Author: Vin Narayanan
Page:
New Pick: An Answer to Crypto’s Centralized Exchange Problem
Between FTX’s collapse and Binance’s current problems — which I wrote about for Early Investing this week — it’s clear that large centralized exchanges have become pain points in the crypto ecosystem. There are good reasons to have centralized exchanges. They’re easy to use. (As Binance’s founder rightly points out, many people would lose their keys if you forced everyone…
Crypto Regulations Are on the Horizon
By Vin Narayanan on December 14, 2022
I had planned on writing about startups today. A major scientific breakthrough in fusion happened this week. The implications for humanity and startups are astounding. But then two massive crypto stories broke, so startups (and fusion) will have to wait.
What DeFi Needs to Mature Into a Thriving Ecosystem
By Vin Narayanan on December 2, 2022
Crypto Market Musings There are two things driving the market right now: FTX collateral damage and potential interest rate hikes. Every time an FTX domino falls — like BlockFi declaring bankruptcy a few days ago — crypto…
New Pick: A Sustainable Solution to Agriculture’s Salty Soil Problem
By Vin Narayanan on December 1, 2022
Note: This recommendation was co-authored by KingsCrowd Senior Investment Research Analyst Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau. Moonshot companies are tricky to evaluate. By definition, moonshots are bold, audacious, innovative attempts to solve massive problems. And if the solution is successful, it can…
FTX and the Crypto Regulations Still to Come
By Vin Narayanan on November 21, 2022
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks in the crypto market as it tries to sort through the fallout of crypto exchange FTX filing for bankruptcy. For a more detailed account of how it happened, please read this update I wrote…
Stargate Finance Still Has a Shot at Success
By Vin Narayanan on November 18, 2022
I like to have the TV on while I write. The background noise helps my mind focus. And because I have YouTube TV, I can record almost anything I want and watch/listen to it later. Earlier this week, I put Meet the Press…
Crypto Markets Spiral on FTX’s Bankruptcy News
By Vin Narayanan on November 16, 2022
Someday, there will be a Netflix documentary about Sam Bankman-Fried. SBF — as he’s known in crypto circles — was worth more than $14 billion about 10 days ago. Today, the founder and former CEO of popular crypto exchange FTX is bankrupt. SBF’s stunning fall from grace is…
New Pick: A Remarkable Brand Reinvigorating the Energy Drink Space
By Vin Narayanan on November 3, 2022
Note: This recommendation was co-authored by KingsCrowd Investment Research Analyst Teddy Lyons. When you evaluate consumer packaged goods (CPG) startup investment opportunities, you need to focus on three critical components: Traction Brand Team.
New Pick: A Digital ID That Protects a Person’s Privacy
By Vin Narayanan on October 28, 2022
If a secure identity verification system… Doesn’t collect conventional identity touchpoints (like name, address, phone number, etc.) or traditional forms of identification (like driver’s licenses and passports) And can’t reveal your actual identity Can it actually work? And…
New Pick: The Best of the Oracle Blockchains
By Vin Narayanan on October 24, 2022
I say or write “timing the market is a fool’s errand”™ so often I’ve started trademarking it. It’s almost impossible to predict the bottom of any market. And crypto markets are much more difficult to predict than others. The crypto markets have been stuck in neutral for extended…
Bitcoin Gives Investors a Break During the Bear Market
By Vin Narayanan on October 21, 2022
Crypto Market Musings Bitcoin (BTC) is traditionally an extremely volatile asset. But not right now. Bitcoin volatility (.BVOL) is at a 100-day low. Since September 1, bitcoin has largely been trading in a narrow range between $18,400 and $20,000. And BTC…
The Trick to De-Risk Startup and Collectibles Investments
By Vin Narayanan on October 19, 2022
The baseball card universe has changed quite a bit since I was growing up. People don’t just buy cards for the bubble gum or trade doubles to complete their sets like I did. Instead, they seek out unique or scarce cards that can grow in value. They keep…
How to Take a Value Investing Approach to Crypto
By Vin Narayanan on October 14, 2022
This week’s inflation news was not good. Inflation, unsurprisingly, has risen faster than expected despite the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is up 0.4% from last month, and the core CPI (which excludes highly volatile food and…
A Different Kind of Due Diligence Process
By Vin Narayanan on October 11, 2022
In order to survive and thrive, human civilization needs water, food and energy. Everything else flows from these three things. That’s why as a startup investor, I keep a close eye on anything that’s changing or potentially disrupting one of these spaces. Investing early in game-changing innovations in…
It’s Time to Retire the “Bitcoin as Digital Gold” Analogy
By Vin Narayanan on October 7, 2022
Crypto Market Musings As of this writing, bitcoin is up about 3% over the last seven days and trading around $20,000. Ethereum is up about 2% over the last seven days and trading around $1,358. There’s no Fed meeting this month, so we won’t…
New Pick: The Next Generation of Sports Fandom
By Vin Narayanan on September 30, 2022
It’s been a heavy year for crypto investors. We’ve spent the year talking about bear markets, inflation, interest rates, stock market correlation, dollar cost averaging and so much more. These are all important topics. They’re hardly fun or exciting, though. And investing in crypto…