A confidential investor letter obtained by Decrypt reveals that Santiago Roel Santos, a prominent crypto investor whose Twitter avatar appears on this month’s cover of Fortune magazine, is leaving crypto investment firm ParaFi Capital.
Santos joined ParaFi in February of 2020 to help the firm find deals and to support portfolio companies. During his tenure, ParaFi has invested in decentralized finance (DeFi) projects that include Aave and The Graph. He is also a member of PleasrDAO, an organization that has invested millions in meme-based art projects.
“We have great respect for Santiago’s knowledge and expertise in the digital asset space, and would like to thank him for his contributions to ParaFi. He is supporting the ParaFi team in this transition and remains a friend of the firm,” said the firm’s investor letter.
Decrypt obtained the letter from an investor who expressed concern that Santos’ departure amounted to a major loss for ParaFi, and that his absence could impede the firm’s ability to find high-quality deals.
Connecticut-based ParaFi, which only has two other employees according to a Crunchbase profile, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ParaFi investor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said industry scuttlebutt predicts Santos will likely start a crypto fund of his own.
A short thread:
Investing in crypto for me is the ability to connect w/ founders & a passionate, global community. It requires engagement & collaboration. It can be an intellectually enriching experience and/or a very humbling one. Over the years I’ve questioned why I’m here…
— SantΞago R Santos
(@santiagoroel) July 30, 2021
Santos declined to comment on his future plans. But on Thursday he tweeted that, “Crypto is the next wave of the Internet and we’re just getting started. Buckle up friends.” The tweet came as part of a larger thread laying out Santos’ philosophy on crypto.
Santos also publishes essays about the decline of centralized institutions and the promise of crypto communities. His avatar was one of several that appeared on the cover of Fortune, whose August issue is dedicated to blockchain and DeFi.
