Post-Multicoin Era: Kyle's Exit Reveals a Major Shift in Crypto VC from Narrative Frenzy to Fundamentals-Based Investing

He was once the “High Priest” of Solana and a preacher of the Web3 vision. In a brief statement on February 5, 2026, Kyle Samani, co-founder of Multicoin Capital, announced his departure. Along with him, a era driven by grand narratives in crypto investing is also ending. This is not an ordinary personnel change. As one of the most influential investors in the industry, Kyle’s remark on social media that “cryptocurrency is not nearly as interesting as many once imagined” quickly sparked discussion.

Farewell Narrative

Kyle Samani’s departure is far more than a career move for an investor. It marks the end of an important era in crypto investing. This era was once driven by grand narratives and boundless imagination, but now the industry is shifting toward a more pragmatic development path.

Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly, commented: “Kyle is one of the few true contrarian investors in the crypto space.” Known for his long-form writings, clear stances, and firm beliefs, this investor is one of the most influential voices in the crypto industry. His exit is seen as a signal of a phase bottleneck in the industry.

In fact, Multicoin has long positioned itself as a “paper-driven investment firm,” one of the top “narrative factories” in the industry. Mainstream narratives like Web3, DePIN, PayFi, data sovereignty, AI combined with crypto… almost all of these have Multicoin’s footprint behind them. Since the second half of 2025, the investment pace of Multicoin Capital has noticeably slowed. Data shows that during this period, the firm participated in only 4 investment rounds, with just 10 since October 2024, a significant slowdown compared to previous investment frequencies and lagging behind other well-known VCs during the same period.

Investment and Funds

Just before Kyle announced his departure, Multicoin’s investment strategy had already shown signs of change. These strategic shifts are a microcosm of the broader paradigm shift in industry investment.

In terms of investment strategy, Multicoin has recently exhibited a more pragmatic and fundamentals-focused approach. In November 2025, the firm purchased a total of 338,000 AAVE tokens over a month and a half, with an average cost of about $219. At that time, these investments faced an unrealized loss of approximately $13.5 million.

In December 2025, Multicoin also bought 60 million Worldcoin tokens via OTC for 30 million USDC, at an average price of $0.50 per token. What’s notable about this transaction is that it occurred amid regulatory pressure and falling prices for Worldcoin, yet it still proceeded smoothly. Multicoin’s assets under management once reached $5.9 billion, making it one of the most prominent investment firms in crypto. However, with changing market conditions and strategic adjustments, its investment pace has clearly slowed.

Data indicates that the macro environment for crypto venture capital is also changing. By November 2025, total funding for the year had reached $18.8 billion, surpassing the full-year 2024 total of $16.54 billion. CoinShares reports that 2025 marked a return of crypto assets to VC investment logic, ending nearly two years of stagnation.

Two Paradigms

The shift from old to new investment paradigms is reflected not only in investment pace and strategy but also in the core criteria for project valuation. The key differences between these two paradigms are as follows:

Narrative-driven investing focuses on finding and creating the next “big story.” Multicoin’s “Three Mega Theses” once influenced a generation of practitioners’ understanding of crypto-native value. One of their most successful narratives is DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks), a concept repeatedly discussed and promoted by Multicoin since 2019.

DePIN incentivizes physical network construction through tokens, turning real-world assets into on-chain production materials. Driven by Multicoin, projects like Helium, Hivemapper, and GEODNET have flourished within the Solana ecosystem. By 2025-2026, DePIN has become a standard track for institutions.

In contrast, fundamentals-driven investing emphasizes sustainable economic models, practical utility, and cash flow generation ability. An article in Barron’s highlighted that by 2026, AI and crypto investments are entering a “stress test” era, with investors beginning to truly value corporate profitability, regulatory compliance, and actual operational results.

The market now demands accountability: proving that AI investments genuinely boost productivity, that tokenization can bring efficiency, and that crypto assets can meet real economic needs.

Persistence and Evolution

Although investment paradigms are shifting, the infrastructure of the crypto market is improving, providing possibilities for new investment logic. This transition will not happen overnight but will unfold gradually across different levels.

Bitcoin and Ethereum remain the most stable market foundations. According to Gate data, as of February 9, 2026, Bitcoin’s price was $70,503.6, with a market cap of $1.41 trillion and a market share of 56.14%; Ethereum’s price was $2,079.27, with a market cap of $252.82 billion and a market share of 10.04%.

Regulatory environments are also gradually improving. The U.S. “Genius Act” (GENIUS Act) and Europe’s “Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation” (MiCA) have established institutionalized compliance frameworks for the crypto market.

In terms of investment focus, CoinShares predicts that in 2026, VC will concentrate on four major areas: RWA (centered on stablecoins), AI combined with crypto for consumer applications, on-chain investment platforms for retail investors, and infrastructure to enhance Bitcoin’s utility. Stablecoins have become the flagship focus within RWA, with market value growing 50% year-over-year, and are expected to become a $2 trillion asset class in the coming years.

Although Kyle has left crypto investing professionally, he has explicitly stated he will continue personal investments in the field and retains his position as Chairman of Forward Industries. This company holds the largest SOL treasury in the market.

Future Trends

The post-Multicoin era is reshaping the crypto investment landscape, and emerging trends and structural changes during this process will determine the next cycle’s leaders.

Tokenization of real-world assets is moving beyond conceptual stages into practical applications. By Q3 2025, the tokenization of real assets has surpassed $30 billion, ten times the level of 2022. BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized US debt fund grew from $615 million to $1.87 billion within a year.

The integration of AI and blockchain is extending from infrastructure to application layers. Predictions suggest that by 2030, “AI agents” operating on blockchain will be commonplace—robots with their own crypto wallets that can negotiate with other robots and execute tasks without human intervention.

The rise of modular blockchains offers new technical pathways. Developers are splitting blockchains into layers—one handling transaction speed, another focusing on data security and accessibility. This “Lego-style” approach makes Web3 development more flexible.

Regulatory impacts on innovation are significant. The U.S. GENIUS Act has established a federal framework for payment stablecoins, and by the end of 2025, stablecoins’ market cap will have exceeded $250 billion, accounting for over 30% of all on-chain transactions. Euro stablecoins under the MiCA framework have also received regulatory approval.

CoinShares reports that VC investment style is shifting from dispersed to “large single deals,” with capital concentrating on a few leading projects and paying more attention to actual utility and cash flow. In 2025, crypto VC funding exceeded that of 2024, confirming that crypto investment exhibits a “high beta” response to macro liquidity.

Kyle Samani, who once wrote on X platform that “blockchain is mainly an asset ledger that can reshape finance but has limited potential in other fields,” mentioned in a more tempered tone in a public letter that he will dedicate time to other tech sectors. Meanwhile, the crypto infrastructure he values is becoming stronger than ever. With Bitcoin ETFs attracting billions in institutional funds, Ethereum layer-2 networks surpassing 10 million users, and stablecoins handling trillions in transactions, the once-illusory Web3 narrative is taking root in the land of financial reality. An industry once driven by idealism is learning how to prove its value through profitability.