Monthly Mint — 05.2024
A curated selection of hires and promotions from across crypto and web3. If you would like to sign up to receive this newsletter, please visit our website.
We’re Following
This month saw a host of excitement, everything from the Met Gala and The Roast 🔥of Tom Brady (all hail Queen Nikki Glaser 🙌🏻) to ScarJo v. OpenAI and a four-day work week that threw us all for a loop 🫠. As the Gen Zers would say, May ate and left no crumbs.
In a rare occurrence, this month’s updates from Capitol Hill were just as titillating as the cultural news fodder. 🙀We’re talking, who’s in the hot seat, who’s in the slammer and who’s fighting back? Squarely in the hot seat 🪑(pun intended), Block found itself under examination by federal prosecutors for crypto transactions involving terrorist groups and nations subject to economic sanctions. Fortunately, they’re sitting right next to Robinhood, who received an SEC Wells Notice earlier this month indicating potential enforcement action to come. 🆘 Out of the hot seat and into the slammer, 30-year old former FTX exec Ryan Salame was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, the first in a series of trials for SBF lieutenants. And finally, who’s fighting back? Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin sued the SEC this month, while Uniswap 🦄 showed the power of a unicorn with a pen.
We all know talk is cheap (or at least less permanent…), but bills, legislation progress and ETF approvals? That’s where the real money lies. 🧑🏽⚖️ This May, the Dems pushed back on President Biden in full force, reversing SEC guidance for organizations to mark digital currencies as liabilities on their balance sheets. Republicans led the House in passing an anti-CBDC bill 🙅🏻introduced last year. In a shocking plot twist 🌪️, Trump began accepting crypto donations and vowed to build a crypto army. Our money’s on Lummis as Palpatine’s second in command. 🤭
After much speculation and encouragement along the way, we are thrilled to see the SEC has finally approved spot Ethereum ETFs. 🎉 Even if DC is still a bit of a cluster, at least we’re making headway, my friends — but not just headway, we’re making money, baby. 🤑 Last month, crypto funding surpassed $1B for the second consecutive month. This is the first time that’s happened since the fall of 2022. 💰 From Securitize, Optimism and Sophon (we love a node sale) to Polymarket, Humanity Protocol and Farcaster, the beneficiaries this month were plentiful, and we’re all the happier for it. Public markets, private markets, even Coinbase earnings are locked and loaded for the remainder of 2024.
Cheers, adieu and In Crypto We Trust,
The Intersection Crew
paste here
We’re Backing
Meet Tegan Kline, Co-Founder and CEO of blockchain infrastructure company, Edge & Node. Although Tegan began her career in old-skool sales & trading at Barclays in New York, she is a crypto OG and true believer who fell in love with the space around the time of the Ethereum ICO. A staunch defender of individual freedom and censorship resistance, Tegan is one of our most passionate, energetic and connected clients.
Can you give the uninitiated the skinny on both The Graph and Edge & Node?
If you look at the internet today, a few large companies dictate and decide what information is displayed. They monetize our attention and own our digital footprint. We are paving a new path with The Graph.
The vision for The Graph is to be the internet’s unbreakable and incorruptible data layer. What Google does for the web, The Graph does for web3. Edge & Node is the initial team and core developer behind The Graph. We are here to ensure that the web3 platform emerges and is built on The Graph. We are dedicated to ensuring the future of the internet is decentralized.
Where do you see The Graph in five years?
In five years, The Graph will have revolutionized the internet by enabling web3 — a decentralized web where users have full control over their digital lives. Everyone will rely on The Graph, much like we rely on Google and ChatGPT today. Unlike current platforms, The Graph ensures that no single company owns or controls your data. In doing so, it fosters greater trust, reliability and transparency. Every time you use the web, you’ll actively participate in The Graph’s decentralized network. You will contribute to and benefit from the GRT economy, whether through AI interfaces, apps on your smartphone or computer. The Graph is the home of open and verifiable data for both human and AI agents.
Crypto is the land of misfit toys — like Team Intersection. How did a high-flying investment banker like yourself land in crypto?
Like many, I have always been a misfit and found my true home in crypto. Despite following a traditional career path, I never quite fit into that world. My journey began in 2011 when I first learned about Bitcoin. But it wasn’t until 2016, when I discovered Ethereum, that my passion truly ignited. My time in investment banking gave me a unique perspective on the emerging potential of a new financial system and a new internet with this innovative technology. I saw the opportunity to create this future and decided to leave everything behind to turn that vision into a reality. Fast forward to today, we are much closer to that vision because of infrastructure like The Graph.
You’ve told us before that you’re committed to the “crypto ethos” — what does this mean to you?
You know it when you see it. Embodying the crypto ethos means understanding how Bitcoin addresses monetary sovereignty and how protocols like Ethereum and The Graph build a decentralized internet called web3. It means living and breathing crypto — attending events, listening to podcasts, discussing it over dinner, HODLing and beyond. It means you recognize the necessity of a censorship-resistant internet and will fight relentlessly to make that a reality. You believe in freedom and self-sovereignty and are dedicated to bringing these principles to people worldwide. You won’t stop until the world is empowered and human potential is unleashed globally through the shift in incentives and online coordination. Lastly, it means you envision a future that is decentralized, permissionless, open-source, trustless and censorship-resistant.
You co-founded The House of Web3, which is one of the most desirable hacker collectives in the space. We love the Presidio digs! How’s it going?
It’s been an incredible journey. During the height of the pandemic in 2021, I co-founded The Edge & Node House of Web3 alongside Noelle Becker Moreno and Yaniv Tal. While many claimed that San Francisco was dead, we decided to stake our claim and show the world that San Francisco’s innovative, startup spirit will never die. Today, the House of Web3 is the largest Web3 space globally, serving as a community and event hub for founders, innovators and builders in San Francisco. We’ve hosted hundreds of events, from a16z, BuildEth, Electric Capital and Crypto Underground to supporting web3 artists with NFT art shows and more.The House of Web3 is invite-only, granting NFT access to over 12,000 sq. ft. of space in the heart of the Presidio. Our diverse co-creators include industry leaders from Coinbase, Messari, Kraken, ConsenSys, OP Labs, Polygon and more.
Hiring in a funky market like this is incredibly challenging. What has been your secret sauce so that you not only recruit world-class folks but also punch above your weight?
Our commitment to excellence, values and culture is our secret sauce. Throughout the hiring process, we dive deep into candidates’ values and place a special emphasis on their cultural fit. We consider these things to be as important as the skills and backgrounds required for any role on our team. Remote work can stifle authentic relationships, so we take immense pride in hiring the right people that we would want to spend extensive in-person time with. And we do — during offsites which happen a few times a year with different groups getting together in-person. This IRL bonding time sets the stage for how we work together virtually. By emphasizing values and culture, we are able to attract motivated and mission-aligned people who empower Edge & Node to overcome any “funk” of the market.
You strike us as someone who works 24/7 and has an almost unbelievable amount of commitments. How do you stay sane?
It is hard to stop when you are so passionate about the work you do, and the impact you believe it will have on society! I truly love what I do.
I have a huge support system that helps me 100x-1,000x my output. From a day-to-day standpoint, I put everything on my calendar so that I stay structured and actually get all the work done that helps achieve The Graph mission. To avoid burnout, I work closely with my CoS and EA teams on the importance of wellness and have implemented it in my calendar. As an example, I make sure to include time for workouts during travel, even if they don’t always happen. To avoid working late into the evenings, the team will put “rest, no phone” on the calendar once it hits 8pm on the nights when I do not have networking events or dinners. Having blockers with nothing else scheduled gives me peace of mind and time for creativity. I love our team at Edge & Node and find that they really energize me throughout my daily commitments. And of course, my husband and two dogs also give me that support we all need after a long day or a long week.
We’re Tracking
Ava Labs: Luigi D’Onorio DeMeo was promoted from Vice President of Business Development and Ecosystem to Chief Operating Officer. Link
Bitfarms: Nicolas Bonta was named Interim President and CEO. Nicolas is a Co-Founder of the company. Link
Bitget: Gracy Chen was promoted from Managing Director to CEO. Link
Bitkraft Ventures: Jonathan St. Jacques joined as Head of Investor Relations. Jonathan was previously Head of Account Management for Asset Allocators at Coinbase. Link
Berachain: Jack Melnick joined as Head of DeFi. Jack was previously Head of DeFi at Polygon. Link
Chainlink: Sabeen Ali joined as Global Head of Developer GTM & Programs. Sabeen was previously Global Head of Developer and Community Experience at ConsenSys. Link
Coinbase: Antonio Villaraigosa joined as a Policy Advisor. Antonio previously served as the Mayor of Los Angeles. Link
dYdX: Ivo Crnkovic-Rubsamen was promoted from Chief Strategy Officer to CEO. Link
Eclipse Labs: Vijay Chetty was promoted from Chief Growth Officer to CEO. Link
Elwood: Camilla Churcher joined as Head of Sales, Americas. Camilla was previously Head of Sales at Anchorage Digital. Link
Grayscale: Peter Mintzberg joined as CEO. Peter was previously Global Head of Strategy for Asset and Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs. Link
Paxos: J. Chris Giancarlo joined the Board of Directors. Chris was previously the Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Link
Polygon: Brian Trunzo was promoted from Head of Business Development, North America to Global Head of Business Development. Link
Republic Digital: Joseph Naggar joined as CEO and Chief Investment Officer. Joseph was previously a Partner at GoldenTree Asset Management. Link
Swirlds Labs: Sara Hale joined as Chief Marketing Officer. Sara was previously Chief Marketing Officer at R3. Link
Intersection Growth Partners is the leading executive search firm in web3. We connect our clients with game-changing talent and invest our own capital for true alignment.
