The Evolution of Bitstamp

Bitstamp, our strategic partner and LP at Collab+Currency, released some news around prospective new listings yesterday. This is a moment that has been building for some time, so we wanted to write a quick post to put it in perspective and provide some context.

Historically, Bitstamp has maintained one of the most conservative listing policies of the major exchanges, and with good reason. As the longest-standing crypto exchange in the world, they’ve built a trusted brand in an industry where trust in trading venues is tested regularly.

Since being founded nearly a decade ago, they’ve seen trends come and go. For example, as ICOs captured the spotlight in 2017, Bitstamp resisted listing the new new thing, even as prices and volumes for these assets were skyrocketing. As we slid into crypto winter, many of these projects fell by the wayside, and that decision proved to be prescient. The brand was stronger because of it.

Collaborative also largely sat out on the ICO wave, maintaining a highly selective approach to investing in early stage crypto projects. But the projects coming to market today bear little resemblance to what we observed in 2017. We’re in a new era now, and both firms have evolved accordingly.

In the middle of crypto winter, Collaborative launched a new separate fund, Collab+Currency, with a team that focuses exclusively on crypto and a close-knit strategic relationship with Bitstamp. As we’ve been deploying capital from this new vehicle over the past couple years, we’ve noted that the quality of projects coming to market feels very different from 2016–17 when we were investing out of Collaborative’s main fund. The quality of new projects caught Bitstamp’s attention as well.

I have a bi-weekly call with Bitstamp’s COO, Vasja Zupan, and the conversation often revolves around what we’re seeing at the earliest stages of development. Bitstamp is extremely well informed about how the space has been progressing and this recent announcement is a function of a long period of careful thought about the current state of the crypto economy, juxtaposed against the backdrop of what they’ve observed over the lengthy history of the exchange.

In the announcement, Bitstamp released a list of assets that they’re evaluating for support:

What’s remarkable about the list is not only its size relative to the number of assets currently listed, but its scope. The breadth of verticals is inspiring. Prediction markets, lending platforms, DEXs, stablecoins (plus their governance companions), oracles, real assets, insurance, and emerging Layer 1s. It represents a broad cross-section of what makes crypto the most exciting space in technology and finance, and it’s a strong statement from an exchange that has seen it all.

To be clear, these listings aren’t going to happen overnight, and some may never be listed. This is a prospective list, not a commitment set in stone. That said, it’s amazing to consider the prospect of so many of our portfolio companies accessing deeper markets through a listing on the highest volume exchange in the EU.

Here’s to the next decade at Bitstamp being as fascinating as the last.