Entrepreneur and RSE Ventures CEO Matt Higgins has been in the cryptocurrency and NFT spaces for years and seen it all.
Higgins shared with Benzinga his lessons learned and what could be next for Web3 in general.
Higgins is a featured panelist at Benzinga’s Future of Crypto in New York City on Dec. 7.
History with NFTs, Cryptocurrency: When asked about his history with non-fungible tokens, Higgins knew exactly where he was when he had his first experience.
Higgins loves and hates telling the story.
Higgins recalled being at a dinner with Gary Vaynerchuk (aka Gary Vee) and getting told to buy five CryptoPunks.
“These little JPEGs called CryptoPunks were going to be huge,” Higgins told Benzinga, recalling Vee’s advice.
Instead of buying them, Higgins asked "Why?", a move he said every other rational human would have also asked.
“Digital ownership will be represented on the blockchain. The blockchain will be used for ticketing and on and on.”
While Higgins began to come around, he still questioned why CryptoPunks, which Vee responded to by saying that it was because they’re the OG.
“I ignored it and over the next several months spent time watching the space.”
Higgins said he had made every mistake in the cryptocurrency and NFT sectors and he was proud of it. This includes being hacked, being rug-pulled and chasing s**tcoins to $0.
“All that learning is incredibly valuable. I don’t regret a single thing.”
What’s Next for Crypto, NFTs: Higgins said he had seen this pattern play out before and it was important to be on the edge.
“Now is the ultimate opportunity with capitulation underway,” Higgins told Benzinga. “I have never lost sight of how exciting the blockchain is and the potential.”
Higgins is a fan of Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH).
“I do think ETH is the winner, you do want one scalable Layer 1.”
Higgins said he is shocked at how many people who have “earned their battle scars” in crypto and NFTs are now capitulating.
“If you wait for your conviction to be validated by the marketplace before you invest or take action, you’ll miss your opportunity,” he noted. Higgins added that he meant investing with time and commitment and not financially, in this case.
Future of Crypto Event: Higgins said it was important to have in-real-life events as Web3 can enable isolation. Events can be good for mental health.
“You want to look people in the eye,” Higgins said.
Higgins is speaking at Future of Crypto on a panel titled, “The Status of Venture Funding in Crypto and Web3.”
When asked who he was excited to hear speak at Future of Crypto, Higgins shared several panelists.
“I would always pay any amount of money to hear the Mooch (Anthony Scaramucci) speak.”
Higgins was also excited to hear fellow Shark Tank host Kevin O’Leary. Higgins served as a guest Shark on the show previously.
“Mr. Wonderful is always worth the price of admission.”
Higgins was also an investor in Yuga Labs and excited to hear co-founder Greg Solano.
“I’m curious to watch the first real institutional player make their way and what their strategy is.”
Higgins also loved investing in infrastructure plays such as ImmutableX (CRYPTO: IMX), which will also be speaking at the event.
Higgins has a new book called “Burn the Boats” coming out on Dec. 14 that looks at the topic of hesitation and hedging instead of going all in.
Higgins called the book a little bit genre-defining, covering self-help, business and being a bit of a memoir.
Higgins partnered with Shopping.io to allow people to buy the book with cryptocurrency, helping set a new standard for e-commerce. Higgins believed we will look back and laugh at this, in the sense of books were not readily available to be bought with crypto.
Hear Matt Higgins and many more speakers at Benzinga’s Future of Crypto on Dec. 7 in New York City. Get tickets here.
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