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Nascent is a team of builders who back early-stage web3 founders creating products and primitives for an open financial world
Key people at Nascent.
Nascent operates as a venture firm dedicated to supporting early-stage Web3 and crypto founders. The firm focuses on identifying and investing in projects that are developing foundational products and primitives intended to contribute to an open financial world. Through its investment activities, Nascent positions itself as a builder and enabler within the evolving digital asset ecosystem, providing strategic capital to advance innovative blockchain-based solutions.
The firm was established in 2020, co-founded by Dan Elitzer. Elitzer brought experience from his prior role as co-founder of IDEO CoLab Ventures, a crypto-focused venture firm. This background informed Nascent's foundational insight: that significant opportunities lie in backing the development of open markets and open technologies, leveraging permanent capital to foster growth in these nascent areas.
Nascent primarily serves early-stage teams and entrepreneurs who are actively building in the cryptocurrency space. Its long-term vision centers on cultivating an open financial future by empowering builders whose contributions are vital to shaping the trajectory of decentralized technologies. The firm seeks to expand and capture opportunities within this dynamic landscape, driving forward the adoption and utility of Web3 initiatives.
Key people at Nascent.
# Nascent: Building Infrastructure for Open Finance
Nascent is a global, multi-strategy venture capital firm that invests in early-stage founders building the infrastructure and primitives for decentralized finance (DeFi) and the broader Web3 ecosystem[1][3]. The firm's mission centers on backing builders who are creating products and technologies that enable an open financial world—one built on permissionless, decentralized systems rather than traditional intermediaries.
The firm's investment philosophy is rooted in deep participation: Nascent doesn't simply write checks; its team actively uses the crypto infrastructure it helps fund, ensuring alignment between their capital deployment and the actual needs of the ecosystem[1]. This hands-on approach extends to portfolio support, where Nascent collaborates closely with founders from seed stage through Series A, often co-investing alongside major players like Coinbase Ventures and Dragonfly[1]. The firm focuses on multiple sectors within Web3, including DeFi protocols, NFT platforms, decentralized exchanges, staking solutions, and security infrastructure[1]. With over 90 investments to date—including influential projects like Morpho, Aztec, Etherscan, and Optimism—Nascent has established itself as a meaningful force in shaping the Web3 startup ecosystem[1].
Nascent was founded in 2020 by Dan Elitzer and Josh Felker, two crypto-native builders and investors who recognized the need for capital and expertise specifically tailored to early-stage Web3 projects[1]. Rather than applying traditional venture capital frameworks to crypto, the founders built a firm grounded in deep technical understanding and hands-on participation in the ecosystem they were backing.
The firm's evolution reflects the maturation of crypto infrastructure itself. Starting with a focus on DeFi primitives, Nascent has expanded its thesis to encompass the broader Web3 landscape—from Layer 2 scaling solutions to security protocols to developer tooling. This expansion wasn't a pivot away from core principles but rather a natural extension of the firm's commitment to backing the foundational technologies that enable an open financial system. The team is globally distributed but maintains a strong presence in Montreal and beyond, reflecting the decentralized nature of the projects they support[1].
Nascent's competitive advantage lies in its team composition: the firm is staffed by crypto-native builders, engineers, and investors rather than traditional finance professionals applying Web2 frameworks to Web3[1]. This means portfolio founders gain access to advisors who have shipped products in the space, understand the technical challenges of blockchain development, and can navigate regulatory complexity with credibility.
Unlike traditional venture firms, Nascent operates both venture and liquid strategies[1][5]. This dual approach allows the firm to participate in token launches, liquidity events, and secondary market opportunities alongside traditional equity investments. It also means Nascent can demonstrate conviction in portfolio companies by holding tokens long-term, aligning incentives with founder success.
Rather than leading rounds, Nascent typically co-invests and positions itself as a strategic partner[1]. The firm emphasizes long-term infrastructure development and founder support over rapid portfolio scaling. This approach attracts founders who value expertise and operational guidance over just capital.
With 45+ investments spanning multiple Web3 sectors, Nascent has built a portfolio that collectively shapes the infrastructure layer of decentralized finance[1]. This breadth creates network effects—portfolio companies benefit from connections to other portfolio companies, creating a flywheel of collaboration and integration.
Nascent publishes original research and ideas about the future of crypto and open finance, from oracle-free protocols to UNIchain to Web Proofs[5]. This thought leadership attracts founders building on similar visions and establishes the firm as a thought leader rather than just a capital provider.
Nascent operates at a critical inflection point in crypto's evolution. The industry has moved beyond speculation and is now focused on building sustainable infrastructure—exactly where Nascent's thesis aligns with market forces.
The firm is betting that the future of finance will be built on open, permissionless protocols rather than centralized intermediaries. This thesis is gaining credibility as regulatory pressure on centralized exchanges mounts, institutional adoption of crypto increases, and developers recognize the advantages of building on decentralized infrastructure. Nascent's portfolio—which includes core infrastructure like Optimism (Layer 2 scaling), Etherscan (blockchain explorer), and Morpho (lending protocol)—represents the foundational layer upon which the next generation of financial applications will be built.
Nascent entered the market in 2020, just as DeFi was beginning its explosive growth. The firm has navigated multiple market cycles—the 2021 bull run, the 2022 bear market, and the current recovery—by maintaining conviction in infrastructure rather than chasing speculative trends. This positioning makes Nascent a bellwether for where serious capital is flowing in crypto.
Through its portfolio and thought leadership, Nascent influences how the Web3 ecosystem develops. By backing projects that prioritize security, developer experience, and long-term sustainability over short-term hype, the firm is actively shaping the quality and maturity of the infrastructure layer. This influence extends beyond capital—it's about setting standards for what constitutes a valuable contribution to open finance.
Nascent is positioned to be one of the defining venture firms of the Web3 era, not because it will deploy the most capital, but because it will have backed the infrastructure that everything else is built on. The firm's commitment to deep participation, hands-on support, and long-term thinking stands in contrast to more opportunistic crypto investors.
Looking ahead, several trends will shape Nascent's trajectory. First, regulatory clarity will accelerate institutional adoption of crypto infrastructure, validating the firm's thesis that open finance is inevitable. Second, developer experience improvements will drive the next wave of adoption—and Nascent's portfolio companies are leading this charge. Third, interoperability between chains will become increasingly important, and Nascent's cross-chain portfolio positions it well to benefit from this trend.
The firm's future likely involves deeper integration within its portfolio ecosystem, potentially moving beyond venture into more active participation in protocol governance and liquidity provision. As Web3 infrastructure matures, Nascent's role may evolve from pure investor to active builder and operator—a natural extension of its philosophy that the best investors are also users and builders.
In essence, Nascent represents a bet that the future of finance is open, permissionless, and built by a global community of builders. Whether that bet pays off depends on broader adoption and regulatory acceptance, but the firm's track record and conviction suggest it's positioned to capture significant value if the thesis proves correct.
