Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Legendary investor Ron Conway tells us Coinbase is the new Google. Here's what that means for the next wave of startup founders.

Legendary investor Ron Conway tells us Coinbase is the new Google. Here's what that means for the next wave of startup founders.

Just like Netscape kicked off the dot-com era, Coinbase is ushering in a boom for crypto startups, Silicon Valley legend Ron Conway told Insider.

According to legendary investor Ron Conway, known as the "Godfather of Silicon Valley," crypto startups are on the cusp of a breakthrough that will be just as transformative as the dot-com boom of the late '90s.

In his view, that's largely thanks to Coinbase, which went public on Wednesday and ended its debut market session valued at $86 billion.

Conway, who was an early investor in Coinbase, called the cryptocurrency exchange the "Google for the crypto economy" in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday. Elaborating further, he told Insider that just as Google opened the web, Coinbase is making crypto accessible to consumers all over the world.

But the cryptocurrency exchange has similarities with another pioneering tech company as well, he added.

"Netscape marked the beginning of the .com boom," he wrote in an email to Insider. "Coinbase is marking the beginning of the crypto economy boom."

Netscape was the company that pioneered the Web browser and made the internet accessible to anyone. It also sent its founder, Marc Andreessen, onto the path of Silicon Valley fame and fortune.

The next step in taking crypto mainstream, Conway said, is decentralized finance, or DeFi, services. DeFi services aim to enable people to carry out financial tasks without having to go through traditional institutions such as banks. Bank of America has even floated the idea that DeFi could be more disruptive than Bitcoin.

In Conway's view, that would be especially beneficial to those without banking accounts — estimated at some 1.7 billion adults worldwide, according to the World Bank.

Conway named some other startups, several of which SV Angel has invested in, that he said he also considers to be the new utilities of the crypto economy:

*  Anchorage, a crypto platform for financial institutions
*  Dapper Labs, a blockchain gaming platform best known for NBA Top Shot
*  Celo, a crypto-based payments platform
*  OpenSea, a marketplace for non-fungible tokens and crypto collectibles
*  Goldfinch, a crypto lending service

Recently, crypto startups that branch out beyond fintech have been grabbing investors' attention.

In March, Dapper Labs, the maker of trading-card platform NBA Top Shot, announced it had raised $305 million in a star-studded round including celebrities such as Michael Jordan and Will Smith. Also that month, OpenSea announced it had raised a $23 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz, in which Conway also participated.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×