David Fauchier, Founder of Cambrial Capital: The Institutional LP Landscape in Crypto

— David Fauchier founded Cambrial Capital as a crypto fund-of-funds to select and allocate across multiple crypto strategies rather than specializing in a single approach.

— The crypto asset class is uniquely positioned as both early-stage tech (volatile) and liquid simultaneously, requiring hybrid fund structures that differ from traditional VC or hedge fund models.

— Generalized mining encompasses direct participation in crypto networks beyond staking—including provisioning services, liquidating CDPs on Maker, and capturing value where no equity-like instrument exists.

— DeFi and generalized mining strategies are currently investable only at small scale (approximately $50K–$500K per strategy) and require extremely sophisticated managers to execute effectively.

— Early institutional capital in frontier strategies will likely come from single-family offices and early crypto investors rather than traditional endowments or pensions.

— Operational due diligence—including counterparty credit risk, custody arrangements, and infrastructure quality—is critically underdeveloped in crypto fund evaluation.

— When evaluating crypto funds, prioritize operational due diligence over headline returns: assess custody arrangements, exchange counterparty risk, administrator independence, and whether managers have third-party control over assets rather than self-custody.

— Consider barbell allocation: market-neutral strategies that capture alpha from inefficiencies without directional bias, paired with long-lockup venture exposure to protocols with genuine use cases (zero-knowledge proofs, smart contract platforms, file storage, governance).

— Avoid funds circumventing risk controls through side pockets or swap arrangements with proprietary vehicles, using exchanges with thin liquidity for arbitrage, or misrepresenting auditor affiliations—red flags indicating willful disregard for investor protections.