Global finance is approaching a once-in-a-lifetime inflection point as digital assets, regulation and infrastructure converge to reshape capital markets.

That was the word from Spencer Applebaum, crypto venture capitalist and investor at Multicoin Capital, a thesis-driven, crypto-native investment operating as both a hedge fund and a venture capital firm.

Speaking at the Bermuda Digital Finance Forum, Mr Applebaum discussed Multicoin’s Crypto Mega Thesis 2.0, a recent update of a paper on crypto the firm published in 2019.

Back then, Multicoin argued that crypto would create a new internet architecture. Crypto Mega Thesis 2.0 is more focused on how it will change global finance.

“Blockchains are fantastic asset ledgers, and that is their core value proposition,” he told an audience at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club. “Out of the top 20 revenue-generating crypto projects last year only one was not directly related to finance or payments.”

Mr Applebaum said over the last 18 months, the industry has been dramatically de-risked across four major vectors including regulation, infrastructure, artificial intelligence and user familiarity.

“Now could not be a more exciting time to be an investor in crypto,” he said.

He applauded the implementation of the Genius Act last July, the first comprehensive American federal law creating a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.

“When rules are clear, institutions can both innovate and compete,” Mr Applebaum said. “On the other side, the Clarity Act passed the House the same week, and the Senate is currently working through the final version.”

He expects the Clarity Act to pass owing to strong bipartisan support.

“The industry now has both top financial regulators in the country actively supporting the transition into crypto rails,” he said. “It is hard to overstate how important this is.”

He said when the first Multicoin thesis came out in 2019, using public chains was extremely painful and expensive.

“Today, moving an infinite amount of stablecoins across the world is effectively free,” he said, pointing to improvements in fees, wallets and cross‑chain bridging.

Artificial intelligence is also accelerating crypto’s development speed.

“A single engineer can now write a smart contract, build a front end and then ship an minimum viable product in days or weeks instead of months or years,” he said.

He added that crypto is becoming much more mainstream with more than 52 million Americans now owning some.