Bringing Traditional Venture Discipline to Crypto Markets with Steven Venino of Strobe
“We bring the best practices and frameworks from traditional venture into Web3. The North Star is founders—the team, the people—identifying them, backing them, and doing venture properly in this space.”
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Steven Venino is a Partner at Strobe, an early-stage, crypto-native venture firm focused on backing founders building long-term, sustainable businesses on blockchain rails. Formerly BlockTower Venture Capital, Strobe was spun out by Steven and his partners in 2024, bringing with it the same fund, portfolio, and investor base — and a renewed focus on disciplined venture investing in digital assets.
Steven began his career in traditional finance, with experience across hedge funds and public markets, before moving into crypto during its early institutionalization. At BlockTower, he helped build and deploy a multi-year venture strategy spanning DeFi, real-world assets, consumer crypto, and on-chain financial infrastructure, with an emphasis on ownership, thoughtful token design, and long-term value creation.
At Strobe, Steven focuses on leading and co-leading seed investments in companies that often look more like Web2 startups on the surface, but use blockchain infrastructure to unlock new capabilities under the hood. His work centers on applying proven venture frameworks — from portfolio construction to founder support — to a market that has historically been driven by short time horizons and speculative incentives.
Operating at the intersection of traditional venture discipline and crypto-native innovation, Steven brings a pragmatic, long-term perspective on token design, capital formation, and what it will take for crypto businesses to mature beyond hype into enduring companies.
Please enjoy the following insights from Steven Venino of Strobe.
Why Slow Fund Deployment Is a Feature, Not a Bug
Most crypto funds deploy capital fast and concentrate risk at the same point in the cycle. Venino explains why Strobe intentionally deployed its fund slowly over four years — smoothing valuation peaks and troughs, diversifying across themes and founders, and applying time-tested venture discipline instead of chasing momentum.
🎬 Watch: Why Slow Capital Deployment Wins in Crypto Venture
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As Tokenization Scales, the Entire Financial Stack Must Move On-Chain
Tokenizing assets isn’t just about issuance — the rest of the value chain has to run on the same infrastructure. Will Beeson explains how DeFi primitives, portfolio management tools, and new dashboards will be required as more assets become tokenized, blurring the line between on-chain funds and traditional portfolio management.
🎬 Watch: Why Tokenization Requires the Entire Financial Stack
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Tokenization Only Matters If It Improves Efficiency
Most tokenized Treasuries today serve a single purpose: distributing safe yield to on-chain capital. Steven argues that the real opportunity comes next — when tokenization meaningfully improves operational efficiency, cuts intermediaries, and redistributes value across financial workflows rather than simply wrapping existing products.
🎬 Watch: When Tokenization Actually Improves Efficiency
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What “Doing Venture Properly” Means in Crypto
Strobe’s approach is rooted in traditional venture fundamentals: backing founders, defining ownership targets, and managing portfolios with discipline. Steven explains that the best crypto companies often look like Web2 startups on the surface — with blockchain rails quietly enabling new capabilities under the hood.
🎬 Watch: What “Doing Venture Properly” Looks Like in Crypto
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🎬 Watch the Full Episode
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