Share this article
4 Blockchain Entrepreneurs Win $100K Thiel Awards
Entrepreneurs and developers behind four different blockchain startups can add their names to the list of Thiel Fellowship awardees.
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 8:05 a.m. Published Jun 23, 2018, 4:00 p.m.
Entrepreneurs and developers behind four different blockchain startups can add their names to the list of Thiel Fellowship awardees.
The Thiel Foundation, created and funded by billionaire investor and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, announced its 2018 class of Thiel Fellows on Friday. Among this year's recipients are Vest co-founder Axel Ericsson, Polkadot co-founder Robert Habermeier, MyCrypto CTO Daniel Ternyak and Mechanism Labs co-founder Aparna Krishnan, according to a press release.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
They join the crypto community's most notable Thiel Fellow - ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who received the award in 2014. Each recipient will be given a $100,000 grant over the next two years to help them build their current and future projects.
In a newsletter, Allyson Dias, director of the Thiel Fellowship, said the purpose of the fellowship is to help young aspiring entrepreneurs to find innovative approaches to tackle real-world issues.
"Leaving behind the safety of the classroom and choosing to build a business instead isn't easy or glamorous. But our Fellows have found what we suspect to be true more broadly: young people learn best by doing things in the real world," she wrote.
Thiel himself is a noted bitcoin supporter. His Founders Fund, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, reportedly invested in $20 million' worth of bitcoin in January, as previously reported by CoinDesk.
The technology luminary was quoted last year saying he believes the critics of bitcoin are "underestimating" the cryptocurrency and calling bitcoin "a reserve form of money."
Image via Shutterstock.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Lighter trading platform sees $250 million withdrawn 24 hours after airdrop
Bubblemaps CEO says outflows seen on Lighter on Dec. 31 are not uncommon as users rebalance hedging positions and move on to the next farming opportunity.
What to know:
- Approximately $250 million was withdrawn from Lighter after its $675 million LIT token airdrop.
- The withdrawals represent about 20% of Lighter's total value locked, according to Bubblemaps CEO Nicolas Vaiman.
- Large withdrawals post-token generation events are common as early participants exit, says CertiK's Natalie Newson.
Top Stories
