Haseeb Qureshi: The TAM of Crypto - [Making Markets, EP.18]

My guest this week is Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital. From making millions through poker before the age of 21, to going viral for an article on negotiation, to being hired personally by Naval Ravikant to be a crypto VC, Haseeb’s life could be a Netflix movie. We dive into that backstory and all he’s learned about the relationship between work, money, and happiness. We also talk about the Bitcoin ETF, Dragonfly Capital, his biggest miss as a VC, and how he approaches investing today. Please enjoy this fascinating and wide-ranging conversation with Haseeb Qureshi. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page HERE. ----- This episode is brought to you by 10 East. 10 East is a platform where qualified investors can co-invest on a deal-by-deal basis across private equity, private credit, real estate ventures, and other one-off opportunities typically unavailable through traditional channels. It's no surprise that founders, executives, and portfolio managers from leading investment firms are using 10 East to diversify their personal portfolios. Their level of sourcing and diligence is institutional grade. To learn more, check out 10east.com. ----- Making Markets is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Making Markets, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @makingmkts | @ericgoldenx Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Making Markets (00:01:27) First question - Haseeb’s stance on the current developments in the crypto world (00:04:26) Whether the established precedent for Bitcoin ETF negates the need for further court cases (00:10:50) Advantages of trading ETFs over traditional assets and whether it could entice large institutions into cryptocurrency trading (00:15:16) Haseeb’s background in poker and the Portuguese prodigy story (00:24:10) Comparing fulfillment earning wealth between poker playing and trading in crypto (00:28:10) Patterns of disillusionment in people who make significant wealth in crypto (00:38:15) How Haseeb’s experience as a founder shaped his perspective on venture capital (00:46:42) How Haseeb first got together with Naval Ravikant (00:54:24) The initial vision for launching Dragonfly (00:58:55) How common it is for founders to relocate to other countries for crypto-related ventures (01:01:21) The size and scope of Dragonfly today and the acquisition of Metastable (01:09:01) Navigating the challenge of not second-guessing decisions (01:14:01) The challenges the industry has had with consumer adoption, particularly in cases like NBA Top Shot and Keone (01:21:31) Where Haseeb thinks the crypto market is currently in the cycle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices