The world's largest financial institutions are now working with Ownera, one of our DGH portfolio companies. BlackRock, Citi and J.P. Morgan moved tokenized collateral in minutes on its rails. The venture studio model is paying off: Alon (who now runs our @DGBventures) helped build Ownera in 2018 and never left the room. Read his piece on why that wins.

We're offering 100% commission to those who are joining LitFinancial in the Marketplace.  Sound too good to be true? Simply click the link to apply and we'll reach out to answer all your questions: litfinancial.com/careers/bra…

This is an awesome article on an amazing firm ⁦@BoostVC⁩ . Way to go Adam and Brayton. About time the world recognizes you as the top performing VC firm you are. blog.joinodin.com/p/the-fron…

SEC: Defi swap interfaces do not need to register in the US as broker dealers under certain conditions Overall, the guidance underscores that innovation in interface design does not exempt firms from longstanding securities regulations, and that regulatory scrutiny is increasingly focused on the role of front-end platforms in facilitating trades. But there are now knowable, actionable criteria you need to satisfy if you want to stay outside the regulatory perimeter. It gives builders more than a roadmap. It provides a punchlist. One that does not dictate how but just clarifies what. Really useful guidance. sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-st…

One of the biggest red flags for me when I am pitched is when the entrepreneur talks about how he (or we) are going to make money. Or they talk about exits. Or they talk about how a competitor is worth $1 billion. None of that matters. A startup is a mission. A great entrepreneur is a missionary. Not a mercenary. A great irony of entrepreneurship: The entrepreneurs who come in and say they're going to make everybody money, don't. People who say that they're going to paint a picture of the world that's never been seen before often are the ones who make a fortune. When entrepreneurs leave their cushy Facebook or Google jobs, some of them can't stop looking back. That is a bad sign to me. If the entrepreneur ever says, I could be making $XYZ at Google, I am concerned that they've got one foot in and one foot out and won't make it as a founder. The same can be said for founders who are building a company for the resume versus the mission. There's been an influx of Ivy League MBAs who believe that starting a venture-backed company is the next logical career move. I'd much rather invest in someone who has found a problem and believes with every fiber of their being, and knows deep in their bones, that they're the one who is destined to find the solution.

People ask where my optimism comes from. When I was younger, I played football. I joined five benchwarmers in a challenge against the 6 best athletes on the team. So…it seemed hopeless. So we changed the game. We ran routes they weren’t expecting. We lined up in ways that confused them. And we humiliated them. As cliché as it may sound, that moment taught me everything: Anything is possible. There is always a way. The underdogs always have a shot. Try anything. In my VC career, I had a couple early investment wins that nobody expected. Same lesson, different stakes. That's why I invest the way I do. That's why I back the founders other VCs pass on. They are underdogs. They are trying new possibilities. All because I've SEEN the benchwarmers win. Again and again. They can always surprise you.

Tokenization is shaping the next evolution of global markets. In @TheEconomist, Larry Fink and Rob Goldstein discuss how tokenization can modernize market infrastructure, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and access by connecting traditional and digital finance. Read more:

After thousands of pitches, here's what matters: 1. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫. Not "understand" them. LOVE them. If you don't obsess over making their life better, you won't make it. 2. 𝐁𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜. Pessimists don't build trillion-dollar companies. They give up when it gets hard. And it WILL get hard. 3. 𝐁𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. "A spouting whale gets harpooned" is the OPPOSITE of what I want. I want founders who speak up. Who don't care what everyone else thinks. You're going to have dark moments. Jesus Christ had moments of doubt and pain (shoutout Rolling Stones). You will too. The question isn't whether you'll face hard times. It's whether you'll push through them. That's what separates the founders I back from everyone else.

1/ Introducing litUSD, the 1st regulatory-compliant stablecoin for mortgage finance! 💵 Fully backed & redeemable 1:1 with USD 🏡 Sponsored by @LitFinancial_ 🏛️ Compliant issuance via @brale_xyz 🚀 Live pilot on @Ethereum network 🔗 Coming soon to @base & other chains

Matt from #DGB is speaking at @SuperReturn Secondaries North America 2025 in NYC! Say 'Hello' if you are there! #SRSecondaries

Coinbase is working on Prediction Market

Coinbase is working on stock trading

"It's going to change the way everybody does business." @LitFinancial_’s @bleznak spoke with @Nasdaq TradeTalks’ @JillMalandrino about how Chainlink’s data and interoperability standard unlocks a transformative stablecoin-powered mortgage model. chainlinktoday.com/litfinanc…

Onchain finance is accelerating and strategic M&A is one of the fastest ways to get critical tools in the hands of builders & users. Great time catching up with @CRYPTO101Pod about what we’re up to at @coinbase & where we see the industry heading 👇

Great conversation between @DavidwRankin, and @theeoriginalnt with @aivreinc_ CEO Jake Lew about the modernization of the appraiser report.

RT @rise_pay: We are proud to announce that Rise has just surpassed $1 Billion in Total Payroll Volume $1,000,000,000 in total payroll pro…

So excited for our expansion! We appreciate our partners @TimDraper, @AlonGoren and @bleznak with how they all lead our team by example!

Michigan just became home to @DGBventures's second office. @bleznak has been crushing it with our PropTech portfolio companies. Troy-headquartered @LitFinancial_ (mortgage brokerage) and Birmingham-based AIVRE (AI-powered appraisal software) are both performing exceptionally well. When your portfolio companies are thriving like this, you don't just watch from LA. You plant roots. Why Michigan? Why now? Detroit is the mortgage capital of the country. Rocket Companies is there. The PropTech ecosystem is exploding. And we have multiple Michigan-based portfolio companies that need a centralized hub. The new office at 3221 W. Big Beaver Road in Troy will serve as: → Strategic hub for incubating and accelerating portfolio companies → Meeting space for teams flying in from out of town → Coworking environment for our growing operator team (6 employees and counting) All led by David, who knows this market inside and out. When @AlonGoren, David Bleznak, and I founded Draper Goren Blockchain in 2023, we focused on early-stage blockchain startups. But we followed the performance. Our PropTech companies were outperforming. The market opportunity was massive. So we doubled down. Now we're betting big on real estate technology, and Michigan offers the perfect ecosystem for PropTech development. When entrepreneurs have the freedom to build and the support to scale, amazing things happen. Michigan is about to see a lot more of that.

So proud of this move and so proud to be a part of the @DraperVC ecosystem!!! Couldn't ask for better partners than @bleznak and @TimDraper!!! LETS GO @DGBventures!!!!!

Draper Goren Blockchain ( @DGBVentures ) just opened its second office in Troy, Michigan. First office outside of LA and a strategic move into the mortgage capital of the country. Draper Goren Blockchain's new office at 3221 W. Big Beaver Road will serve as a strategic hub for incubating and accelerating portfolio companies, with a focus on real estate technology startups. The office will be led by founding partner @Bleznak, who was born and raised in the area, and will house DGB's expanding team of six employees while serving as a meeting space and coworking environment for Michigan-based portfolio companies. The expansion comes on the heels of exceptional performance from the firm's PropTech portfolio companies, including Troy-headquartered mortgage broker @LitFinancial_ and Birmingham-based AIVRE, an AI-powered appraisal software platform. Detroit's PropTech ecosystem is thriving. Rocket Companies anchors the market. The talent is there. The opportunity is massive. Founded in 2023 by @TimDraper, @AlonGoren, and David Bleznak, Draper Goren Blockchain started as a blockchain venture studio. The firm makes regular investments, averaging about one new portfolio company a month, while also doubling up on growing teams and continually investing in them. That's the venture studio model: Invest. Incubate. Accelerate. Support relentlessly.