Alchemy, Ava Labs and BlockFi break down funding in a bear market at TC Sessions: Crypto • TechCrunch

Bears hibernate during the coldest months, but there is nowhere to hide from a bear market during a crypto winter. As the entire sector faces what appears to be a long stretch of uncertainty, young entrepreneurs must find a way to keep their funds flowing. But how?

This timely topic is why we are thrilled that industry veterans Flori Marquez, Founder and COO at BlockFi; Nikil Viswanathan, Co-Founder and CEO of Alchemy; and John Wu, president of Ava Labs, will join us on stage for a panel discussion called “Fundraising in Crypto Winter” at TC Sessions: Crypto on November 17 in Miami.

If anyone understands the ups, downs, and general volatility of the crypto market, it’s the three people on this panel. Marquez’s BlockFi recently signed a deal that gives FTX US the opportunity to buy the crypto lender she founded. Viswanathan’s Alchemy, one of the fastest-growing companies in tech history, raised a $200 million Series C1 last February, giving the web3 developer infrastructure startup a valuation just north of $10 billion.

Meanwhile, Wu’s Ava Labs is reportedly raising a $350 million funding round and is eyeing a potential valuation of a little more than $5 billion. It is a wild season for both bulls and bears.

We are curious to hear the panel’s views on how fundraising, cap tables and valuations have changed given market conditions – and whether startups will see improvement in the short term.

We will also ask these entrepreneurs what they focus on when it comes to investing in crypto startups or projects, and which subsectors have the greatest opportunity for growth in a bear market. Learning how these three operators built and scaled their own startups through previous turbulent cycles in the crypto markets will be informative.

Both Marquez and Wu entered crypto with traditional finance backgrounds while Viswanathan comes from Big Tech. Hearing how fundraising in the crypto space differs from these worlds – and how it has evolved from past bear markets – will also be a worthwhile perspective. Don’t miss what is sure to be a fascinating and valuable discussion.

Flori Marquez, BlockFi founder and COO, oversees the company’s operations, customer service, people, engineering and retail product teams. Since co-founding the company with Zac Prince in 2017, Marquez has built and managed critical functions including trading, risk, compliance and marketing teams.

Marquez has spent his career managing alternative lending products. She served as Head of Portfolio Management – ​​helping to build, scale and optimize a $125 million portfolio – at Bond Street (acquired by Goldman Sachs). She managed all operations from origination to default and litigation.

Prior to Bond Street, Marquez helped develop and maintain institutional partnerships at Oak Hill Advisors, a $30 billion fixed income manager.

Nikil Viswanathan is the co-founder and CEO of Alchemy, a leading blockchain developer platform valued at more than $10 billion. The company is backed by top investors including Coatue, a16z, Lightspeed, Silver Lake, Pantera and many more.

Viswanathan received his BS and MS in computer science from Stanford, and previously worked in product management at Google, Microsoft and Facebook. A serial entrepreneur, Viswanathan co-created the social app Down To Lunch and was listed on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.

As president of Ava Labs, John Wu aims to open up financial services and products to everyone. He brings more than 20 years of expertise as a fintech executive and technology investor to create a blockchain-enabled solution for originating, issuing and trading financial assets.

Previously, Wu built and led the digital assets business at SharesPost, where he served as CEO of the Digital Assets Group. Prior to that, he was a technology investor and founder of Sureview Capital, a global hedge fund backed by the Blackstone Group.

Wu began his investment career at Tiger Management before managing a global technology portfolio at Kingdon Capital. He received his MBA from Harvard University and has a BS in Economics from Cornell University.

TC Sessions: Crypto will take place on November 17 in Miami. Take advantage of our special launch pricing and save $250. Buy your pass today and join the leading voices and visionaries in the blockchain, DeFi, NFT and web3 communities.

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: Crypto? Contact our sponsorship sales team by fill out this form.