Wintermute EthCC Observations: DeFi Shifts Entirely to Vault Track, Founders No Longer Rush to Issue Tokens

marsbitPublished on 2026-04-08Last updated on 2026-04-08

Abstract

Wintermute Ventures investment manager Joscha Kupferberg attended EthCC in Cannes and shared key observations: VCs are more cautious but still investing, founders are prioritizing token launches and focusing on product development first, and DeFi builders are heavily shifting toward the Vault sector. Other trends include the rise of on-chain forex, privacy-focused DeFi, and prediction markets. Neobanking features are becoming standard rather than differentiators, and most crypto AI applications have reverted to trading bots. The overall atmosphere was positive, with fewer hype-driven projects and more substantive development.

Author: Wintermute Ventures

Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Introduction: Wintermute Ventures investment manager Joscha Kupferberg attended the EthCC conference in Cannes and brought back firsthand observations: VCs are more cautious but still investing, founders generally are not rushing to issue tokens but focus on building products first, DeFi builders are collectively flocking to the Vault track, neobanking features are becoming standard rather than a differentiator, and AI Agent applications in the crypto space have almost entirely retreated to trading bots.

@wmt_ventures tweet:

What are crypto builders actually doing now?

"Vaults are the new Perps." This was a phrase heard repeatedly at the EthCC conference in Cannes. The conference reflected a broader industry shift: less noise, more institutional presence, founders working quietly rather than chasing release schedules. Our investment manager @joschakup spent a full week immersed in these conversations. Here are his observations.

EthCC Atmosphere

Contrary to some pessimistic views, the overall atmosphere was positive. A healthy mix of early builders, VCs, and active family offices was present. The only obvious shadow was layoffs—still happening widely and realistically across the industry.

How Crypto VCs Are Investing Now

VCs are more cautious but still active. The focus has shifted to later seed rounds and beyond, where there is traction and product-market fit to evaluate. The era of placing moonshot bets purely on vibes appears to be over.

Founders No Longer Chase Token Issuance

The vast majority of early founders Joscha spoke with did not prioritize token issuance. The focus is on building an economically viable product first. Token optionality is a topic for later—if at all.

Themes Worth Tracking

Several heating trends:

  • On-chain foreign exchange is quietly becoming a serious topic
  • Privacy-oriented DeFi is emerging as a legitimate track, with more projects exploring institutional-grade use cases
  • Prediction markets are gaining substantial traction, with increasing competition in liquidity infrastructure and incentive design

Vaults Are the New Perps

DeFi builders are working hard, increasingly focusing on institutional use cases and RWA. If there is one unavoidable theme, it's Vaults. From Vault infrastructure and yield products to rehypothecation, strategy discoverers, and ratings, the entire track has highly converged on this category, closely followed by stablecoins and neobanking.

Neobanking Is No Longer a Differentiator

Many DeFi projects with significant TVL are integrating third-party services to provide neobanking features: on/off ramps, cards, yield vaults. This is a reasonable approach for user retention, but the logical conclusion is: neobanking alone is no longer a differentiator.

AI Agents Have Almost Entirely Retreated to Trading Bots

Most AI Agent use cases in crypto seem to have made a 180-degree turn back to trading bots. Joscha had hoped to bring back some new ideas, but did not. This is currently the only area that hasn't surprised him.

Related Questions

QWhat was the overall atmosphere at EthCC according to Wintermute Ventures?

AThe overall atmosphere was positive, with a healthy mix of early builders, VCs, and active family offices, though the shadow of widespread industry layoffs was still present.

QHow has the investment strategy of crypto VCs changed recently?

AVCs have become more cautious but remain active, shifting their focus towards later seed rounds and beyond where traction and product-market fit can be evaluated, moving away from moonshot bets based purely on vibes.

QWhat is the current trend among founders regarding token launches?

AMost early-stage founders are not prioritizing token launches; instead, they are focusing first on building economically viable products, with token issuance being an optional consideration for the future.

QWhat is the dominant theme in DeFi that the article highlights?

AThe dominant theme in DeFi is the collective shift towards the Vault sector, encompassing Vault infrastructure, yield products, rehypothecation, strategy discoverers, and ratings, followed by stablecoins and neobanking features.

QWhat observation did the article make about AI Agent applications in crypto?

AMost AI Agent use cases in crypto have reverted to trading bots, with no significant new ideas or surprises emerging in this area during EthCC.

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