ICOs Have Killed Traditional Venture Capital, Claim Prominent Blockchain Investors at CryptoFriends HypeUp in Singapore

SAN FRANCISCO, December 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The traditional Venture Capital sector in its current form is dead, according to some of the top names involved in funding blockchain based startups. The main reasons cited were the sector's failure to innovate amidst the explosion of funding through ICOs, and waning confidence from entrepreneurs that venture capitalist backers have their best interests at heart. Meanwhile, it was predicted that the combined market cap for ICO projects could reach one trillion dollars within the next twelve months.

Speaking during a panel discussion on Cryptofunds at the CryptoFriends HypeUp in Singapore, Brock Pierce, co-founder of Blockchain Capital and Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, commented, "What Venture Capital has become today is a far cry from what it was supposed to be, and it's bad. The old school venture capitalists were legit, unlike the fakers today. They showed up and helped entrepreneurs, rolled up their sleeves and provided advice and real work to help them. What's happened recently is it was co-opted by financial engineers, who don't actually do anything other than take advantage of entrepreneurs."

Pierce continued, "They are supposed to fund innovation but haven't innovated themselves. There are some legit venture capitalists out there, wonderful guys in our space like Tim Draper. Those are the guys that are still going to have a job, who evolve into the things that those of us up here are doing. ICOs are a global phenomenon and this model is not just democratizing venture capital and bringing liquidity to an illiquid market. It means that Silicon Valley doesn't need to be the epicenter of innovation. The next Zuckerberg could now come from Indonesia, Malaysia or Africa."

Joining Pierce on the panel were Daniel Shashoua, Sefi Golan, Mike Costache, Anatolii Radchenko, with Cryptopay MD, Eric Benz acting as moderator. Sefi Golan added, "I was an entrepreneur and, believe me, this revolution is first and foremost for entrepreneurs. They now have another way to finance their ambitions. We must be vigilant with every project, but this is a great opportunity for exponential growth. They say about 90% of startups will fail after three years. I think we are now seeing a new paradigm, with many startups getting more money than they usually get from seed rounds. Let's see if that improves their chances to succeed."

The highly anticipated discussion was a key attraction at the exclusive CryptoFriends event, where over 300 crypto influencers and investors gathered on the rooftop of the Hotel Jen Orchardgateway, to get the latest insights into the world of crypto and party into the night with a world-first crypto-concert by breakthrough indie pop group, Pompeya.

The main sponsors of the intimate HypeUp included Esports.com BlockEX, Arbidex and CoinTelegraph and included further guest talks by some of today's most esteemed blockchain influencers.

As with most CryptoFriends events, the real stars were the ICOs. Seven handpicked blockchain startups pitched their ideas and announced their token sales to an eager audience looking for the latest attractive investment opportunities. The seven ICOs to pitch included:

• BetterBetting  - A robust peer-to-peer sports betting cryptocurrency, facilitating a decentralized betting liquidity pool
• Gladius - Decentralized DDoS protection and content delivery with the Blockchain
• United Traders  - High end solutions for the crypto finance world
• VR Token - Decentralized platform for creating and distributing VR content
• Moeco - A blockchain-powered platform for IoT connectivity
• DeHedge - A risk-hedging platform for cryptocurrency investors
• Sensay - An app that creates a marketplace for p2p conversations using blockchain based smart contracts in chat

Following the pitches were further ICO presentations from three of the Hypeup sponsors, eSports, Blockex, and Arbidex. If this was not enough, participants also saw a special performance from Jason King and Bryce Case with an incredible Cryptorap.

Daria Arefeva, Cryptofriends founder and CEO says, "The high level of the projects presented at the Singapore HypeUp event showed that ICOs are still a hot topic for investors. It was fantastic to see such exciting startups having the chance to forge long-lasting connection and friendships with high caliber names from the crypto world and each other. Cryptofriends is all about mixing cutting edge thinking with eating and drinking, and we will continue to organize more high-end events that put both business and having fun on an equal footing."

About CryptoFriends 

CryptoFriends is a team of blockchain & crypto professionals with a wide network of connections worldwide. We have quickly become the go-to experts when it comes to organizing high-end blockchain-related events. Our mission is to bring together a huge range of experience and ideas from some of the leading names and talents in the international crypto space, and for blockchain professionals and enthusiasts to share their opinions and expertise and build long-lasting connections.

SOURCE CryptoFriends