Crypto ‘kingmaker’ Matthew Graham on how Sino Global Capital is tapping into the Indian Web3 market

Everything Matthew Graham, CEO of Sino Global Capital (SGC), likes is change. As a fintech banker, Matthew represented international technology companies in emerging markets for strategic partnerships and acquisitions.

“By the way, the reason I work in emerging markets is because I have always been fascinated by agents of change. I have always wanted to be where the action is, in the middle of the engine of change. I am fascinated by learning new things and learning about new cultures. So I opened my own shop SGC in 2015, says Matthew in a conversation with The Decryption Historywhile visiting Bengaluru.

One of the key investors in the crypto space, Matthew has also been called the ‘kingmaker’ in the blockchain and Web3 space. He has actually been an early investor in FTX, Polygon, and more recently, EPNS.

Many founders of these companies swear by him, believing that the vision and drive Matthew brings also helps the companies and products grow. In October last year, Sino together with FTX started an FTX fund of 200 million dollars.

While both FTX and Sino Global have invested together a few times, Sino eventually thought of institutionalizing this investment process.

“We have such a good partnership with them (FTX). It was also because their process, values ​​and drive aligned with ours. There is also tremendous strategic value in partnering with some of the best thinkers and the best exchange in crypto, adds Matthew.

In September 2022, Sino Global Capital and Buidlers Tribe joined forces to promote Web3 innovations in India with the SGC India Demo Day to identify innovative and diverse Web3 solutions. While SGC offers a funding pool of $2 million, Buidler’s Tribe has a grant pool of up to $50,000, subject to suitability for investment purposes and due diligence

But what attracted Matthew to the world of Web 3.0 and Crypto?

More than what the eye can see

“I had been following Bitcoin for years. In 2013 I went very unsuccessfully to one of the top five or ten telecom manufacturers in the world. They asked me what my craziest idea was and I said they should have a combined hardware-software solution for Bitcoin- power users. It would have been a market that was a rounding error for them in 2013, but I was convinced it was going to be a hugely important test. They hated that idea, and rejected it in about five seconds,” says Matthew.

However, the emergence of Ethereum revealed a much larger market. The team also made a few investments in the market that proved successful.

“We decided to swing to the buy side. At that time we had invested in the best blockchain projects from around the world. We look first at the secondary markets and then at the primary markets. If you bring a unique value proposition to the table, we can help you in markets like otherwise are almost inaccessible, such as Greater China, India, the Middle East and North Africa as well. That’s why we spend so much time here. This is not just a one-off trip. We already have people on the ground here, and I expect to spend an enormous amount of time here in the most important market for me in the world, explains Matthew.

The beauty of the product

On the recent investment in EPNS, Matthew added that SGC simply loved the founding team. The team also felt that it can make long-term games, and has technology that is ubiquitous to both the Web2 and Web3 universes.

“I think we’ve all missed a liquidation email warning, and ultimately we need these notifications on the chain. It’s an essential primitive. It’s easy to see why this type of notification is important, but you also see for the right team based on their background. It’s probably a winner-take-all market. That’s a feature that we love as investors, plus they have a technology that will be useful to bring a billion people on board Web3. So of course we want to push it forward. It has all the qualities we look for in an investment,” adds Matthew.

Apart from regulations, Matthew believes that India has several unique characteristics that are favorable to the Web3 world. It is one of the youngest countries in the world and has enormously skilled engineers. The team is also looking closely at Tier II and III cities.

A hidden pool of talent

“The combination of demographics and hugely skilled engineers, plus a recent surge in entrepreneurial ethos is why we believe entrepreneurs are poised to move up the ladder. They will capture a large percentage of the wealth through Web3 innovation, and we want to bet big on that. Polygon, in my view, is going to be the first of many breakout projects, and we want to be here for that. We want to invest in Indian entrepreneurs. We want to actively help them in a deep and long-term way to connect with the international market, says Matthew.

Although the Indian market is growing rapidly, it still has a challenge for Indian crypto entrepreneurs.

“So, the first thing is we want to help Indian entrepreneurs move from world-class implementation to world-class creation. We want to help Indian entrepreneurs move up. You have some of the best and most talented engineers in the entire world. These people should be entrepreneurs and creators instead of working for IBM, and we want to help them do that. The other thing is that interfacing with international markets can be a challenge. We can definitely help with that,” adds Matthew.

He explains that SGC can help in many ways – building the right relationships, the right approach, the right way to understand international markets and gain international visibility.

“But interestingly, in our observation, it’s very clear that not only cities like Bengaluru, but also Tier-II and Tier-III cities have the talent to contribute to Web3. We want to be able to help these people get that visibility and funding they need to actualize their talent, says Matthew.

Long-term capital

Sino Global looks at investing capital for the long term. “We focus on the longest investment horizon compared to anyone in Web3, which is one reason why we have such deep relationships with our portfolio companies. We have such a strong referral network from our portfolios, many of whom are also LPs,” says Matthew. So the team will therefore not change their thesis for India.

The idea is to invest in the founders and the teams, and help them grow.

“It is the same long-term, roll-up-your-sleeves and deep relationship approach that we bring to portfolio companies such as FTX and Solana. That’s how we made our name, and that’s what we continue to do, says Matthew.

The team looks at the top-down overlay in sectors. Regarding the number of agreements,

Matthew says they don’t want to focus on the number of investments, but hope to make bigger and more concentrated efforts.

“It doesn’t matter if we do zero this month or twelve. We happen to believe that many of these investments are coming from India. We don’t plan it that way, says Matthew.

He adds, “We look for founders who we feel are big bets on themselves and their vision. We don’t mind people who can potentially swing once or twice, or even three times. We saw that with Polygon, and we had to do a couple of pivots before we became a huge success. So basically, we look for people who show the tenacity to persevere through one or two pivots before they make it big. We do a lot of character and personality assessments and research for that. We are betting on people, growth and a differentiated vision, says Matthew.

Advising all founders, especially those in the crypto space, he says, “I think the most important thing is that you have to surround yourself with the right people. You get the right networks, you push yourself with the right people, and you have to grind harder than anyone in the world. You must also have the right vision.”