During a period of hyperinflation in 2013, \u201cmy Venezuelan mother asked me to send money to Caracas, the country\u2019s capital,\u201d Herv\u00e9<\/strong> Larren recalls. However, bank transfers were not possible between the two countries.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Busy with work in New York, he told a friend that he planned to fly to Caracas \u2014 carrying cash for his mother \u2014 and return the same day. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you just send Bitcoin?\u201d his friend asked, which quickly led to a change of plans as Larren made his first Bitcoin transfer.<\/p>\n \u201cMy first crypto transaction, in 2013, was to wire Bitcoin from the U.S. to Venezuela. Due to the economic collapse, there was no functioning banking system between these two countries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Switching from a career with luxury goods company LVMH Mo\u00ebt Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Larren co-founded a large-scale crypto mining operation and worked with Grayscale to bring crypto assets to old-school investors. He later became a key adviser to ApeCoin and the first person to bid a million dollars for a nonfungible token.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were reporting to Nicolas Sarkozy, and he was coming to our meetings,\u201d Larren recalls of his time as the head of a high school student council in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the wealthiest old-money suburb of Paris, where he grew up.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sarkozy served as the local mayor for 20 years before becoming the president of France. Larren\u2019s mother \u2014 from Venezuela \u2014 was a TV host and the first Latina model signed by the L\u2019Oreal cosmetics brand. His French father imported wine to Canada,\u00a0 where a third of the population is French-speaking.<\/p>\n In the late 90s, Larren began undergraduate business studies at Montreal\u2019s Concordia University. In 2019, Concordia labeled<\/a> him \u201cThe Blockchain Maven\u201d as part of a \u201c50 Under 50\u201d alumni distinction. Upon graduation, he got a job at Mo\u00ebt Hennessy\u2019s New York office, where he worked on brand development of the firm\u2019s Hennessy cognac brand in the United States.<\/p>\n Larren worked on his MBA at Columbia University part time while at LVMH, graduating in 2010 and entering the venture capital world with Peak Ventures, which \u201cwas involved in tech companies including Twitter.\u201d It was Larren\u2019s first experience in the technology sector, which he describes as very different from the old-world, intergenerational luxury goods industry.<\/p>\n Larren quickly moved to accept Bitcoin at an e-commerce business he was involved with, a company that helped charities raise money by partnering with celebrities. In 2015, he formed crypto mining firm Global Crypto Ventures, which grew into an operation of nearly 3,000 machines composed primarily of Bitmain Antminer S9 miners in Las Vegas and Texas, where \u201cthe cost of infrastructure and electricity was cheaper.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n While speaking at the 2017 World Technology Forum in New York, Larren met Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert, who was talking right after him about the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, through which retail investors could get exposure to Bitcoin through their brokerage. He was also working on a new investment vehicle called Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC), which represented a weighted portfolio of cryptocurrencies, including Ether, MATIC, ADA and SOL, in addition to Bitcoin.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a publicly traded investment instrument, it\u00a0would require approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission. One relevant matter would be to ensure that the fund could buy its digital assets from a trusted source, preferably from within the United States. Larren\u2019s mining firm was an ideal source, and having a ready buyer for mining proceeds made business smoother.<\/p>\n This opportunity represented Larren\u2019s first foray into crypto beyond Bitcoin, and it \u201cattracted me to a new space.\u201d<\/p>\n Working with the SEC was no easy task, Larren recalls. \u201cIt was a nerve-racking process. Though the company was very confident about getting approval, there was a lot of uncertainty because no such investment trust had been approved previously.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the GDLC was approved, expanding the potential pool of crypto investors. Though many in the industry continue to preach the \u201cnot your keys, not your coins\u201d mantra, Larren argues that just as with stocks, owning Bitcoin and other crypto assets through a financial instrument instead of on an exchange or cold-storage device is preferable for most of the public.<\/p>\n There is less risk of being hacked or losing access to keys, and regulated funds must meet stringent security policies and often carry insurance. He also notes that they are easier to manage on a portfolio basis, particularly regarding taxation and being more straightforward for accountants to understand.<\/p>\n These advantages make it easy to see why heavyweights of the financial industry see an opportunity in offering Bitcoin investment vehicles accessible to retail investors. One of these is BlackRock, which recently applied to launch<\/a> a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund in the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cBlackRock offers the credibility to convince the SEC that the Bitcoin market can be operated safely and has much to offer investors,\u201d Larren says optimistically. He expects that with BlackRock\u2019s track record<\/a> of 575 approved ETFs versus one denial, it will soon come online, with similar products expected<\/a> in other markets.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it would lead to an automatic rise in Bitcoin\u2019s price. I think many people are on the sidelines waiting for clarity, and that\u2019s a step in Bitcoin\u2019s institutional adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cFor a very long time, Grayscale had a premium on its shares\u201d compared with the price of Bitcoin, Larren notes, explaining that the security, certainty and convenience meant that more conservative investors were historically willing to pay more per BTC. BlackRock\u2019s ETF is unlikely to hold a large premium, which would serve to make the market more efficient.<\/p>\n Larren first heard about the metaverse through Decentraland\u2019s initial coin offering in August 2017. \u201cThey were selling 90,000 pieces of NFT land in the metaverse,\u201d he recalls, adding that he felt a proximity to the project\u2019s Argentine founders due to South America\u2019s shared currency issues. \u201cMy first NFT purchase was actually buying my name in the metaverse,\u201d he says, recalling how he spent 100 MANA to name his avatar.<\/p>\n He was also given a piece of land on which to build the Airvey art gallery, where Larren placed various NFTs for sale. When Christie\u2019s announced it would auction Beeple\u2019s \u201cEverydays\u201d piece in its first-ever NFT auction in March 2021 \u2014 a story previously covered by Magazine<\/a> \u2014 the auction house contacted the Airvey gallery to invite bids.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to be the first person in the world who bid seven figures on an NFT.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cWell that escalated quickly\u201d was Beeple\u2019s only comment when Larren\u2019s bid for $1 million came through, representing the first volley in a bidding battle that would see an anonymous buyer later revealed as Vignesh Sundaresan, also known as Metakovan, beat Tron founder Justin Sun with a record-setting bid of $69 million.<\/p>\n With a newfound passion for NFTs, Larren joined Horizen Labs in 2021, months before the firm began discussions with Yuga Labs, a small company where four founders were working on an NFT project involving monkeys.<\/p>\n Yuga contracted Horizen Labs to create ApeCoin, a large allocation of which was distributed to holders of Yuga\u2019s NFT collections \u2014 including Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club and Bored Ape Kennel Club \u2014 via massive airdrop.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe did everything from the white paper, tokenomics, to listing on exchanges. In less than 20 minutes, it became an $8 billion project,\u201d Larren says, referring to the token\u2019s undiluted market cap, now about $2 billion. In addition to the launch, Larren notes that Horizen Labs designed the token\u2019s staking mechanism, which will see \u201c100 million tokens distributed to the community over three years.<\/p>\n As Gucci and TAG Heuer began accepting ApeCoin<\/a> as a form of payment, Larren\u2019s luxury contacts came calling back.<\/p>\n \u201cI spent a week with Chanel\u2019s team at a castle in the English countryside, educating them on all aspects of Web3,\u201d including MetaMask and NFT drops. Larren observes that as he moved from \u201cthe most successful physical goods company, LVMH, to the most successful digital goods company, Yuga Labs, the thought process was the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Read also<\/p>\n Tiffany Fong flames Celsius, FTX and NY Post: Hall of Flame<\/p>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n All rise for the robot judge: AI and blockchain could transform the courtroom<\/p>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He describes metaverse real estate and PFPs, which include Yuga\u2019s famous monkey pictures, as fitting into a broad category of \u201cconsumer NFTs\u201d that are purchased by individuals in a way not dissimilar to luxury goods. Indeed, he notes that many of LVMH founder Bernard Arnault\u2019s children \u2014 heirs of the world\u2019s second-richest man \u2014 are actively dabbling<\/a> in them.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople want to feel that they are part of an exclusive community with like-minded individuals,\u201d he explains, relating the concept sold in luxury boutiques and exclusive events the world over. In the case of Yuga\u2019s NFTs, he argues that \u201cthere is value for many people in being members of a group that shares similar cultural references, whether it being digital or at concerts,\u201d referring to events like ApeFest, the next of which will take place in Hong Kong in November.<\/p>\n NFTs that gain mass appeal as recognizable status symbols are often labeled as \u201cblue chip\u201d among the NFT community, a nod to a term typically referring to reliable stocks and originally derived from poker, where blue chips are traditionally the most valuable.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a brand-building element as recognition of industry and buyers. Supply is far less than demand, and there is a strong fan and collector base. In traditional art, Picasso and Jean-Michel Basquiat are blue chips,\u201d he explains, noting that Bored Apes and CryptoPunks hold such a position within the PFP hierarchy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe price is a result of the value that has been created. When you go to a Louis Vuitton store, the price is nowhere to be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cHolding a BAYC can make sense because you can stake it to earn tokens, and it can act as a financial instrument because you can borrow against it,\u201d he notes, naturally enough, considering his company designed the staking mechanism.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are blue chips in other categories as well, such as metaverse land,\u201d he adds, cautioning that its value, \u201clike traditional real estate, will depend on the income generated with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n This is because, in his opinion, people will not remain interested in vast spaces of empty metaverse land but rather in spaces that are built up and useful, like his art gallery. \u201cTraditional real estate involves buildings \u2014 the same will be true of metaverse land.\u201d<\/p>\n Where might we look for the next crop of blue chips?<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m now passionate about building on top of Bitcoin with BRC-20s and Ordinals,\u201d Larren explains, hinting that something big is in the works. For him, the coming metaverse is a place and time \u201cwhen your digital life is more important than your physical life and where digital image matters more than physical image.\u201d In this new environment, he believes that the Bitcoin chain, with its newfound capability to host NFTs<\/a>, will hold a key position as a central pillar.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Web3, you need to anticipate how consumer taste will evolve and what the market will want in the next six months.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Subscribe<\/p>\n The most engaging reads in blockchain. Delivered once a\n
From old to new<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image3-780x1024.jpg\")
Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
Will BlackRock\u2019s Bitcoin ETF be approved?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
All roads in Decentraland lead to Beeple<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image1-637x1024.jpg\")
Bored Apes design ApeCoin<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n Features<\/span><\/p>\n
\n Features<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image6-1024x768.jpg\")
Can an ape JPG really be a blue-chip NFT?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image5-1024x461.jpg\")
\n
\n week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Subscribe](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/reading-copy.png\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Elias](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Elias-Ahonen-2.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n