Alex

Founder @Blocksource_co | Global Crypto Talent Partner

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@Bfaviero @krakenfx @KrakenInsto Congrats! Sounds sick

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@gdog97_ @akshat_hk Non stop shipping from Ethena team 🤝

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@behrin A founder building for the right reasons 🤝 GNeutrl

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

The future job market is just Nvidia engineers becoming astronauts.

[Sawyer Merritt @SawyerMerritt]

Wow, Anthropic has agreed to pay @SpaceX $1.25 billion per month through May 2029 for AI compute capacity, with capacity ramping in May and June 2026 at a reduced fee.

Huge deal

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@kaledora @Nasdaq 👏👏

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

Everyone’s talking about the jobs AI might replace, but I don’t think enough people are talking about what it could create too.

Seeing more conversations lately around layoffs, AI replacing jobs and companies operating with leaner teams.

And whilst that can look scary for the job market, I do think there’s another side to it.

Yes, companies are adapting and learning how to operate at the same capacity with smaller workforces.

But AI is also lowering the barrier to building startups. Smaller teams can now move faster, operate cheaper and compete much earlier.

Which probably means:

-> more startups
-> more competition
-> and ultimately more job opportunities overall (even if teams themselves are smaller).

The structure of companies may just change. Fewer layers, employees sitting closer to leadership, more ownership and probably a higher quality bar for talent overall.

And from a wider market perspective, more competition usually forces more innovation and competitive pricing, which in turn is how more efficient markets are formed long term.

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@nickducoff Killing it

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

Another project coming after HL’s pie, let’s see how it plays out

[Tom Dunleavy @dunleavy89]

The shift in the crypto fundraising landscape the past 6 months has been insane.

Crypto VCs used to have to constantly be networking/writing/podcasting/going on spaces/promoting your thesis/getting on 10 deal flow calls a week, to get into good deals...now it's literally enough to just have capital to write checks.

Deals are being pushed rather than dug out. Inbound if people know you have money is at an all-time high.

Most firms are either 1) Out of money 2) Moved to Series A and beyond or 3) Fundraising (with no success).

Deals that used to close in 2-3 weeks now close in 2-3 months.

Firms with questionable business models or copy pasta of the latest trend are getting zero primary or follow-on funding (Good news!).

There are now realistically <20 firms writing checks in pre-seed/seed.

VCs basically have the pick of any deal they want, with more time to do DD.

IMHO 25/26 are going to be historic vintages for those who stick around.

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

EthCC 2026: Cannes recap

Great to be back on the Riviera. The proximity to DAS in NYC clearly split attendance, a lot of US folks opted for one over the other, and in a few cases, DAS won.

What I'm seeing:

Companies changing: M&A in staking/restaking is accelerating. Protocols are consolidating or shrinking. Foundations and infrastructure-only plays are struggling.

The data backs this: crypto M&A hit 267 deals worth $8.6B in 2025, and consolidation is expected to intensify in 2026. The restaking narrative peaked but sustainable revenue models didn't follow.

What's working: Payments, stablecoin infrastructure, and consumer products that generate revenue and scale.

@raincards raised $250M Series C at $1.95B valuation. @KASTxyz raised $80M Series A at $600M. Real businesses with real cash flows.

The VC thesis: Bigger cheques into revenue-generating products. Less appetite for seed rounds into copycat B2B plays. Higher focus on new niches and genuine consumer capture.

The bar for Series A has moved, ARR expectations set, clear traction, institutional readiness.

The narrative shift: Away from "amazing tech" and toward "how does this protocol produce revenue and scale as a business?"

Bottom line: The filter is on. If you're building with real unit economics and a path to revenue, capital is there. If you're still leading with technology and tokenomics, it's going to be a long year.

S/o Good Mate for best caps ☕

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@Bfaviero Are we cooked?

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@lou3ee @shivst3r @HooCrypto Which cups did you leave with

[Xave Meegan @0xave]

EthCC 2026 Takeaways 👇

VC and Fundraising:

• Extremely low VC attendance, used to be the biggest crypto VC event just 1-2 years ago
• >90% of founders are out of touch with valuations (still) - hurting their fundraises
• We're in the early innings of startups and VCs not being able to come back to market expect another 6-12 months of this
• VCs with Fund 2 and above are raising relatively well in Europe, LP interest is still here

Founders and Builders:

• Many OGs have left. The ones still around are either building or involved with the most interesting projects
• The best teams are uniquely balancing an ambitious long-term vision with a practical bear market GTM
• Tech and first-mover advantage are not moats anymore - I still get pitched this by a lot of founders
• People are extremely bearish tokens - tend to agree although some of the best products that haven’t been built yet will still have tokens imo, pessimism seems overblown

Crypto x AI

• Agents are still early but showing promising signs of generating higher yield than regular DeFi products
• Critical infrastructure is being built that is necessary for its future growth

Ethereum ecosystem:

• There’s still a lot of people building startups in the Ethereum ecosystem - remains to be seen if these builders are business-oriented enough to make it work
• DeFi in Ethereum is clearly working and is here to stay long-term - almost all of the best early-stage teams are working in this category
• EF Founder success team has done a great job with providing ecosystem support - the foundation needs to focus more on this or else projects will migrate

Overall, I’m cautiously optimistic on the Ethereum ecosystem. Only serious people are left. The market is forcing better ideas and more valuable / sustainable products.

The best teams are taking the biggest swings, hungry to win, look / feel institutional and are finding early traction with extremely limited resources - good signs of long term durable businesses.

If I missed you at @EthCC and you’re keen to pitch us @frachtisvc, send me a DM

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@0xave @frachtisvc Good take

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@0xave @frachtisvc @virtuals_io Great event 🤝

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@0xkatienarain @EspressoSys @Celo @redstone_defi @EthCC @MetaMask @hackenclub @HarryHorsfall_ @JolyOnChain @0x_LCS Okayy, Katie on her KOL Influencer vibe, good work

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@lou3ee Doom scrolling LinkedIn

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@grahamfergs @PulchraMens @Securitize @NYSE Huge

[Zach from Blocksource @zachlhaas]

I am working with a ton of start ups, protocols, and institutional partners in the web3 world.

One thing almost all of them have in common is that they want to hire cracked rust engineers.

If you consider yourself a connoisseur in the art of rust, I’d really like to speak with you. We have a lot of opportunities for you @Blocksource_co

[Alex @AlexBlocksource]

@jinglejamOP Difficult decision but well managed.

Anyone who is effected feel free to DM, we have open roles across a range of verticals.