Inception Capital

1/ We are delighted to announce the firm’s rebranding from OP Crypto to 🥳 Inception Capital In this X thread, we bring you: 1. What does rebranding mean to us, 2. Recap of 2023: Major events and conferences 3. Looking ahead to 2024: Our goal and exploring new horizons 👇👇👇

Full episode in Mandarin: xiaoyuzhoufm.com/episode/695f88…

For more VC and startup insights, follow @_inceptioncap!

“ The number of entrepreneurs is growing exponentially, but the quality divide is stark.” Recently our own @davidgan1818 sat down with @HashKeyGroup’s “Crypto First Principles” podcast, sharing our framework on evaluating early-stage projects. Plenty of signal in this one 👇

4/ How a tokenized oil startup actually takes off Step 1 — Institutional Anchor Before writing code: partner with royalty owners, producers, energy funds, storage operators. Secure legal rights to assets or cash flows. This is the foundation. Step 2 — Legal Structure Asset held inside SPV/trust. Token represents economic claim. Clear redemption/payout rights. Jurisdictional licensing. Without this, VCs will not invest. Step 3 — On-Chain Architecture Token standard (ERC-20/SPL). Proof-of-reserve or proof-of-cashflow oracle. Automated distributions. Compliance modules if required. Step 4 — Launch Narrow Start with one field, one royalty pool, one product. Prove revenue, payout reliability, liquidity. Then expand.

3/ Other models worth watching Tokenized Oil Price Exposure: Instead of physical oil: tokenized ETFs/funds tracking WTI or Brent, on-chain notes referencing oil indices, oil-backed stable units for hedging. Closer to Ondo-style financial engineering than commodity logistics. Tokenized Storage Receipts: Tokens represent ownership of oil already stored in certified facilities. Known quantity, auditable, tradable. Works better for institutions than retail initially. Tokenized Energy Infrastructure: Equity or revenue share in pipelines, storage terminals, refineries, power plants, renewables. Longer-term play — looks like private equity on-chain.

Institutions look at on-chain capital and see one thing: cash flow they can squeeze (credit to @Melt_Dem's most recent article) Wrap it. Hypothecate it. Re-lend it. Charge a fee. They already did with BlackRock's BUIDL and tokenized gold Oil is next. Find our curated findings about tokenized oil below🧵

"mahjong? nah son you've lost enough in crypto"

7/ At @_inceptioncap, security is a core thesis area. It determines whether agentic commerce moves from concept to reality. If you're building in this space, pls reach out! → Read more about our latest research here:

6/ 🤖 If we believe in automated finance, we should believe in automated defense: Some high-potential focus areas in building up trust for agentic finance: → Identity and permission infrastructure for agents → Cross-protocol observability → Runtime transaction security (real-time intervention, not just forensics)

In 2026, <1% of crypto projects use transaction firewalls. And we're giving AI agents persistent wallet access. In 10 years, agents might manage more capital than most hedge funds. Security is crypto's most underpriced thesis 🧵