2026-07-02 03:45:11
Ark Invest Director: Maturing Crypto Projects Should Prioritize TradFi Investors Over VCs
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BitcoinWorld Ark Invest Director: Maturing Crypto Projects Should Prioritize TradFi Investors Over VCs As cryptocurrency projects mature beyond their early development phases, the investor profile they pursue must evolve accordingly. Lorenzo Valente, Director of Crypto Research at Ark Invest, recently argued that traditional financial institutions — not crypto-native venture capital firms — should become the primary strategic partners for established projects. In a post on X, Valente stated that while crypto VCs play a vital role during a project’s initial stages, the landscape shifts as the industry converges with traditional finance. Asset managers, banks, and fintech firms are increasingly becoming the more relevant partners for growth and legitimacy. The Argument for TradFi Over Crypto VCs Valente’s reasoning centers on the changing needs of maturing crypto protocols. Early-stage projects benefit from the specialized expertise, network effects, and risk tolerance of crypto-native VCs. However, as these projects scale, they require deeper liquidity, regulatory compliance frameworks, and integration with existing financial infrastructure — areas where traditional financial institutions excel. He pointed to Morpho’s recent funding round as a case study. The round included participation from Apollo, VanEck, SBI Holdings, and Bpifrance — all established names in traditional finance or regulated asset management. This signals a growing appetite among TradFi players to back crypto infrastructure directly. Implications for the Crypto Investment Landscape The shift Valente describes reflects a broader maturation of the crypto industry. Institutional adoption is no longer limited to buying Bitcoin or Ethereum through regulated exchanges. It now extends to direct equity investments in the protocols and companies building the next generation of decentralized finance. For project founders, this means that fundraising strategy must be rethought. Targeting TradFi investors from the outset, or at least as the project matures, can provide advantages in terms of capital scale, regulatory navigation, and long-term credibility. However, it also introduces expectations around compliance, reporting, and governance that differ significantly from the more informal culture of crypto-native VCs. What This Means for Investors For retail and institutional investors, this trend suggests that the crypto investment ecosystem is becoming more stratified. Early-stage opportunities may remain the domain of specialized crypto VCs, while later-stage growth will increasingly involve traditional financial players. This could lead to greater stability and reduced volatility for mature projects, but also potentially lower returns compared to early-stage bets. Conclusion Lorenzo Valente’s commentary highlights a natural progression in the crypto industry’s lifecycle. As projects prove their viability and seek to scale, the investor base must evolve to match their new requirements. The involvement of firms like Apollo and VanEck in Morpho’s round is a clear signal that TradFi is ready to participate. For maturing crypto projects, the strategic choice is no longer just about capital — it is about the right kind of capital for the next phase of growth. FAQs Q1: Why does Ark Invest’s Lorenzo Valente believe TradFi investors are better for maturing crypto projects than VCs? Valente argues that as crypto projects mature, they need deeper liquidity, regulatory expertise, and integration with existing financial systems — areas where traditional financial institutions are stronger than crypto-native VCs. Q2: Which recent funding round did Valente cite as an example of TradFi involvement in crypto? He cited Morpho’s funding round, which included participation from Apollo, VanEck, SBI Holdings, and Bpifrance — all major traditional finance or regulated asset management firms. Q3: What does this trend mean for the broader crypto investment ecosystem? It suggests a stratification where early-stage funding remains with crypto VCs, while later-stage growth capital increasingly comes from TradFi, potentially bringing more stability but also more regulatory expectations. This post Ark Invest Director: Maturing Crypto Projects Should Prioritize TradFi Investors Over VCs first appeared on BitcoinWorld .