“Invests in decentralized information networks, applying a published thesis on cryptonetwork governance and value capture to back roughly 75 early-stage companies and networks since 2017, with a heavy Solana infrastructure and DeFi lean.”
Splits below are computed from the 17 companies named on the Placeholder homepage that we could classify by sector and chain, out of the "75+" the firm states it has backed since 2017.
Placeholder is a New York-based crypto fund founded by Joel Monegro, a former Union Square Ventures analyst, and Chris Burniske, joined by Venture Partner Brad Burnham and Head of Research Mario Laul. Since 2017 the firm states it has backed more than 75 early-stage companies and networks, and unusually for a fund of its size, it has published a real, citable investment thesis on cryptonetwork governance and value capture rather than a generic mission statement. That thesis is the actual rubric: does value accrue to the network and its token or equity, and is the governance design defensible.
The named portfolio skews heavily toward Solana: Jito, Kamino, Orca, Squads and Tensor are all Solana-native positions across MEV infrastructure, DeFi and consumer NFT markets, alongside Solana itself and consumer wallet Backpack. The firm also holds positions in modular and next-generation infrastructure (Celestia, Eclipse, Monad) and a notable privacy bet (Aleo). There is no gated application. The realistic path is a warm introduction, or a direct message to Monegro or Burniske, both of whom are active, named, public figures.
Key stats:
| Partner | Role | Where to find them |
|---|---|---|
| Joel Monegro | Partner | placeholder.vc |
| Chris Burniske | Partner | placeholder.vc |
| Brad Burnham | Venture Partner | placeholder.vc |
| Mario Laul | Head of Research | placeholder.vc |
| Shelly Gogol | General Manager | placeholder.vc |