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What they do

Founded in 2017 by Joel Monegro and Chris Burniske, Placeholder is a highly respected, thesis-driven crypto venture capital firm. Unlike many crypto hedge funds that trade liquid tokens short-term, Placeholder operates with a traditional 10-year venture fund structure. This allows them to take a long-term, patient approach to supporting decentralized networks until they mature. The firm is deeply rooted in the "Fat Protocols" thesis and is renowned in the ecosystem for its rigorous intellectual frameworks regarding token economics, network governance, and cryptoasset valuation.

What they look for

Placeholder invests in ventures that help re-design capitalism by distributing capital over the internet. Their core belief is that digital capital is key to creating better markets where data, wealth, and power are more equitably distributed. They focus heavily on the foundational layers of Web3, operating under the thesis that in blockchain networks, value accrues disproportionately to the protocol layer rather than the application layer.

Stage

Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+

Sectors

Fintech, AI, Deeptech, SaaS

Based

New York, US