Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi Warns Crypto VC May End by 2030 as Active Investors Drop by 87% From 2022 Peak
Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi says crypto venture capital could lose relevance as dominant platforms capture more users and liquidity. The warning comes as the number of active crypto investors falls to its lowest level since late 2020.
Qureshi said the sector could eventually reach a “last vintage” as established networks become harder for startups to challenge. “At some point, crypto VC might just be over,” he said in a July 21 interview. “There might just be a last vintage.”
His warning is not a prediction that crypto will disappear. Instead, it reflects a market where scale, liquidity and network effects increasingly favor a small group of mature platforms. He compared crypto with social media, which grew rapidly during the 2010s even though most leading platforms had been built years earlier. “Maybe by the year 2030, pretty much every important company is built,” Qureshi said. Large platforms could continue growing while leaving little room for new players to disrupt them.
Recent funding data points in the same direction. Cryptorank said only 150 unique venture firms had participated in crypto funding rounds in July as of July 28. That is the lowest monthly figure since November 2020 and far below the record of 1,177 active investors in May 2022. The decline suggests capital is concentrating among fewer funds, and investors are becoming more selective.
Qureshi was particularly skeptical of startups built around a single financial product on platforms such as Hyperliquid. Without control over distribution, those firms risk becoming suppliers rather than durable businesses. “If Hyperliquid owns the distribution, then you’re essentially just like a reseller,” he said. “That’s not a very compelling business model.”
Crypto VC is unlikely to vanish overnight, but its next phase may favor fewer companies, larger platforms, and founders who control their own customers, distribution, and economics.