Framework Ventures Co-Founder Says DeFi Gives Hope After FTX Collapse

FTX's fall will heighten the need for regulation, but also spark long-term interest from venture capitalists looking to invest in decentralized finance (DeFi), says Michael Anderson , co-founder of Framework Ventures.

“It seems obvious that DeFi is the only way to continue doing these kinds of financial services operations in the crypto ecosystem,” Anderson told TechCrunch. "It gives us hope and strengthens our resolve to believe that the things we insist on are the right things to work on."

In April, Framework Ventures launched its third $400 million fund, about half of which is for Web3 games. Half to 70% of the pitches the company gets are from gaming-related companies, Anderson said. But the recent situation with FTX has caused the company to "double and triple everything we believe in," which includes DeFi and centralized finance (CeFi) regulation.

And while some companies like Multicoin have apparently lost capital stored on the FTX crypto exchange, Vance Spencer, co-founder of Framework Ventures, said the company is not exposed.

“Regulation is not something we should oppose or prevent,” Anderson said. “Sensible regulation makes sense and now that [former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried] has been taken off the table, we can move forward and speak more about centralized finance versus DeFi and on the pros and cons of each."