The wind has shifted! Crypto venture capital veterans collectively "rebalancing" into AI, the biggest $SOL evangelist quickly deletes their tweet—has the wild era come to an end?

On February 5th, Kyle Samani posted a message on social media and then quickly deleted it. The co-founder of Multicoin Capital and one of the most radical evangelists of $SOL wrote that cryptocurrencies are far less interesting than he once imagined. He no longer believes in the grand vision of Web3 and dApps.

His conclusion is more direct: blockchain is essentially an asset ledger that will reshape finance, but nothing more. Aside from on-chain privacy and DePIN, all truly interesting questions already have answers. The shock from this tweet had not yet subsided when he officially announced his departure.

In his announcement, his tone was completely different, stating that his confidence in cryptocurrency and $SOL is stronger than ever. He will step away from daily management to explore artificial intelligence, robotics, and longevity science. This contradiction reveals far more than personal choice.

To understand his departure, one must look at the history of Multicoin. Founded in 2017 by him and Tushar Jain, it is known for its “paper-driven” style. They heavily bet on the “single-chain” route, especially on $SOL, opposing the then-mainstream Ethereum sharding narrative. This judgment brought huge returns.

However, radicalism comes with risks. The 2022 FTX collapse dealt a devastating blow to Multicoin. About 10% of its assets were trapped there, with holdings deeply tied to the $SOL ecosystem. The price of $SOL plummeted from over $200 to around $8. It is believed that the fund’s largest loss that year reached 91.4%.

They held on in despair. By 2025, the company gradually recovered, leading a $1.65 billion financing round for Forward Industries, building a treasury centered on $SOL. Six months ago, they also hired former FalconX trading executive Brian Strugats to optimize execution. As the business stabilized and became more institutionalized, Kyle, who liked “from zero to one,” chose to leave, which was only natural.

Kyle’s path is a microcosm. He was once listed in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” and was the most steadfast advocate of $SOL over eight years. But his interests have shifted. In Multicoin’s 2025 outlook, he extensively discussed “DePIN robots” and “zero-employee companies.” For him, pure financial speculation has lost its appeal; the integration of physical and digital is the new frontier.

This is not “running away.” He will continue to serve as chairman of Forward Industries, which held about 6.98 million $SOL as of January 2025. He plans to redeem his fund shares by March 31, 2026, choosing physical exchange for the company’s stock and warrants, thereby increasing his personal exposure to $SOL.

That deleted tweet perhaps more accurately reflects his fatigue with the aircoin-filled Web3 narrative rather than a denial of the underlying value of blockchain. He still believes in the financial reshaping as an “asset ledger,” as well as on-chain privacy technologies led by DePIN and Zama.

Kyle’s departure is not isolated. From late 2025 to early 2026, top crypto venture firms experienced frequent leadership changes, forming a “transition wave.” Arianna Simpson, general partner at a16z Crypto, announced her departure at the same time. She had led investments in star projects like Axie Infinity, but her new fund will no longer be limited to Web3 and will expand into AI and all tech fields.

Similarly, Kofi Ampadu from a16z, after suspending support for ecosystem projects supporting founders from non-traditional backgrounds, also chose to leave.

The talent drain at Paradigm, known for its tech geeks, is even more pronounced. Founding team members Charlie Noyes, head of market development Nick Martitsch, and general counsel Gina Moon have all left one after another. The destinations of these top talents are highly consistent: founding broader new funds or venturing into AI, biotech, and other new growth areas.

Geniuses who entered early due to “intellectual challenge” are now seeking the next more challenging frontier. Behind this wave of departures are three structural shifts facing the industry.

First is diminishing marginal effects. As Kyle said, most interesting questions already have answers. During the wild growth from 2017 to 2021, an innovation in an AMM or lending pool could generate significant excess returns. But by 2026, infrastructure is maturing, and remaining work is more about engineering implementation and compliance, not from-zero-to-one theoretical innovation.

Second is the shift in macro tech narratives. From 2025 to 2026, breakthroughs in AI and robotics have diverted capital and attention that once belonged to crypto. Kyle’s investment outlook emphasizes “DePIN robots” and “zero-employee companies,” highlighting the potential of combining AI Agents with blockchain.

Finally, industry pressure has become normalized. Although regulatory benefits like the GENIUS Act are beginning to take effect, Kyle believes clear legislation will bring new entrants, but crypto VC still faces huge LP return pressures and compliance costs. Paradigm and others have been questioned for missing early high-growth projects. As the market gradually shifts from retail and meme-driven to more institutional, the “big narrative” approach of traditional VCs is failing.

Kyle Samani’s departure marks the end of an era for Multicoin, but not necessarily decline. Under Tushar Jain and the new team, the company is moving toward a more stable, institutionalized direction. From Brian Strugats’ joining to the heavy focus on Forward Industries, their ongoing ambitions in financial infrastructure and the $SOL ecosystem remain evident.

For the industry, this collective shift of early core figures reveals a somewhat disillusioned reality: the most exciting “from zero to one” technological exploration in crypto has ended. The current industry is more like laying railroad tracks—important but dull. So they are turning to still “wild west” stages of AI and biotech.

The legislation Kyle mentioned, the clear act, has become an ironic footnote. He believes it will bring a “tidal wave of new entrants,” yet he chooses to leave at this moment. This precisely illustrates the cost of clear regulation: it kills the profits and excitement from ambiguity.

Future crypto venture capital will no longer be about “vision” and “narrative,” but about “compliance,” “auditing,” “custody,” and “ETF channels.” When blockchain returns to its core as an “asset ledger,” it no longer needs evangelists, only bankers.

Perhaps this is the most honest confession of an old veteran and the most dignified farewell.

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