Crypto and blockchain. 21st century innovations commonly associated with city-sized corporate campuses in Menlo Park, earth-tone digital images of mundane monkeys, or maybe even an 11-foot, 3k-pound bull on the shores of South Beach.
Yet while the roots of the blockchain tree may seem anchored down in far away places, we Bostonians need to look no further than a few miles on either side of the Charles River to find those playing a fundamental role in building and scaling the future of blockchain and crypto. To help shine a light, we curated a list of Boston’s top startups, thought leaders, networks, and investors to use as your local watering hole for all things crypto and blockchain.
Blockchain and Crypto Startups to Watch
The applications for blockchain and crypto technology are feverishly growing! Here are a few amazing companies building the infrastructure and transforming the future of the way we operate, that you may not have heard of yet:
Chariot - Chariot utilizes a proprietary DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) to bring global payments into the 21st Century to properly serve today's ultra-scalable, globally-connected business and individuals on today's fiat and DeFi platforms. Founded in 2021.
Coin Metrics - Leading provider of crypto financial intelligence. Open source project founded in 2017 to understand the economic importance of public blockchains.
Esprezzo - No-code platform empowering the use of blockchain data to automate workflows and drive decisions. Founded in 2017.
Flipside Crypto - Enabling on-demand analytics for blockchains, driving ecosystem growth and retention. Founded in 2017.
Gemini - Building simple, elegant, secure crypto products to help you buy, sell, and store your bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Founded in 2014.
Kelsa - building the next LinkedIn, but on blockchain.
Scope Tennis - a fantasy tennis platform that runs on blockchain.
Voatz - Utilizing the blockchain, biometrics, and real time ID verification to offer secure voting from your phone. Founded in 2015.
Movers and Shakers in the Blockchain and Crypto Space
New discoveries in the blockchain space are occurring every day. Stay on top of the conversation from some of the sharpest crypto and blockchain enthusiasts in the Boston area. There are some Twitter handles you’ll want to follow!
Alex Oberhauser - Cofounder of Cambridge Blockchain; started two companies in the blockchain space and has initiated a blockchain research project in the European Horizon 2020 FET-Open call
Autumn Phaneuf - @1autumn_leaf - Passionate about ops, big data, machine learning, and DE&I. Invests her efforts in Ethereum Boston’s 2022 hackathon, Sunbirds NFTs, Des Femmes Magazine, The Boston DAO, and Build Besties.
David Vorick - @DavidVorick - Lead Developer at Skynet; founder of Sia
Ethan Heilman - @Ethan_Heilman - CTO & founder of BastionZero, tweets frequently about crypto; the founder of Commonwealth Crypto
Jim Cunha - Executive VP of Secure Payments and FinTech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Manasi Vora - @manasilvora - VP of Strategy and Operations at Skynet Labs. Investor at the Komorebi Fund. Founder of Women in Blockchain.
Mike Wise - @mikewise07 - Global Executive Strategy Consultant, Ex-Chair and current Head of Partnerships at Boston Blockchain Association.
Nic Carter - @nic_carter - General Partner at Castle Island Ventures. Investor in anti-authoritarian tech.
Silvio Micali - @silviomicali - Founder of Algorand and co-inventor of zero-knowledge proofs.
Networking Groups for Crypto and Blockchain Startups
Interested in networking and learning from others? Check out these local organizations and communities:
BC Blockchain - a student-run, educational and professional organization seeking to educate other students on blockchain technology.
Bentley Blockchain Association - provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to learn about blockchain, decentralized finance, and cryptocurrency investments
BlockBeam - Web3 career advice and online skills training
Boston Blockchain Association - The leading professional organization for blockchain and crypto enthusiasts with the mission of establishing Boston as a blockchain hub, advancing technology, and supporting entrepreneurs of the future.
Boston Blockchain Week - a yearly event focused on connecting Boston enthusiasts and startups
Digital Currency Initiative - an MIT group focused on conducting the necessary research to support the development of digital currency and blockchain technology
Hyperledger Boston - An open source collab hosted by the Linux Foundation with the goal of advancing cross-industry blockchain tech. A great place for those passionate about blockchain and its uses across finance, banking, IoT, supply chains, manufacturing, and technology.
MIT Bitcoin Club - group responsible for organizing the Bitcoin Expo and Bitcoin Hackathon
Suffolk University Blockchain - a community that adopts and applies blockchain
Women in Blockchain - Empowering women and allies in crypto to learn and support each other through education and community building. Its goal - to enable a truly diverse and inclusive Web3.
Qubic Labs - a co-working space focused on blockchain, fintech, govtech and civtech
Investors in Blockchain and Crypto
Below are a few Boston-based Angel Investors and VCs dedicating capital to scaling blockchain and crypto startups in the area:
Bain Capital Ventures - The growth equity titan launched a $560 million fund in March 2022 oriented towards investing in everything from early stage crypto companies to liquid tokens.
Castle Island Ventures - Early stage VC firm focused exclusively on public blockchains.
Chain Reaction - A group of blockchain investors fast-tracking the investment process in the Northeast
COSIMO Ventures - Founded in 2015 and investing in blockchain enabled opportunities building the next wave of the internet.
G20 Ventures - Providing smart capital to Web3 communities, helping them grow with the right connections and tools to bring people together.
General Catalyst - Invests in technology, including blockchain. Investments include Bitwise, Circle and Bluzelle.
Mendoza Ventures - Invests in fintech, cybersecurity and AI. Previous investment includes Glo.
Pillar VC - Partner for seed-stage companies, supporting unstoppable founders with capital, connections, and coaching.
PJC - an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in, supporting, and building relationships with entrepreneurs who are creating the future
Ty Danco - Former Director of Techstars. Multi-time Founder. Angel Investor. Believer in the crypto space.
Underscore VC - VC firm for bold, seed-stage founders. Have built a pipeline specifically catered towards crypto and blockchain startups.
Stay tuned with latest updates on the Boston Blockchain Startup Landscape
This space is young, volatile, and versatile, so be sure to follow Startup Boston for the latest and greatest. We try to keep our resources up to date, but if there’s anything we missed, send us a message using this link. Thank you!