The BNB Chain & Investing in Web3 with Gwendolyn Regina
Gwendolyn Regina from Binance discuss the BNB chain and shares her perspectives on investing in web3.
Fresh out of the studio, Gwendolyn Regina, investment director at the BNB Chain, Binance joined us in a discussion on the BNB Chain and shared her perspectives on investing in Web3. We began with Gwen's backstory and how she end up in the crypto industry. Then she dived deep into the current evolution of the BNB chain and how they are bringing builders to the ecosystem. Last but not least, she offered her thoughts on how the industry is changing, the different modes of financing a web3 company in equity, tokens or both and what is required to onboard the next billion into the web3 world in the next three years.
"I think imperative that as an ecosystem, blockchain Web3 ecosystem, we're all growing together. I would love to see , more bridges with BNB chain and other blockchains as an example, so that you have a much more seamless tech base. And then more importantly, when crypto mass adoption really takes off again, underlying tech people will not need to know what's underlying tech. For us, I think that's important if we can be part of the core infrastructure supporting this new web3 paradigm, that would be amazing for us. If we have more decentralized apps and more use cases and more depths and more web 2 organizations building on BNB chain, that will be really amazing."
Introduction
- Gwendolyn Regina, Investment Director at BNB Chain, Binance (@gwendolynregina , LinkedIn)
- How did you start your career?
- Given that you have a pretty diverse and non-linear background, how did you eventually end up in the crypto industry?
- In your career journey, what are the interesting lessons you can share with my audience?
- What is your current role and coverage in Binance?
The BNB Chain & Investing in Web3
- To help our audience, as many of us know that Binance is probably the top cryptocurrency exchange globally, can you provide an overview & role of the BNB chain & its relation with Binance which is the amalgamation of Binance Chain & Binance Smart Chain? (Ref: Introducing BNB Chain)
- What does MetaFi mean in the context of the BNB chain? What are the application areas which it seeks to cover?
- What are the key features of the BNB Chain and what does it mean for the developers to build on the BNB chain?
- How does it distinguish itself from the other chains out there?
- What is a typical day like for you as a venture capitalist from a corporate outfit?
- I understand the BNB has dedicated $1 billion to grow the ecosystem and where are the areas that the capital is deployed to?
- Can you talk about the Most Valuable Builder (MVB) incubation program? How do startups get access to the incubation program?
- How does the incubation program assist the startups and founders building on the BNB chain?
- What is your current investment thesis in evaluating web3 startups that come to you and are building on the binance chain?
- What are the traits of the startup founders and teams that you look for when evaluating them for investments?
- Can you give a few examples of interesting projects which the BNB chain has funded so far?
- What are the most exciting trends that you are seeing in the web3 space, specifically in DeFi, GameFi, SocialFi, NFTs areas?
- Are we moving towards a multi-chain world with different specializations or a world where a few key blockchains would lead the way like what BNB or ETH does?
- How does the landscape play out in Web3 in terms of business models such as play to earn or customer acquisitions such as memes and airdrops? Are we going to see more shifts in how these mechanisms are?
- One disagreement I have with other investors is that you cannot slap a web2 interface into a web3 world. What are your thoughts on this space?
- What are your thoughts on funding companies with equities, tokens or a mix of both? Does DAO governance issues as we observed recently in some makes it difficult for investors to put money in?
- Given that we are in the midst of an evolving bear market, what is your advice to crypto or web3 startups on how they should navigate through these tough times?
- What does great look like for the BNB chain and the investment fund in the next few years?
Closing
- Any recommendations which have inspired you recently?
- Gwen's recommendations: Ray Dalio, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail and the importance of following your passions - dancing and monologue.
- How can my audience find you?