🚀 NEW EPISODE 🚀 The Secrets of a Top-Tier Crypto VC @crainbf chats with @hosseeb about his journey from a high-stakes poker player to building one of the most prestigious and influential crypto VCs, @dragonfly_xyz. Founded in 2018, @dragonfly_xyz was one of the first crypto VCs that adopted a global approach to backing founders and implemented a thorough technical DD. This positioned their brand on the cutting edge of crypto venture and allowed them to find non-consensus, disruptive tech, as early as possible. Join us for a fascinating discussion with Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly, to learn the secrets behind running a top-tier crypto VC and what made @dragonfly_xyz succeed where others have failed. Don't forget to RT & follow @epicenterbtc! Topics discussed in this episode: 0:00 - Introduction 3:53 - Haseeb’s background, from poker to crypto 12:38 - Effective altruism 18:53 - Crypto investment 24:17 - Developing judgement 36:01 - The vision behind Dragonfly 47:33 - Consensus vs. non-consensus deals 51:58 - KPIs 53:34 - People, Product & Markets 1:04:06 - Thoughts on the current crypto market 1:07:50 - The evolution of crypto VCs 1:12:09 - Advice for crypto founders 1:20:23 - The importance of discipline 1:26:08 - Is the golden era of crypto investing sunsetting?

Dragonfly invested into PepperSec, Inc., the developers of Tornado Cash, in August of 2020. We made this investment because we believe in the importance of open-source privacy-preserving technology. Prior to our investment, we obtained an outside legal opinion that confirmed that Tornado Cash as built complied with the law, under the guidance given by FinCEN in 2019. The government has now stated in open court that they are contemplating charges against Dragonfly for having invested into the Tornado Cash team in 2020. On counsel’s advice, we have refrained from public comment. But we can no longer remain silent. We believe deeply in Americans’ right to privacy, and the lack of it remains one of crypto’s largest unsolved problems. We therefore stand by our investment. We did not operate or exercise any control over Tornado Cash, we had no contact with any malicious users, we always encouraged our portfolio companies to follow the law, and we maintain that Tornado Cash itself has a lawful right to exist—a view reinforced by Van Loon v. Department of the Treasury and OFAC’s subsequent rescission of sanctions. Charging a venture firm for a portfolio company’s alleged misconduct would be unprecedented, especially under these circumstances. In 2023 we received a DOJ subpoena and have fully cooperated with the government’s investigation of Tornado Cash, confident that we have always complied with the law. The DOJ has made clear that we are not ourselves a target of their investigation. As with every investment, we provided PepperSec the same advice and support we offer all portfolio companies. We believe the government’s statement in court today was primarily to undermine a defense of Tornado Cash—to make it more difficult for the defense to call Tom to testify on the stand. After all of this time—years later—bringing charges against Dragonfly would be outrageous, contrary to the facts and the law, and would induce a chilling effect onto all investment into crypto and privacy-preserving technologies in America. We don’t believe the DOJ would actually bring such absurd and groundless charges. But if they do, we intend to vigorously defend ourselves.

I'm incredibly saddened to share that yesterday, my co-founder and closest friend Meher passed away after a long fight against leukemia. I met Meher back in 2014. At the time, he was working for Novartis, but he had a deep interest in cryptocurrencies. He was an Epicenter listener and wanted us to feature a project that he was an advisor for.