

Jesse Walden

Consumer DeFi Web3

Jan 4, 2024

Building Through the Crypto Cycle: A Variant/USV Portfolio Survey on Web3 Hiring and Compensation

Tom Dils + others

Calder Zwerling + others

Matt Cynamon

Crypto Developers Variant Network +

Dec 21, 2023

Lessons on Points Programs for Crypto Apps

Li Jin

Consumer Crypto Web3

Dec 19, 2023

Building in the Dark: Mapping the Current Crypto Privacy Landscape

Derek Walkush

Crypto Infra Web3

Dec 14, 2023

New Signs of Life in the Ethereum & L2 NFT Ecosystem

Jack Gorman

Crypto NFTs Web3

Dec 8, 2023

Crypto AI Agents: The First-Class Citizens of Onchain Economies

Mason Nystrom

AI Crypto Web3

Dec 5, 2023

What Onchain Apps Enable

Alana Levin

Consumer Crypto Infra +

Dec 1, 2023

Progressive Ownership: A Model for Application Tokens

Li Jin + others

Jesse Walden + others

Consumer Crypto Token Design +

Nov 14, 2023

Love vs. Fame: A Framework for Social Applications

Li Jin

Consumer Crypto Social Media +

Nov 10, 2023

NFTs and the Post-Mint Problem

Mason Nystrom

Crypto NFTs Web3

Nov 9, 2023

The Next Big Thing in Stablecoins

Geoff Hamilton

Crypto DeFi Web3

Nov 7, 2023

Investing in Modulus: Zero-Knowledge Machine Learning for Decentralized Protocols

Jesse Walden + others

Alana Levin + others

AI DeFi Investments

Nov 1, 2023

Doubling Down on Botto: Because Everyone’s a Critic

Caleb Shough

AI Art DAOs +

Oct 25, 2023

Investing in Blockaid: Protecting Users Onchain

Jesse Walden + others

Alana Levin + others

Investments

Oct 23, 2023

Embracing Speculation as a Go-To-Market Approach in DeFi

Derek Walkush

Crypto DeFi Web3 +

Oct 11, 2023

Welcoming Jake Chervinsky as Variant’s Chief Legal Officer

Jesse Walden

Joining Variant Regulation

Oct 3, 2023

Why Bringing Real-World Assets Onchain Is Important

Geoff Hamilton

Crypto DeFi

Sep 29, 2023

The Barrier to Mainstream Crypto Adoption Isn’t UX — It’s Product-Market Fit

Li Jin

Consumer Web3

Sep 26, 2023

Debate: Speculation as Growth Strategy for Social Apps

Li Jin + others

Jack Gorman + others

Mason Nystrom + others

Caleb Shough + others

Jesse Walden + others

Dan Roberts + others

Tina Dai + others

Medha Kothari + others

Derek Walkush + others

Consumer NFTs Social Media +

Aug 31, 2023

‘Pop Music Is a Promise That You Aren’t Listening Alone’: What AI Music Can and Can’t Do

Li Jin

AI Art Consumer

Aug 7, 2023

How DEXs Are Demonstrating Their Resilience

Jack Gorman

Crypto DeFi

Aug 1, 2023

Building a Truly Scalable Lending Protocol: Morpho at EthCC

Geoff Hamilton

Crypto DeFi Web3

Jul 31, 2023

Why UniswapX Will Be Additive to the Uniswap Protocol

Jack Gorman + others

Derek Walkush + others

Crypto DeFi Web3

Jul 25, 2023

DePIN and DeREN: Toward a Better Classification of Decentralized Infrastructure Networks

Mason Nystrom

Crypto Infra Web3

Jul 20, 2023

Joining Variant: Jack Gorman aka J Hackworth

Jack Gorman

Joining Variant

Jul 12, 2023

Investing in Alluvial: Liquid Staking for Institutions

Jesse Walden + others

Caleb Shough + others

Derek Walkush + others

Infra Investments News & Updates

Jul 11, 2023

‘This Protocol Is Brought to You By’: An Onchain Model for Web3 Advertising

Mason Nystrom

Consumer Crypto NFTs +

Jun 30, 2023

App-Specific Rollups: A Trade-Off Between Connectivity and Control

Alana Levin

Crypto Infra Web3

Jun 30, 2023

Overcoming ‘Token Debt’

Mason Nystrom

Crypto Token Design Web3

Jun 15, 2023

Web3 Social Networks: The Case For and Against Financialized Approaches

Li Jin

Consumer Frameworks/Theses Social Media +

May 31, 2023

Adventures in Onchain Ownership

Caleb Shough

AI Art Consumer +

May 26, 2023

SocialFi: A Blank Canvas for Web3 Social Apps

Mason Nystrom

Crypto Frameworks/Theses NFTs +

May 24, 2023

Web3 Social Media Under the Lens

Li Jin

Consumer NFTs Web3 +

May 17, 2023

Generative Art Will Be a Multiplayer Exercise in Meaning-Making

Tina Dai + others

Simon Hudson

AI Art Marketplaces +

May 16, 2023

Building Base: Coinbase Engineer Jesse Pollak on Ecosystem Growth

Medha Kothari

Crypto DeFi Developers +

May 15, 2023

Centralized Dapps Through Tokenized Rebates: A Modest Proposal

Caleb Shough

Consumer Crypto DeFi +

May 8, 2023

Actionable Tips for New DevRel Teams

Alli Pope + others

Medha Kothari + others

Developers Variant Network Web3

May 5, 2023

AI, NFTs, and Proof of Personhood: The Frontier of the Crypto Creator Economy

Li Jin

AI Art Consumer +

Apr 27, 2023

The Interplay Between AI Abundance + Crypto Scarcity

Jesse Walden

AI Art Crypto +

Apr 25, 2023

Libraries vs. Networks

Jesse Walden

Crypto Frameworks/Theses Web3

Apr 6, 2023

Building Psychological Attachment — Not Just Ownership — Into Web3

Li Jin

Consumer Crypto Frameworks/Theses +

Apr 4, 2023

The NFT MEV Landscape

Alana Levin

Crypto Infra NFTs +

Mar 31, 2023

Investing in Turnkey: Removing Barriers for Crypto Developers

Spencer Noon + others

Medha Kothari + others

Consumer Crypto DeFi +

Mar 21, 2023

About the Variant Network

Jesse Walden + others

Alli Pope + others

Crypto News & Updates Variant Network +

Mar 20, 2023

Product vs Network-Driven GTM

Mason Nystrom

Frameworks/Theses GTM

Feb 28, 2023

Variant x Botto in OnCyber

Caleb Shough

AI Investments

Feb 17, 2023

Consumer Tokens Should Look Like Web2 Incentive Programs

Li Jin

Token Design

Feb 17, 2023

Whole Crypto Catalog: Progressive Decentralization

Jesse Walden + others

Medha Kothari + others

Alana Levin + others

Nina Suthers + others

Crypto Web3

Feb 3, 2023

The Next Frontier in Cryptoeconomic Business Models

Mason Nystrom

Crypto Web3

Feb 1, 2023

Productive Fees: Valuable Protocols / Extractive Fees: Valuable Companies

Jesse Walden

Crypto Web3

Jan 30, 2023

More Than Semantics: “Crypto” vs. “Web3” Is About What Will Be Decentralized

Jesse Walden

Crypto Web3

Jan 30, 2023

Hybrid Ownership

Caleb Shough

Token Design Web3

Jan 26, 2023

Variant Values

Variant Team

News & Updates

Jan 25, 2023

Canto: A Layer-1 Incentive Experiment

Jesse Walden + others

Spencer Noon + others

Derek Walkush + others

Crypto DeFi Web3

Jan 19, 2023

Progressive Decentralization for Media

Li Jin

Crypto Social Media Web3

Jan 16, 2023

Cross-Chain Order Flow Auctions

Alana Levin

Infra Web3

Jan 10, 2023

Investing in DIMO: The User-Owned Mobility Network

Li Jin + others

Mason Nystrom + others

Jesse Walden + others

Consumer Crypto Investments +

Dec 12, 2022

Investing in Shibuya: Decentralized Creativity

Li Jin

Crypto Investments NFTs +

Dec 8, 2022

Investing in Perennial: A New Era of DeFi Derivatives

Spencer Noon + others

Derek Walkush + others

DeFi Investments

Dec 7, 2022

Pro Nouns

Jesse Walden + others

Alana Levin + others

Li Jin + others

Consumer NFTs Web3

Dec 6, 2022

The Long View: Web3 and User Ownership

Li Jin + others

Jesse Walden + others

Crypto Token Design Web3

Dec 2, 2022

Investing in NiftyApes: Building a Better NFT Debt Market

Geoff Hamilton + others

Spencer Noon + others

DeFi Investments News & Updates +

Nov 1, 2022

When Tokens Shape Behavior

Mason Nystrom

Consumer Token Design

Oct 18, 2022

When to Launch a Token

Alana Levin

Infra Token Design

Sep 28, 2022

The New Creator Playbook

Li Jin

Consumer Web3

Sep 27, 2022

Investing in Hyperlane and the Bridge to a Multichain Future

Medha Kothari + others

Jesse Walden + others

Infra Investments News & Updates

Sep 22, 2022

Fans Are the New Creators

Li Jin

Consumer NFTs

Sep 1, 2022

A New DeFi Security Paradigm

Derek Walkush

DeFi

Aug 31, 2022

Tokens Are Products

Jesse Walden

Infra Token Design

Aug 24, 2022

Designing Governance Tokens

Alana Levin

Infra Token Design

Aug 16, 2022

Music NFTs Can Revamp Music Royalties

Spencer Noon

Consumer Marketplaces

Aug 12, 2022

What Can Tokens Do?

Alana Levin

Consumer Infra

Aug 3, 2022

Sufficient Decentralization

Marc Boiron

Legal Web3

Aug 2, 2022

Introducing Variant Fund III

Li Jin + others

Spencer Noon + others

Jesse Walden + others

News & Updates Web3

Jul 28, 2022

Joining Variant: Alana Levin

Alana Levin

Infra Joining Variant News & Updates

Jul 18, 2022

Investing in Empiric Network: Oracles That Expand What’s Possible in Web3

Geoff Hamilton + others

Spencer Noon + others

DeFi Investments News & Updates

Jul 15, 2022

Joining Variant: Mason Nystrom

Mason Nystrom

Consumer Joining Variant News & Updates

Jul 1, 2022

The Unbundling of Wallets

Derek Walkush

Consumer DeFi

Jun 30, 2022

The Garden of Magic Eden

Li Jin

Consumer Marketplaces NFTs

Jun 29, 2022

The 0-to-100 Guide on Stablecoin Designs and Risks

Spencer Noon

DeFi

May 12, 2022

A Theory of Justice for Web3

Li Jin + others

Katie Parrott

Crypto DAOs NFTs +

May 10, 2022

The Ownership Economy 2022

Variant Team

Web3

Apr 28, 2022

Recent Trends in Token Distribution

Derek Walkush

DeFi

Apr 25, 2022

Joining Variant: Derek Walkush

Derek Walkush

DeFi Joining Variant News & Updates

Apr 13, 2022

What Is the Future of NFT Marketplaces?

Li Jin

Marketplaces NFTs

Mar 1, 2022

Joining Variant: Alli Pope

Alli Pope

Joining Variant News & Updates

Feb 15, 2022

Joining Variant: Geoff Hamilton

Geoff Hamilton

DeFi Joining Variant News & Updates

Jan 31, 2022

7 Steps to Transition to Web3

Li Jin

Web3

Jan 6, 2022

The Web3 Renaissance

Li Jin + others

Katie Parrott

Consumer Web3

Dec 20, 2021

Product vs. Protocol: Finding a Balance in Web3

Jesse Walden + others

Jonathan Glick

Web3

Nov 29, 2021

The Future of Unions Is Decentralized

Li Jin

DAOs

Nov 18, 2021

Music NFTs Are the Next Generation of Collectibles

Jesse Walden

Consumer NFTs

Nov 8, 2021

Li Jin on the Future of the Creator Economy

Li Jin

Consumer

Nov 8, 2021

The Blockchain-Based Global Supercomputer

Jesse Walden

Infra

Nov 1, 2021

What NFTs Can Learn From the Success of Legos

Li Jin

Marketplaces NFTs

Oct 20, 2021

Variant Fund II: $110M Fund Built for the Ownership Economy

Jesse Walden + others

Li Jin + others

Spencer Noon + others

Variant Team

Oct 19, 2021

The Passion Economy Is the What, the Ownership Economy Is the How

Li Jin

Consumer News & Updates

Oct 19, 2021

A Labor Movement for the Platform Economy

Li Jin + others

Scott Kominers

Lila Schroff

Consumer DAOs

Sep 24, 2021

The Creator Economy Is in Crisis. Now Let’s Fix It.

Li Jin

Consumer

Aug 10, 2021

Bankless Podcast: Li Jin on the Creator Economy

Jesse Walden + others

Li Jin + others

Cooper Turley

Consumer

Jul 1, 2021

Ownership Will Decide the Battle Between Platform and Participant

Li Jin

Consumer

Jun 24, 2021

Fred Ehrsam’s Podcast: Jesse Walden on Creators, Communities, and Crypto

Jesse Walden + others

Fred Ehrsam

Blake Robbins

Jun 23, 2021

Apple Is Holding Back the Creator Economy

Li Jin + others

Nathan Baschez

Yash Bagal

Consumer

May 10, 2021

The Case for Universal Creative Income

Li Jin + others

Lila Shroff

Apr 21, 2021

a16z Podcast: Jesse Walden on the Creator Economy – NFTs and Beyond

Jesse Walden + others

Chris Dixon

Kevin Chou

Consumer

Apr 3, 2021

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O’Shaughnessy: Jesse Walden – A Primer on NFTs

Jesse Walden

Mar 23, 2021

The Pomp Podcast: Jesse Walden on the Ownership Economy

Jesse Walden

Mar 11, 2021

NFTs Make the Internet Ownable

Jesse Walden

NFTs

Feb 15, 2021

Indie Hackers: The Passion Economy

Li Jin

Feb 8, 2021

We Studied 50+ Startups on TikTok and Here’s What We Found

Li Jin + others

Lila Shroff

Jan 27, 2021

The Creator Economy Needs a Middle Class

Li Jin

Consumer

Dec 17, 2020

Leadership in the Ownership Economy: Scaling Decision Making while Minimizing Securities Risk

Jesse Walden + others

Connor Spelliscy

Dec 1, 2020

The Pomp Podcast: Li Jin on the Passion Economy

Li Jin

Oct 20, 2020

Bankless Podcast: Jesse Walden on the Ownership Economy

Jesse Walden

Consumer

Oct 12, 2020

7 Indicators for DeFi Project Investment

Spencer Noon

DeFi

Aug 16, 2020

Unbundling Work From Employment

Li Jin

Consumer

Jul 29, 2020

The Ownership Economy: Crypto & The Next Frontier of Software

Jesse Walden + others

Variant Team

Crypto

Jul 14, 2020

How Does DeFi Cross the Chasm?

Jesse Walden

DeFi

Jun 17, 2020

Unchained Podcast: Jesse Walden on How to Decentralize a Crypto Project Without Harming Security

Jesse Walden

Jun 2, 2020

Four Implications of Disruption Theory for the Passion Economy (Part 2)

Li Jin

Consumer

May 22, 2020

How the Passion Economy Will Disrupt Media, Education, and Countless Other Industries (Part 1)

Li Jin

Consumer

May 14, 2020

a16z Podcast: Li Jin on How the Passion Economy Is Redefining Work

Li Jin + others

Sam Yam

Lauren Murrow

Consumer

Apr 17, 2020

Crypto’s Business Model Is Familiar. What Isn’t Is Who Benefits

Jesse Walden

Crypto

Apr 10, 2020

Narrative Economics

Jesse Walden

Crypto

Apr 7, 2020

1,000 True Fans? Try 100

Li Jin

Consumer

Feb 6, 2020

Progressive Decentralization: A Playbook for Building Crypto Applications

Jesse Walden

Infra

Jan 18, 2020

16 Key Metrics for the Passion Economy

Li Jin

Consumer

Jan 8, 2020

Paid Groups and the Passion Economy

Li Jin

Consumer Social Media

Oct 20, 2019

The Passion Economy and the Future of Work

Li Jin

Consumer

Oct 8, 2019

Layers (Not Eras) of Blockchain Computing

Jesse Walden

Infra

Sep 3, 2019

8 Things to Consider When Building Managed Marketplace Companies

Li Jin

Consumer Marketplaces

Aug 28, 2019

Incomplete Contracts (and Scaling Crypto)

Jesse Walden

Crypto

Aug 4, 2019

Past, Present, Future: From Co-ops to Cryptonetworks

Jesse Walden

Consumer

Mar 22, 2019

The Best Marketplaces Solve a Demand Need

Li Jin

Consumer Marketplaces NFTs

Feb 25, 2019

Fake Your Way to Marketplace Success

Li Jin

Marketplaces

Jan 19, 2019

4 Eras of Blockchain Computing: Degrees of Composability

Jesse Walden

Infra

Dec 12, 2018

What’s Next for Marketplace Startups?

Li Jin

Consumer Marketplaces

Nov 27, 2018

5 Questions for Evaluating E-Commerce Viability

Li Jin

Consumer Marketplaces

Oct 9, 2018

Why Crypto Community Building Matters

Spencer Noon

Crypto

Sep 15, 2018

a16z Podcast: Jesse Walden on Crypto and the Evolution of Open Source

Jesse Walden + others

Denis Nazarov

Devon Zuegel

Crypto

Aug 21, 2018

Crypto Community Building Playbook

Spencer Noon

Crypto

Jul 19, 2018

What NFTs Mean for ETH

Spencer Noon

DeFi Marketplaces

Apr 18, 2018

The Persistent Forker

Spencer Noon

Infra

Apr 11, 2018