Chainfeeds Introduction:
In a market fatigued by fleeting meme narratives and renewing its search for sustainable value, Founders Fund’s investment playbook offers a clear, proven path.
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Article author:
Mars Finance
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Mars Finance: Founders Fund's success in crypto investing is not accidental, but rather stems from a clear investment philosophy and decision-making system. This success stems from the complementary roles of two key figures: Peter Thiel and Joey Krug. Thiel is the fund's founder and spiritual leader. The contrarian thinking and pursuit of monopolistic technology, emphasized in his book "Zero to One," form the fund's core rationale. He has long insisted on building a next-generation financial network independent of traditional systems. Therefore, his investment perspective always focuses on underlying protocols and infrastructure that can reshape the industry landscape, rather than short-term hot spots. In contrast, Krug is a quintessential "crypto OG." He co-founded the decentralized prediction market Augur and later served as co-CIO of Pantera Capital. He has extensive experience building and investing in DeFi projects. He places great importance on a team's shipping velocity—the ability to consistently transform ideas into products. It is the combination of Thiel's top-level design and Krug's front-line insights that establishes Founders Fund's unique advantage in crypto investing, both in capturing macro trends and accurately selecting teams that can ride them. Their investment style can be summarized in three key points: prioritizing infrastructure, early involvement, and investing in high-potential projects. Based on this investment philosophy, Founders Fund's portfolio includes a number of high-potential projects worthy of special attention. First is Polymarket, a leading decentralized prediction market, with consistently high daily trading volume and active user numbers. Its token issuance is widely expected. Combined with the warrants mentioned in its SEC filings and the recent positive signal from the CFTC, Polymarket's retroactive airdrop could become the next major industry event. Second is Sentient, a decentralized AGI network project seeking to use blockchain to break the monopoly of AI giants. Its vision aligns closely with Thiel's long-term approach. Its $85 million funding round provides strong support for future community incentives and airdrops. Third is N1 (formerly Layer N), a high-performance Rollup network focused on financial applications. Token issuance for Layer 2 projects is an industry standard, and N1's airdrop is likely to be closely tied to testnets and early interactions. Fourth is Opensea, an OG in the NFT market. Although airdrop rumors have remained unfulfilled for years, facing competitors like Blur and LooksRare, community governance and retroactive airdrops remain the most likely path forward. Furthermore, there are a number of infrastructure-focused projects, such as Caldera (RaaS platform), Citrea (Bitcoin L2), and Helius (Solana ecosystem API service provider). These water-selling projects are highly likely to ultimately share the value of the protocol through tokenization. Founders Fund's investment strategy is particularly inspiring at this moment. In a cycle where the MEME narrative is fading and the market is searching for sustainable value, this playbook clearly prioritizes infrastructure and is driven by revolutionary narratives. The explosive popularity of Plasma is a prime example, demonstrating not only Founders Fund's foresight but also its philosophy of investing at the bottom and holding onto the long term. From Polymarket to Sentient, to N1 and Opensea, Founders Fund has consistently bet on key projects with industry-changing potential and high airdrop potential. For the average investor, following the lead of smart money is essentially about learning an effective methodology for discovering long-term value. This list not only provides direction for research and participation, but also reminds us that risks and opportunities always coexist. Those projects that truly weather bull and bear cycles are those committed to solving core problems and building solid ecosystem moats. Airdrops are just the beginning of the wealth effect; grasping the core principle of infrastructure + long-termism will determine who will accumulate true value in the next cycle.
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