Stateful
On Stateful, we go deep into blockchain venture capital: investing in DeFi, digital asset treasuries, Solana, and the frontier of Web3 infrastructure. Each episode unpacks Pantera’s new investments, explores the dynamics of asymmetric returns, and provides insights into the projects and protocols shaping the next generation of finance.
Whether you’re a founder, investor, or simply blockchain-curious, Stateful brings you behind the curtain with the team that’s been first to nearly every milestone in the space.
Pantera Capital was the first U.S. institutional asset manager exclusively focused on blockchain technology, launching the first U.S. crypto fund when bitcoin traded at $65. Since 2013, Pantera has pioneered venture equity, early-stage tokens, and liquid digital asset strategies—backing more than 100 blockchain companies and 110 token projects globally.
Stateful
The Convergence of AI and Crypto
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Mason Nystrom sits down with Sam Lehman (Pantera Capital) and Rishin Sharma (Solana Foundation) to explore the convergence of AI and crypto—where $211B in AI funding meets blockchain innovation.
AI attracted $211 billion in VC funding in 2025 while crypto AI got just 1-3%. But the intersection is heating up.
Key Topics:
• Text-to-trade: AI replacing traditional crypto UX ("talk to your phone instead of navigating menus")
• AI-powered wallets as the first $5B+ crypto AI consumer app
• Smart contract auditing and formal verification with AI
• Private AI: FHE, TEEs, and ZK proofs for enterprise
• Agentic payments and X.402 enabling micropayments at scale
• Why we're in an LLM bubble, not an AI bubble
• Agent-to-agent commerce and the new internet economy
The views expressed in the podcast are those of the individual personnel quoted and are not the views of Pantera Capital Partners LP or its affiliates ("Pantera"). The podcast is provided for informational purposes only to provide market commentary and for general educational purposes, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. The podcast is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest. Please see additional important disclosures related to the content discussed in the podcast here.