Investing in the next generation of the internet. Find us at https://www.haun.co/
Haun VenturesIntroducing Haun Ventures
By Katie Haun Today, we’re introducing Haun Ventures, a firm designed from the ground up to help founders build the next generation of the internet. We’ve raised $1.5 billion in capital to support the growth of web3. We’ll invest through two platforms: a $500 million early stage fund and a $1 billion acceleration fund. My path to web3 My road to crypto and then to venture was unconventional. I spent over a decade at the U.S. Department of Justice prosecuting organized crime, murders, public c...
Haun VenturesThe Web3 Voter
By Chris Lehane and Tomicah Tillemann At Haun Ventures, our belief that we need new rules for new things is central to our advocacy for web3. For over a decade, many in the crypto community have focused on effecting change through engagement with the executive branch of government. As we head into a new chapter for the space—a moment in which a myriad of new use cases beyond finance are emerging—it is the other two branches of government, the legislative and the judiciary, that will feature p...
Haun VenturesTaking A Long Term View of Web3
By Katie Haun and Fred Wilson The events surrounding FTX have shaken the confidence of many. How did one of the largest crypto exchanges collapse so quickly? Why do meltdowns like this seem to keep happening? At times like this, it helps to have a long-term view of web3 as a sector, not just a forward-looking long-term view, but also some perspective on where we have come from. As longtime investors in web3 and board members (also individual shareholders) of Coinbase, one of the oldest and be...
Haun VenturesIntroducing Haun Ventures
By Katie Haun Today, we’re introducing Haun Ventures, a firm designed from the ground up to help founders build the next generation of the internet. We’ve raised $1.5 billion in capital to support the growth of web3. We’ll invest through two platforms: a $500 million early stage fund and a $1 billion acceleration fund. My path to web3 My road to crypto and then to venture was unconventional. I spent over a decade at the U.S. Department of Justice prosecuting organized crime, murders, public c...
Haun VenturesThe Web3 Voter
By Chris Lehane and Tomicah Tillemann At Haun Ventures, our belief that we need new rules for new things is central to our advocacy for web3. For over a decade, many in the crypto community have focused on effecting change through engagement with the executive branch of government. As we head into a new chapter for the space—a moment in which a myriad of new use cases beyond finance are emerging—it is the other two branches of government, the legislative and the judiciary, that will feature p...
Haun VenturesTaking A Long Term View of Web3
By Katie Haun and Fred Wilson The events surrounding FTX have shaken the confidence of many. How did one of the largest crypto exchanges collapse so quickly? Why do meltdowns like this seem to keep happening? At times like this, it helps to have a long-term view of web3 as a sector, not just a forward-looking long-term view, but also some perspective on where we have come from. As longtime investors in web3 and board members (also individual shareholders) of Coinbase, one of the oldest and be...
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tl;dr – the Ethereum merge is a historic milestone for the crypto ecosystem and a good reminder that core infrastructure is still in an early development phase; the full crypto tech stack will continue to evolve in parallel for a long time to come.
The merge took place late last night (PT), marking the transition of Ethereum from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake consensus. It was the culmination of years of work among participants in a decentralized ecosystem: research by the Ethereum Foundation, software implementation and refinement by individual contributors from around the world, and coordination among a global set of independent validators all motivated by the greater good and economic self interest.
For Ethereum, this was nothing short of a historic accomplishment. The core processing unit of a globally open, distributed network was seamlessly upgraded without downtime, while supporting hundreds of billions of dollars in value. It also represents a key milestone towards the intended end state of the protocol. With several major upgrades now behind us, we stand roughly at the halfway point of Ethereum’s current engineering roadmap.
However, the merge is not only significant because of the transition of Ethereum to Proof of Stake; it’s also a demonstration of the core values of crypto at work, a reminder of where we stand in the grand scheme, and a hint of things to come.
Given how many “crypto-years” seem to fly by every 12 months, it’s easy to forget that crypto as financially incentivized open-source software development has only really existed for about seven years now (counting from the initial release of Ethereum in Summer 2015). In fact, the crypto tech stack is the first example in history of compelling financial incentives in place for continued innovation at the protocol level.
Consider this: while the number of emails sent worldwide increases each year and the Gmail application is updated multiple times each month, SMTP (the core email protocol) has not been meaningfully upgraded in decades. Meanwhile, the world’s most valuable smart contract platform, which was just upgraded by a decentralized community of individuals and organizations, will continue to be improved upon for as long as we have effective incentive mechanisms in place.
While we’re still so early in the scheme of what we hope to accomplish as an industry and ecosystem, the rate of exploration, iteration, and invention has never been higher. The best is truly yet to come.
***
This post is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell securities or to pursue any particular investment strategy. This post should not be relied upon in evaluating the merits of any investment or any particular investment strategy. You should consult your own advisers as to business, financial, tax, legal, and all other related matters concerning any investment. The views expressed in this post reflect the current opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Haun Ventures Management LP or its affiliates. Certain information in this post may have been obtained from third-party sources, including portfolio companies of Haun Ventures. While taken from sources that the authors believe to be reliable, Haun Ventures has not independently verified the accuracy of such information. Content is as of the date posted and subject to change without notice. Haun Ventures makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of information or its appropriateness for any given situation. Please see https://www.haun.co/disclosures for additional important information.
tl;dr – the Ethereum merge is a historic milestone for the crypto ecosystem and a good reminder that core infrastructure is still in an early development phase; the full crypto tech stack will continue to evolve in parallel for a long time to come.
The merge took place late last night (PT), marking the transition of Ethereum from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake consensus. It was the culmination of years of work among participants in a decentralized ecosystem: research by the Ethereum Foundation, software implementation and refinement by individual contributors from around the world, and coordination among a global set of independent validators all motivated by the greater good and economic self interest.
For Ethereum, this was nothing short of a historic accomplishment. The core processing unit of a globally open, distributed network was seamlessly upgraded without downtime, while supporting hundreds of billions of dollars in value. It also represents a key milestone towards the intended end state of the protocol. With several major upgrades now behind us, we stand roughly at the halfway point of Ethereum’s current engineering roadmap.
However, the merge is not only significant because of the transition of Ethereum to Proof of Stake; it’s also a demonstration of the core values of crypto at work, a reminder of where we stand in the grand scheme, and a hint of things to come.
Given how many “crypto-years” seem to fly by every 12 months, it’s easy to forget that crypto as financially incentivized open-source software development has only really existed for about seven years now (counting from the initial release of Ethereum in Summer 2015). In fact, the crypto tech stack is the first example in history of compelling financial incentives in place for continued innovation at the protocol level.
Consider this: while the number of emails sent worldwide increases each year and the Gmail application is updated multiple times each month, SMTP (the core email protocol) has not been meaningfully upgraded in decades. Meanwhile, the world’s most valuable smart contract platform, which was just upgraded by a decentralized community of individuals and organizations, will continue to be improved upon for as long as we have effective incentive mechanisms in place.
While we’re still so early in the scheme of what we hope to accomplish as an industry and ecosystem, the rate of exploration, iteration, and invention has never been higher. The best is truly yet to come.
***
This post is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell securities or to pursue any particular investment strategy. This post should not be relied upon in evaluating the merits of any investment or any particular investment strategy. You should consult your own advisers as to business, financial, tax, legal, and all other related matters concerning any investment. The views expressed in this post reflect the current opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Haun Ventures Management LP or its affiliates. Certain information in this post may have been obtained from third-party sources, including portfolio companies of Haun Ventures. While taken from sources that the authors believe to be reliable, Haun Ventures has not independently verified the accuracy of such information. Content is as of the date posted and subject to change without notice. Haun Ventures makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of information or its appropriateness for any given situation. Please see https://www.haun.co/disclosures for additional important information.
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