ChainFeeds Research published a new edition of its "VC Talk" series on Aug. 16, built around one question: as capital starts placing fresh bets across crypto and AI, which side do investors want to own?
The post groups the discussion into three parts: what crypto venture investors are talking about, what research they have published recently, and a list of notable primary-market financings from Aug. 3 to Aug. 9.
Venture views split between crypto and AI
In the market discussion section, ChainFeeds frames the debate as a choice between crypto and AI.
The crypto camp
Ryan Watkins of Syncracy Capital said he sometimes is not sure whether market participants have become nihilists, or whether excessive speculation is simply the most effective way to pull millions of consumers out of the dull world of traditional finance and into the crypto frontier.
He added that the data points to a major upswing over the coming quarters, with retail-led activity reaching a turning point in perps, meme trades, and other on-chain speculative games. He also cited the line that "degen are pioneers."
Tommy of Delphi Ventures said the market has absorbed bad news without sending BTC lower, which in his view suggests Bitcoin may have bottomed. He listed Saylor selling, MARA selling, the Clarity bill being delayed to Sept. 15, and quantum fears among the negative developments he had in mind. He also said he personally thinks some investors from AI stocks are buying here, and that BTC can keep moving higher.
Nick Tomaino of 1confirmation laid out what he sees as crypto's core advantages: more people can benefit, people can invest early, they can share in upside, they can build without permission, and they can turn conviction into financial freedom. He said crypto used to be accessible only to insiders, but that is no longer the case, and he argued there is still a large opportunity for people who can see through the hype and profit from it.
The AI camp
Arthur of DeFiance Capital took the other side of the trade. He said that as of June 30, 2026, Leopold had fully exited its positions after being highly concentrated in memory and NeoClouds stocks. In his reading, that helps explain why those two segments saw the steepest correction in July and why the rebound was so fast and V-shaped.
Arthur said the July selloff in semiconductor stocks looked like a positioning flush, something he compared with liquidations in crypto. He called it one of the best investment opportunities available when paired with accelerating fundamentals in semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
Research topics include Hermes, stablecoin cards, and the next crypto cycle
ChainFeeds also lists three recent research pieces:
- IOSG Ventures: "Behind Hermes' rise to the top: the growth path of a Web3 team"
- a16z: "Five charts on how crypto payment cards are driving growth in stablecoin spending"
- Amber Group: "A panoramic breakdown of the next crypto market: VCs will disappear, and prediction markets are overvalued"
As presented in the roundup, those reports focus on a Web3 team's development path, the role of crypto payment cards in stablecoin consumption growth, and a broad take on the structure of the next crypto market.
10 public fundraising deals disclosed for Aug. 3 to Aug. 9
The financing section says 10 public fundraising events were disclosed over the past week, with total funding of more than $90.64 million.
The projects listed are Yellow Card, JPYC, Vangrid, MAGNE.AI, Yooldo, ZIGChain, Blockspace, Fortune Protocol, Global Ledger, Licuido, and ZILO.
The post was published by chunzhen on Aug. 16, 2026, and continues the series' format of collecting venture views on new crypto narratives, research output, and primary-market activity.
