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I wonder how this compares to the amount of money invested in crypto startups in the past few years. (I don't mean the value of crypto or the amount of money t

by timmg 4y ago

I wonder how this compares to the amount of money invested in crypto startups in the past few years. (I don't mean the value of crypto or the amount of money that was traded into it -- just the amount VCs invested into crypto startups.) I don't know if that means people that allocate capital think crypto has a better chance of changing the world than nuclear fusion -- or if it's something else. But it is strange to compare the funding of each.

ricardobeat 4y ago
The total of crypto VC investments for 2021 was reported at $33B.
rjmunro 4y ago
Not that it has a better chance of changing the world, just that it has a better chance of making them some money back in a reasonable time.
missedthecue 4y ago
There are probably a lot more founders with crypto ideas than founders with fusion ideas.
- ricardobeat 4y ago
  That would be an argument for having more investment into fusion.
  - missedthecue 4y ago
    Why? If you get 25 crypto startups for every fusion startups, you're necessarily going to see more funding in the crypto sector.
kortilla 4y ago
>or if it's something else It’s something else. Many people want their money invested in something with a good risk adjusted returns. Only a tiny subset of investors invest significant portions of their capital into significantly lower expected value outcomes because they like the field.
meowkit 4y ago
Apples to oranges. Investments are compared by their up front costs and rates of returns. Crypto up front costs are dirt cheap as most of it is open source software, and in a bull mania the rates of returns are astronomical. Nuclear is a mature industry with R&D for fusion that has some of the largest up front capital costs on the planet for cutting edge materials, controls, land, and safety requirements. To top that off, the rates of returns are abysmal and take forever even compared to coal plants.
ushakov 4y ago
i wonder how this compares to the amount of money invested in autonomous driving startups

by timmg 4y ago

ricardobeat 4y ago

The total of crypto VC investments for 2021 was reported at $33B.

rjmunro 4y ago

Not that it has a better chance of changing the world, just that it has a better chance of making them some money back in a reasonable time.

missedthecue 4y ago

There are probably a lot more founders with crypto ideas than founders with fusion ideas.

ricardobeat 4y ago
That would be an argument for having more investment into fusion.
- missedthecue 4y ago
  Why? If you get 25 crypto startups for every fusion startups, you're necessarily going to see more funding in the crypto sector.

kortilla 4y ago

>or if it's something else It’s something else. Many people want their money invested in something with a good risk adjusted returns. Only a tiny subset of investors invest significant portions of their capital into significantly lower expected value outcomes because they like the field.

meowkit 4y ago

Apples to oranges. Investments are compared by their up front costs and rates of returns. Crypto up front costs are dirt cheap as most of it is open source software, and in a bull mania the rates of returns are astronomical. Nuclear is a mature industry with R&D for fusion that has some of the largest up front capital costs on the planet for cutting edge materials, controls, land, and safety requirements. To top that off, the rates of returns are abysmal and take forever even compared to coal plants.

ushakov 4y ago

i wonder how this compares to the amount of money invested in autonomous driving startups