In the cryptocurrency industry, there are two types of people: one type consists of participants who enter and exit the market with each cycle, and the other type stays at the table throughout the fluctuations of the cycle.
Jademont Zheng, co-founder and CEO of Waterdrip Capital, clearly belongs to the latter group. From first encountering Bitcoin in 2013, to resigning from Huawei's Hisilicon in 2017, co-founding Waterdrip Capital with OGs like Cancro and Peicai, and continuing to invest to this day, he has experienced the ICO frenzy, DeFi Summer, and the NFT boom. He has also witnessed the rise and fall of countless institutions, including some once-star institutions that disappeared from the industry within just a few years.
However, what truly captivates in this dialogue of the “Crypto Market Observers” is not his credentials, but rather his less mainstream judgments about the industry. In his view, many repeatedly discussed narratives—whether it be the “four-year cycle,” the concept of Web3, or “blockchain mass user adoption”—may not hold true. On the contrary, the future large-scale users of blockchain may not be humans from the start, but AI and Agents.
Guest for this issue:Jademont Zheng, CEO and co-founder of Waterdrip Capital
Host:yuanyuan, BitMart Marketing VP
From Chip Engineer to Crypto VC
Jademont Zheng's path into the cryptocurrency industry did not start from finance like a traditional investor.
After completing his PhD in Microelectronics in Canada, he returned to China to work on 5G chip development at Huawei's Hisilicon. At that stage, Bitcoin was merely a tech interest in his spare time. Working on chip development during the day, and researching blockchain at forums like Bitcointalk at night, was almost the shared trajectory of many early Crypto practitioners.
The true turning point occurred between 2016 and 2017. At that time, Bitcoin prices surged, and the value of the Bitcoin he purchased earlier skyrocketed. With financial pressure alleviated, he began to seriously contemplate whether to devote all his time to this industry. Ultimately, he chose to leave Huawei and co-founded Waterdrip Capital with a few friends in 2017.
Looking back on that era, Jademont describes the entire VC ecosystem of the industry at that time as almost a “makeshift band.” Waterdrip Capital had only one employee back then. However, as conditions changed, Waterdrip gradually adjusted its investment approach. Moving from early-stage small investments to a “joint entrepreneurship” model with fewer projects but larger individual amounts, they became more deeply involved in project development, such as entering boards or providing in-depth support in the post-investment stage. This change was also a proactive adjustment they made during the evolution of the industry cycle.
Staying in the Industry Long-Term is an Advantage
When asked about what the “moat of Crypto VC” is, Jademont’s answer is actually very restrained.
In his view, the reason Waterdrip Capital has made it from 2017 to today is not due to some particularly clever method, but simply because they have not left.
In recent years, many traditional background institutions entered the market at its hottest, only to quickly exit during the downturn. In Jademont's view, these “cyclical participants” find it difficult to form a true understanding of the industry. Taking the Bitcoin ecosystem as an example, due to Waterdrip Capital's long-term participation in Bitcoin mining and the technical community, before the concept of Ordinals became truly popular, they were already researching related technological changes and beginning to make layouts. This ability does not stem from some complex methodology, but more like a sense of presence—opportunities often arise from early signals that are not yet obvious as long as one remains on the front lines.
The Biggest Problem in Crypto is the Industry Structure
If one were to summarize Jademont's assessment of the current situation in one sentence, it would be: the industry structure has problems.
In Jademont's view, the structure formed by the last cycle is extremely unhealthy—the exchanges are at the top of the food chain, while the project teams that truly create value are at a disadvantage. In a healthy tech industry, the top of the value chain is usually occupied by those who create products and technologies (like Nvidia or OpenAI), but in the Crypto industry, exchanges control everything through their power.
Jademont used a metaphor: in a normal industry structure, platforms should be financial infrastructure; whereas in the current crypto market, some exchanges resemble “casinos” that make money but do not bear the responsibility of driving industry development. In the long run, this structure will lead to bad money driving out good money. He believes the current malaise in the industry is, to some extent, a result of this structural imbalance.
Bitcoin is Unique; Four-Year Cycle is Merely Coincidental
Among all crypto narratives, Jademont's firmest stance is his attitude towards Bitcoin.
In his view, Bitcoin and “cryptocurrencies” are two entirely different things. Bitcoin is digital gold and a globally consensus asset, while other tokens are more like a company or a product. Therefore, he believes it is only a matter of time before Bitcoin reaches $1 million. If an investor is unable to find that 1% survivor in a large asset pool, then holding Bitcoin itself is the safest strategy.
Regarding the “four-year cycle” theory, Jademont remains skeptical. He believes the sample size is too small (only four cycles) to derive it as an iron law. Each cycle often has macro factors behind it, such as global liquidity or political cycles. Rather than being fixated on the length of the cycle, it is more important to focus on a simpler fact: the bottoms of Bitcoin's cycles are continually rising.
From “Power Mining” to “AI Alchemy”
Jademont’s logic is not merely verbal; Waterdrip Capital has already initiated cross-field practices at a physical level.
In Jademont's view, the most scarce resources in the AI industry, besides algorithms, are electricity. Over the past decade, the Bitcoin industry has accumulated massive distributed power facilities and computing plants worldwide.
“What we are doing is helping Bitcoin power plants transition into AI power plants,” Jademont revealed. Due to fluctuations in Bitcoin prices leading to some old mining machines being underutilized, these mined facilities' existing power metrics, cooling facilities, and physical spaces perfectly align with the demands of AI reasoning and training. By acquiring professional AI computing companies for technical empowerment, Waterdrip is upgrading its previously singular “mining” business into an “energy supply station” serving machine civilization. This transition is not only an expansion of business but also a real implementation of his “machine economy” logic.
In the Age of AI: The True Users of Blockchain May Not Be Humans
One of the most imaginative points in this dialogue is Jademont's understanding of the relationship between AI and blockchain.
Jademont believes the Crypto industry has spent the past decade seeking “mass adoption” from human users, a path that may have been misguided. For humans, blockchain does not offer significant efficiency or experience advantages.
What truly needs blockchain may instead be AI. If a large number of AI Agents autonomously collaborate and transact online in the future, they will require a trusted infrastructure to complete identity, payment, recording, and supervision. Blockchain's “inhuman” rigorous ledger precisely possesses these characteristics.
“Blockchain may have been invented not for humans, but for AI.”
If this judgment holds, then the ultimate target users of the Crypto industry need to shift from “humans” to “AI.”
Jademont believes the proliferation of AI will make society more fragmented: some people deeply use AI to enhance productivity while others maintain traditional lifestyles. The cognitive gap between these two ways of living will grow, but he also does not believe that everyone must embrace AI; the two worlds will coexist and drift further apart.
Conclusion
In this dialogue, Jademont stripped away the filters of mainstream narratives. He does not subscribe to the four-year cycle, does not care about the concepts of Web3 or Web4, but has a profound obsession with the combination of Bitcoin and AI Agents.
If looking back at today in ten years, what he cares about are only three questions:
Will Bitcoin really reach $1 million?
Will blockchain become an important infrastructure for the AI economy?
Will the stablecoin system ultimately lead to centralization or decentralization?
The answers to these questions may determine the true direction of the crypto industry in the next phase.
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Recording date of this episode: March 5, 2026
Full content can be found on Xiaoyuzhou, Apple Podcast, Spotify Search and follow “Crypto Market Observers.”
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Risk Warning
The statements or opinions expressed in this column only represent the personal stance of the guests and do not represent the views of BitMart or its affiliated parties, nor should they be seen as professional financial investment advice.
Investing in cryptocurrencies is highly speculative and carries significant risk of loss. Past performance, hypothetical situations, or simulated results do not represent future returns. The value of digital currencies may fluctuate, and buying, holding, or trading digital currencies may involve significant risks. Before participating in trading or holding digital currencies, please carefully assess their applicability based on your own investment goals, financial situation, and risk tolerance. BitMart does not provide any investment, legal, or tax advice.
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