What we fund, what we avoid, and how a decision actually gets made
We publish our criteria so you can disqualify us quickly. A fast, well-argued "no" is worth more to a founder than a polite silence.
Value accrues to the layer that is hardest to replace
Most digital-asset returns over a full cycle come from a small number of positions where usage is real, switching costs are high and the team survived at least one bear market. Our job is to find those before consensus does, size them so that being early is survivable, and keep enough stability in the book to avoid forced selling.
That leads to three practical commitments. We concentrate on infrastructure and rails rather than narratives. We underwrite teams for a five-to-seven-year horizon. And we hold a listed equity sleeve specifically so the venture book is never liquidated at the bottom of a cycle.
Geography is our second edge. We are structured across the United States, Germany and Vietnam, which lets us help Southeast Asian founders reach international markets — and help international protocols enter Vietnam without learning the hard lessons twice.
What gets a yes — and what gets an immediate no
Both lists are real. The right-hand column is not negotiable, regardless of how strong the numbers look.
We look for
- Identifiable, full-time founders with domain experience and public track record.
- A working product — even rough — rather than a whitepaper and a roadmap.
- Measurable usage: retained users, transaction volume or verifiable on-chain activity.
- Revenue that is not the token. A business model that works if the price does nothing.
- Clean structure: lawful entity, sane cap table, vesting that survives a bear market.
- Security discipline: independent audit, incident plan, key-management policy.
- A market we can help with — Southeast Asia, or a route into it.
We decline immediately
- Guaranteed or fixed returns of any kind, however they are described.
- Multi-level or referral-driven capital raising structures.
- Anonymous teams or undisclosed beneficial ownership.
- Token-only economics where the sole revenue is selling the project's own token.
- Copy-paste forks with no technical or market differentiation.
- Unaudited contracts handling user funds on mainnet.
- Gambling, unlicensed lending or anything requiring a licence the team does not hold.
Our role at each stage
Cheque sizes are agreed case by case and depend on stage, jurisdiction, co-investors and the structure of the round. We do not publish a fixed range, because a fixed range is usually wrong.
| Stage | Our typical role | What we expect to see |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed | Early cheque alongside angels and operator investors | Full-time founding team, working prototype, a clearly framed problem |
| Seed | Lead or co-lead, board observer seat where useful | Early retention data, security audit scheduled, defined go-to-market |
| Series A | Follow-on and co-investment with institutional leads | Repeatable revenue or verifiable network usage, unit economics that hold |
| Liquid digital assets | Treasury allocation within defined position limits | Established venues, audited contracts, real usage independent of incentives |
| Listed equities | Long-only stabilising sleeve across US, EU, JP, AU and VN markets | Governance quality, profitability or a credible path to it, sector fit |
From submission to signature
Five stages with explicit gates. Timings assume a reasonably complete data room; incomplete submissions simply take longer.
-
1 · Submission — day 0
You send the package to our investment desk. Every submission is logged and read by a human.
-
2 · Screening — up to 3 business days
Thesis fit, exclusion list, jurisdiction. You receive either a decline with a reason, or a first call invitation.
-
3 · Diligence — 4 to 8 weeks
Technical review, on-chain and off-chain data, financial model, cap table, legal structure, references and, where relevant, audit findings.
-
4 · Committee — 1 to 2 weeks
A written memo goes to the investment committee stating the thesis, the risks and the conditions under which we would exit. The committee votes; no single person can allocate alone.
-
5 · Terms & closing — 2 to 4 weeks
Term sheet, confirmatory diligence, KYC/AML on all parties, documentation and funding. Onboarding into our monthly KPI reporting begins at closing.
What we bring beyond capital
- Engineering review. Architecture, security posture and technical hiring.
- Market entry. Introductions and regulatory orientation in Vietnam and the wider region.
- Structuring. Entity, token and treasury structuring with experienced advisers.
- Distribution. Access to the group's media, education and trading platforms.
- Reporting discipline. A KPI framework that makes your next round easier to raise.
- Follow-on. Reserved capacity for companies that hit their milestones.
We treat every submission as confidential. If you need an NDA before sharing sensitive material, say so in your first e-mail and we will arrange one — but please note that we do not sign NDAs before the screening stage.
Send us your project
Use the form below, or e-mail capital@vinathis.com directly with your company or protocol name in the subject line.
What to include
- One page covering the problem, the solution and why now.
- Deck — 10 to 15 slides is plenty.
- Traction data: users, revenue, on-chain metrics, retention cohorts.
- Team: founder backgrounds, equity split, who is full-time.
- Structure: cap table or token distribution with vesting schedule.
- Security: audit reports, or your plan and timeline to obtain them.
- The ask: amount, instrument, use of funds and current round status.
Attachments over 20 MB are best shared as a link to a data room rather than as e-mail attachments.
No offer, no advice. The information on this page describes how we evaluate opportunities. It is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security, digital asset or fund interest, and it is not personalised investment advice. Any investment relationship is subject to eligibility checks, KYC/AML procedures and separate written documentation. Please read the full risk disclosure.