Wintermute EthCC Observations: DeFi Shifts Entirely Toward the Vault Sector; Founders No Longer Rush to Launch Tokens
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Wintermute EthCC Observations: DeFi Shifts Entirely Toward the Vault Sector; Founders No Longer Rush to Launch Tokens
AI agents have almost entirely reverted to trading bots.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Wintermute Ventures
Compiled and translated by: TechFlow
TechFlow Insight: Joscha Kupferberg, Investment Manager at Wintermute Ventures, attended EthCC in Cannes and brought back frontline observations: VCs are deploying capital more cautiously—but still investing; founders are generally not rushing to launch tokens, instead prioritizing product development first; DeFi builders are collectively converging on the Vault sector; new banking features are becoming table stakes rather than differentiators; and AI Agent applications in crypto have almost entirely regressed to trading bots.
@wmt_ventures tweeted:
What are crypto builders actually working on right now?
“Vaults are the new Perps.” This phrase was repeated frequently at EthCC in Cannes. The conference reflects a broader industry shift: less noise, more institutional presence, and founders quietly building rather than chasing release timelines. Our Investment Manager @joschakup spent an entire week immersed in these conversations. Below are his key takeaways.
EthCC Atmosphere
Contrary to some pessimistic narratives, the overall mood on-site was positive. Early-stage builders, VCs, and actively deploying family offices mingled in a relatively healthy ecosystem. The only obvious shadow was layoffs—still very real and widespread across the industry.
How Crypto VCs Are Investing Today
VCs are more cautious—but remain active. Investment focus has shifted toward later-stage seed rounds and beyond, where traction and product-market fit can be assessed. The era of pure “vibes-based” moonshot bets appears to be over.
Founders Are No Longer Chasing Token Launches
The vast majority of early-stage founders Joscha spoke with do not prioritize token launches. Their focus is on building economically viable products first. Tokenization remains a secondary consideration—if it happens at all.
Emerging Themes Worth Tracking
A few heating-up trends:
- Onchain foreign exchange is quietly becoming a serious topic
- Privacy-focused DeFi is emerging as a legitimate vertical, with increasing projects exploring institutional use cases
- Prediction markets have gained meaningful traction, with intensifying competition around liquidity infrastructure and incentive design
Vaults Are the New Perps
DeFi builders are heads-down, increasingly focused on institutional use cases and real-world assets (RWA). If there’s one unavoidable theme, it’s Vaults. The entire sector—from Vault infrastructure and yield products to rehypothecation, strategy discovery engines, and rating systems—has sharply converged around this category, followed closely by stablecoins and neobanks.
Neobanking Is No Longer a Differentiator
Many DeFi protocols with substantial TVL are integrating third-party service providers to offer neobanking features: on/off-ramps, debit cards, and yield vaults. While this makes sense for user retention, the logical implication is that neobanking functionality alone no longer constitutes a competitive advantage.
AI Agents Have Almost Entirely Regressed to Trading Bots
Most AI Agent use cases in crypto appear to have made a full 180-degree turn—back to trading bots. Joscha had hoped to bring back fresh ideas but found none. So far, this is the only domain that hasn’t yet delivered him a surprise.
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