Matthew Le Merle joined the podcast to discuss his journey from a consulting background to breaking finance with blockchain. He explains how he and his wife Alison pivoted to blockchain after recognizing it as the next major wave of digital value creation following the internet era. He breaks down the differences between blockchain, crypto, and DeFi, and shares how the financial industry is slow to adapt due to outdated systems and vested interests. While adoption may seem slow, it's actually progressing rapidly by historical standards, and transformation remains inevitable no matter what. Today we discuss...
- Matthew Le Merle transitioned from a career in consulting and digital innovation to blockchain venture investing after identifying it as the next major wave of value creation.
- He and his wife began investing in blockchain over a decade ago, seeing it as the foundation for digitalizing commerce and finance.
- Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology (DLT), complements the internet by enabling secure, trust-based value transfers.
- Crypto is a subset of digital assets—usually natively digital—enabled by tokenization on blockchain infrastructure.
- Tokenization allows any asset to be digitally represented and transacted without paper or manual processes.
- DeFi (Decentralized Finance) enables financial transactions through code rather than intermediaries, potentially removing banks and middlemen from the equation.
- The current financial system is deeply entrenched with inefficiencies and intermediaries that profit from friction and delay.
- Incumbent institutions like banks face both technological and incentive-based challenges in adopting blockchain solutions.
- Just as digital communication disrupted legacy industries, blockchain is likely to disrupt banking and finance despite institutional resistance.
- While adoption of smart contracts and blockchain applications has been slower than expected, it's following a similar long development arc as the early internet.
- Digital assets are designed to function natively on digital infrastructure, enabling real-time, frictionless movement.
- Discounted cash flow models can now be used to estimate intrinsic value for platforms like Ethereum and Solana.
- Bitcoin’s value is more abstract, deriving from its role as a hedge against government control, inflation, and confiscation.
- Blockchain investing spans six asset classes: early, mid/late, and public stages for both equity and token-based investments.
- Entry-level exposure to crypto can be done via small Bitcoin allocations, as recommended by BlackRock and others.
- The biggest blockchain fortunes have come from early-stage investments, not public market trading.
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Today's Guest: Matthew Le Merle
Matthew is a 30-year veteran of Silicon Valley, who is shaping the future of digital finance by driving investment in some of the most transformative fintech-blockchain ventures to exist today.
As Co-Founder and CEO of Blockchain Coinvestors, he has established one of the most robust early-stage investment ecosystems in blockchain — backing a portfolio of 1,250+ startups (including 110+ unicorns like Coinbase, Kraken, Opensea) through partnerships with top VC funds worldwide — that ranks in the top decile on the Pitchbook and Preqin databases.
Matthew’s impact at the intersection of blockchain, VC, and wealth is evident in his leadership as Managing Partner at Keiretsu Capital — the most active early-stage venture investor backing 300+ companies a year — and as Chairman/Director of 15+ innovation-focused companies.
He is also a bestselling author, with acclaimed titles like Corporate Innovation in the Fifth Era, Blockchain Competitive Advantage, and The Intelligent Investor: Silicon Valley under his belt.
A well respected industry voice, Matthew frequently appears on CNBC and panels and summits as a keynote speaker, known for his ability to simplify the complexities of fintech and blockchain.
Matthew's Online Presence:
Today's Panelists
Douglas Heagren | Pro College Planners
Megan Gorman | The Wealth Intersection
Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Advisory Group