Published on: February 15th, 2021 • Duration: 50 minutes
Jill Carlson, principal at Slow Ventures, joins Ash Bennington, Real Vision senior editor, to discuss tokenization, venture capital, and the impacts of increased access to investments for the average person. Carlson explains that tokenization of investments has changed the structure of venture capital investments. Tokenization of assets allows for earlier liquidity of investments, dramatically decreasing the normal multi-year holding times for venture capital, which no longer requires them to wait for projects to go public. She points out that the recent Gamestop and WallStreetBets situation is a sign of increased access to investments by the average person, explaining that the growing number of retail investors has created a movement for individuals fighting to be able to use the same financialization and leverage techniques that Wall Street has. She compares this movement to Occupy Wall Street, stating that instead of wanting Wall Street to stop these activities, they are advocating for access to these techniques for everyone, not just “suits.” Filmed on February 1, 2021.
Key Learnings: Crypto is changing venture capital investing by dramatically reducing time to liquidity, completely altering the risk dynamics of the investment class. The rise of the retail investor will change the investment landscape as a whole, and the recent WallStreetBets movement seems to be fighting for equality for the “little guy” in the investment arena.
