VC Conversation: Speaking with Varun Datta of Truth Ventures on Investing in the Infrastructure of the Next Digital Economy

Truth Ventures is a $10 million Web3 venture capital fund with a presence in London, Dubai, and Miami. The firm invests in startups that are building infrastructure, applications, and financial systems for the Web3 world.

Their portfolio includes circa £3 million investment in high-conviction projects like Bittensor, 1inch, and StarkNet, as well as earlier ventures such as peaq, Ternoa, INERY, Plume, and Pendle. Truth Ventures partners with companies that redefine value, ownership, and trust in a decentralized world. They invest and provide strategic partnerships to companies creating the essential tools and networks for the next digital economy.

To find out more, we spoke to the founder and CEO of Truth Ventures, Varun Datta, about the next phase of Web3 infrastructure and mechanics.

Q: Over the last two years, Web3 markets, from the outside looking in, have seemed dominated by volatility, token price moves, and hype. Many now discuss a shift toward a more sophisticated infrastructure-led growth for Web3. How has that narrative changed, and why are infrastructure projects more important than speculative tokens today?

Varun Datta: We are seeing a clear divide between projects chasing short-term price moves or low-cost token projects and those solving lasting problems that will underpin society in the very near future. Builders and investors alike see this shift. It is particularly obvious as traditional institutions engage with the layers beneath price speculation.

Major names like BlackRock and BNP Paribas have shown real interest in blockchain infrastructure over the past year. This interest includes tokenization of traditional assets and on-chain settlement and custody systems that support regulated workflows. These developments suggest we are moving beyond speculation toward foundational solutions that will last.

Just last week, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), recognized that the decentralized trading platform Hyperliquid is a powerful market force. ICE has confirmed it is in discussions with Hyperliquid, while CEO Jeff Sprecher described the decentralised exchange as ‘bigger than Nasdaq’ despite its small team. This, to me, indicates that traditional finance is taking DeFi infrastructure really seriously now. They had previously dismissed it as hype.

Q: When you talk about infrastructure for the decentralized economy, which technologies and types of projects are you referring to, and how do they relate to scalability, security, and real-world integration?

Varun Datta: Infrastructure includes everything from decentralized compute networks and physical infrastructure networks to data layers, liquidity frameworks, and scaling solutions.

Take Bittensor. We invested in them because they reimagine how compute and model training can be distributed instead of centralized. It allows machine intelligence to be monetized in a decentralized way. Peaq (another firm we have partnered with) builds decentralized physical infrastructure networks. They are turns physical assets and real-world devices, like robots, into shared infrastructure. These are foundational layers that developers and businesses can build on to create real impact in the world.

At Truth Ventures we Invest in various types of infrastructure projects. Storage-oriented systems that manage digital assets and data safely. Privacy and security frameworks like Ternoa protect sensitive information and ensure trust. Scalable execution environments, such as StarkNet, speed up transactions and lower costs on blockchain networks. In decentralized finance, 1inch aggregates liquidity for efficient trading. Yield frameworks, like Pendle, offer innovative ways to manage tokenized returns. Together, these projects provide practical utility beyond the token speculation of the past Web3 landscape.

Q: That’s a broad definition, covering AI, DeFi, and IoT. Historically, traditional finance has been extremely cautious about Web3 infrastructure. What signals indicate to you that they are now considering these layers more seriously and strategically?

Varun Datta: We are seeing a change in how traditional finance engages with blockchain. Initial involvement focused on the first-order crypto exposure, like spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Which have had there ups and downs and associated trepidation.

Over the last 12 to 18 months, I have seen real interest deepen into Web3 infrastructure-adjacent products and on-chain settlement mechanics. For instance, BlackRock is promoting tokenized instruments that can trade around the clock with more efficient settlement. Some institutions are incorporating tokenized money market funds into treasury processes, and through this, this effectively integrates blockchain alongside traditional systems instead of opposing them.

This is significant because institutions usually don’t commit capital without assessing risk, compliance, and operational benefits. Conversations and partnerships show that secure data encryption layers, decentralized compute marketplaces, and composable DeFi protocols are being seen as the infrastructure backbone for tokenization, custody, and settlement once regulatory requirements are met.

Q: Some may still perceive this as hype. How do you differentiate real infrastructure adoption from fleeting speculation?

Varun Datta: Real Web3 adoption focuses the buy-in that Web3 infrastructure will solve ongoing problems. A project or technology must consistently serve developers, businesses, or yield-seeking users outside the scope of just price movements. Examples include low-cost ZK-powered scaling, decentralized risk overlays, interoperable compute markets, or strong data availability layers. Integration with existing systems should thus boost throughput, reduce friction, or expand capability, and not be seen to be volatile or untrustworthy.

1inch illustrates this well. It didn’t gain attention due to its token price. Its value comes from solving a genuine engineering and economic problem: efficient and trustworthy routing trades. That is the same standard we apply across all our infrastructure investments.

Q: Looking forward, what role will infrastructure builders play in the next digital economy, and how might traditional finance interact with them?

Varun Datta: I believe the future will be hybrid. Traditional financial institutions will of course not vanish. However, they will increasingly integrate decentralized infrastructure to stay competitive which could involve ZK rollups for quicker settlements, crypto-native marketplaces for tokenized assets, or decentralized compute and data layers for secure collaboration. All of which is being built by excellent Web3 projects and platforms.

In practice, banks and asset managers might build on or alongside networks like StarkNet or Bittensor to lighten their workloads. Talking through our investment portfolio, they could use DePIN frameworks like peaq for real-world infrastructure help or secure encryption and validation layers like Ternoa may strengthen internal risk controls. When major players embed tokenized instruments into their liquidity and settlement processes, it shows that infrastructure is no longer just theoretical. It has become a competitive necessity.

About Varun Datta of Truth Ventures

Varun Datta is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Truth Ventures, a global Web3 VC investment firm focused on backing early-stage companies operating across the Web3 and decentralised technology sectors. With more than 15 years of experience spanning venture capital investment and emerging technologies,  Varun has built a strong reputation for identifying high-potential opportunities and supporting founders through periods of growth and scale.

Under Varun’s leadership, Truth Ventures partners with bold firms developing next-generation blockchain infrastructure, digital asset solutions, and innovative Web3 technologies. Beyond capital investment, Varun Datta works closely with portfolio companies to provide strategic guidance, operational insight, and commercial support across North America, Europe, and Asia.