What Crypto VCs Want Now | Aryan Sheikhalian
Crypto’s next chapter isn’t a shinier coin—it’s invisible rails. In this episode, we sit down with Aryan Sheikhalian, Research Lead at CMT Digital, to unpack the shift from “crypto as an asset” to crypto as infrastructure: 24/7 markets, instant clearing and settlement, and new structured products that couldn’t exist before. We talk about tokenized equities (wrappers vs. native tokenization and why dividends/governance matter), how identity layers and ZK proofs unlock mainstream distribution through banks and fintechs, and where regulation is pushing builders toward partnerships and licensed rails.Chapters00:00 Hook: crypto as infrastructure, not asset01:15 Guest intro and research focus02:06 Incentives, psychology, and mechanism design04:03 ICO lessons, maturity, and red flags07:09 CMT Digital’s thesis and “strictly better”10:27 Tokenized equities drivers and demand13:40 Wrappers vs native: dividends, governance16:06 Fintech rails, velocity, cost efficiency18:26 Banks, distribution, and competitive incentives20:29 New assets: GPUs, data, energy tokens23:23 Identity layers and ZK proofs for scale25:55 State of crypto VC and fund trends27:51 Overlooked sectors: DePIN and decentralized data31:26 Prediction markets and resolution design34:18 Regulation, licenses, and partnerships39:45 Market outlook: TVL, stables, volatility42:45 Founder advice: conviction and user focus
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