Introduction: A Contrarian Bet

After six weeks on the road—Hong Kong, Denver, San Francisco, New York—sharing the tmr Ventures thesis with investors, founders, and fellow VCs, one question kept coming up:

“Why raise a VC fund—and why now?”

It’s a fair question. Capital has shifted back to Bitcoin and liquid strategies. Early-stage crypto feels out of favor.

But investing is, by nature, a contrarian act. The best returns come from early conviction—not consensus. Raising tmr Ventures is my contrarian bet: on this space, on the builders who never left, and on the long-term value that still hasn’t been priced in—especially as institutional and enterprise adoption nears a true inflection point.

The Market Today: A Tough Landscape

Over the past two months of fundraising, I’ve heard a consistent set of concerns:

• “It’s hard to see where the real value is in crypto.”
• “We’d rather just hold BTC or stay liquid.”
• “The space still feels risky and full of noise.”

And honestly, I don’t disagree. The last few cycles were dominated by narrative chasing, financial engineering, and short-term thinking. Too many projects were built on weak fundamentals and misaligned incentives. The credibility gap still lingers.

Meanwhile, investors are seeking real-world relevance. AI is attracting capital not just for its potential, but for its tangible impact—products people can see and use. Even my mom asked about DeepSeek after reading about it in the news. Crypto hasn’t had that moment—yet.

But that’s exactly where the opportunity lies. Real adoption is still ahead—but it’s already beginning to take shape in quieter, more meaningful ways.

Institutional Financial Adoption

Despite broader market uncertainty, institutional momentum around tokenized real-world assets has accelerated meaningfully over the past year:

• BlackRock launched the BUIDL tokenized U.S. Treasury fund on Ethereum in March 2024. It surpassed $500M AUM within months and has since expanded to five additional blockchains, including Avalanche, Arbitrum, and Polygon.
• Fidelity filed to launch Fidelity OnChain, a tokenized share class of its Treasury money market fund—marking its first blockchain-native issuance.
• In Asia, ChinaAMC (Hong Kong) introduced the region’s first retail tokenized money market fund, bringing blockchain-based fund access to individual investors.
• The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) rolled out a stablecoin sandbox with participants like Standard Chartered and HKT, focused on HKD-backed stablecoins and cross-border settlement.

These aren’t isolated experiments—they signal a broader shift in how traditional institutions are adopting blockchain infrastructure. And for the first time, we may be operating with a regulatory tailwind. The new U.S. administration’s pro-crypto stance is expected to accelerate progress both domestically and globally, with regulators, investors, and enterprises watching U.S. leadership closely.

The difficulty remains real. But in this environment, conviction becomes the filter. I’m not here to convert everyone—I’m here to build with the ones who already see where this is going.

Beyond Finance: Real Adoption Across Industries

Blockchain is increasingly being used outside of financial services—solving real problems across global industries.

Supply Chain & Logistics: In 2024, FedEx launched Digithon 2024 to explore blockchain for shipment tracking and logistics optimization. Around the same time, fashion group OTB (with LVMH and Prada) expanded its use of the Aura Blockchain Consortium to meet EU product passport rules. Startups like BioTrak and Mojix are applying blockchain to cold-chain logistics—boosting traceability, safety, and efficiency.

Healthcare: In 2024, MediLedger added partners like OSF HealthCare to improve drug pricing accuracy and compliance. IBM continues to pilot secure patient data sharing using blockchain. In 2025, AminoChain, backed by a16z, launched a privacy-preserving network that gives patients control over their health data while enabling research access with consent.

Energy: Powerledger expanded its peer-to-peer platform for renewable energy credit trading in 2024, improving grid efficiency and market transparency.

Real Estate: In early 2025, DAMAC Properties partnered with MANTRA to tokenize $1B+ in real estate across the Middle East—unlocking liquidity and fractional ownership opportunities.

Education: Universities like MIT and University of Nicosia continue to issue blockchain-verified diplomas. Others like Harvard and institutions in Morocco are now adopting blockchain-based certification systems for secure, verifiable credentials.

These aren’t just pilots—they’re early but active deployments solving real problems. Quietly, they’re laying the foundation for broader transformation in industries of enormous scale:

• Supply chain: $10+ trillion
• Healthcare: $4+ trillion
• Real estate: $300+ trillion
• Energy: Multi-trillion and growing

Even modest adoption could unlock immense value. The infrastructure is forming—and the early builders are already showing what’s possible.

What Needs to Change — and How tmr Is Built for It

If we want real adoption, we need to rethink how this ecosystem works—from how projects are structured to how they’re funded, incentivized, and governed.

We need more founders and investors operating on 5–10 year timelines—not chasing quarterly exits. And we need to fix how incentives are designed:

• Should tokens vest based on time alone—or also be tied to real business progress?
• Can community-led launches (like fair launches) drive stronger alignment and better price discovery?
• Do some projects even need a token at all if there’s no sustainable business model yet?

These are the questions we raise early—because broken incentives erode trust before anything gets built.

Ecosystem players—exchanges, market makers, and blockchain foundations—need to step up. Launching tokens at billion-dollar valuations might boost short-term optics, but it rarely supports long-term success. These actors must act as stewards, not extractors.

And governance must evolve. Token voting today is often shallow, gamed, or ignored. If we truly care about decentralization, we need systems where users, builders, and contributors all have meaningful influence.

Still, I’m optimistic. On my recent trip, I reconnected with teams that are building what this space actually needs:

• NATIX Network is developing decentralized mobility data for mapping, city planning, and autonomous vehicles.
• Opacity Network bridges Web2 and Web3 data—enabling secure, scalable enterprise collaboration.
• OORT DataHub is crowdsourcing real-world data through task-based contributions—creating utility beyond speculation.

These teams are building for users. Some are already generating fiat revenue and working with enterprise clients. Often, their users don’t even realize blockchain is under the hood—and that’s exactly the point.

This is what real adoption looks like.

At tmr Ventures, we back early-stage teams with conviction. We’re often the first believer—and we stay involved. From governance to execution to strategy, we help founders build what lasts. We care about trust, not hype. Alignment, not shortcuts.

Conclusion: Betting on the Right Hard Things

Raising a fund in this market is hard. So is building in crypto today. Taking the long view—when the short-term feels safer—is hard. But these are the right hard things to do.

In recent months, I’ve had conversations across cities and time zones. I’ve heard skepticism. I’ve felt the headwinds. But I’ve also seen what many overlook: the builders who never left, the teams solving real problems, and the opportunity to help shape—not just ride—the next cycle.

This isn’t about chasing narratives. It’s about doing the work—designing better incentives, building stronger governance, and backing founders early, with conviction.

tmr Ventures exists because we believe the next era of crypto won’t be defined by hype—it will be built on the foundation of real adoption, bringing in broader industries, new users, and lasting impact.

And that starts by betting on the right hard things.

And doing them right.