Olaf Carlson-Wee

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Olaf Carlson-Wee
Born1989
Minnesota, United States
NationalityAmerican
Alma materVassar College
OccupationEntrepreneur

Olaf Carlson-Wee is an American entrepreneur and the CEO of cryptocurrency fund Polychain Capital which he founded in 2016.[1] He was the first employee of Coinbase.[2] Carlson-Wee was named in the list of Forbes' 30 Under 30 in 2018.

Career[]

After graduating from Vassar College in 2012, he joined the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in 2013 as the first employee of the firm. During his stay he was paid in bitcoins for three years.[3]

He left Coinbase and founded the cryptocurrency investment firm, Polychain Capital in 2016.[4] The firm secured investments from venture capital firms Sequoia Capital, Union Square Ventures and Founders Fund.[5][6] The firm claimed $1 billion assets in 2017 but dropped to $591.5 million as of the end of 2018, majorly due to the drop in the value of its holdings.[7] The firm manages assets worth more than $4 billion as of April, 2021 according to Forbes.[8]

In July 2017, Carlson-Wee appeared on the cover of Forbes’ issue under the caption, "Craziest Bubble Ever."[8] In 2018, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.[9][10] He featured in Fortune magazine's 40 Under 40 in 2018.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ Copeland, Rob (2018-09-11). "Olaf Carlson-Wee Rode the Bitcoin Boom to Silicon Valley Riches. Can He Survive the Crash?". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  2. ^ "Polychain CEO on Coinbase IPO". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  3. ^ Jr, Tom Huddleston (2021-04-14). "Coinbase's first employee in 2013 cold-emailed the founders for a job — and was paid in bitcoin for 3 years". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  4. ^ "Bitcoin Will Never Be a Currency—It's Something Way Weirder". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  5. ^ "Has Crypto's Crown Prince Finally Grown Up?". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  6. ^ "Crypto Hedge Fund Polychain Says It Won't Proceed With IPO". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  7. ^ Chernova, Yuliya (2019-04-12). "Crypto Fund Polychain's Assets Drop 40% From $1 Billion Mark". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  8. ^ a b Ehrlich, Steven. "Olaf Carlson-Wee Explains Why DeFi And NFTs Will Succeed Where ICOs Fell Short". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  9. ^ Service, Ross Torgerson Forum News. "Moorhead native's Bitcoin brilliance propels him onto prestigious Forbes '30 under 30' list". Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  10. ^ "30 Under 30 2018: Finance". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  11. ^ "Olaf Carlson-Wee". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
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