Starting the week here with a different kind of alpha.

When you ask someone in crypto about Vietnam, Axie Infinity/Sky Mavis is probably their first thought. But it’s more than that.

Over the weekend, I was at GM Vietnam, the largest crypto conference in the country.

A few things I’ve learned from my short trip to Vietnam:

• Vietnam has the highest crypto adoption rate in the world (according to Chainalysis). It is a 98M population country, with almost 50% of people having used crypto before in some way.

• When you’re in Vietnam, there’s an energy, vibrancy that you feel. People are young and willing to hustle.

• Language is still a barrier, but locals who can converse well in English will go very far internationally.

After digesting the numerous conversations I had and the conference sessions:

It feels like the early days for Vietnam x Web3. It’s not going to take off immediately. But it’s heading in the right direction. In the coming years, I expect it to be a solid player in the web3 ecosystem.

The biggest tell is seeing VCs from other countries dedicate time to Vietnam, with a local presence. And scouting for their next big startup hit over there. Early startup valuations are generally more reasonable than in other places.

And it’s compelling when you look at the cost differentials. With $5M in funding, a Vietnam-based Web3 startup can have an 18-year runway. Compared with 3.4 years in Singapore and 2.9 years in the US.

A few major ecosystem players in VN, if you’re looking to dive deeper:

• @KyrosVentures is a top VC and ecosystem builder in Vietnam. Great folks to reach out to if you want to access the VN market.

• @k300ventures is another prominent VC from Vietnam investing both locally and beyond.

• @coin98_wallet is the “Binance” of Vietnam, with an exchange, media, and ventures arm.