Thao Tran – Market Making Illiquid, Non-Fungible Assets (S7E14)

The conversation explores market making in illiquid, non-fungible assets, particularly NFTs, and the evolution of crypto markets. Thao Tran, co-founding partner at Vamiant Capital, shares her experience in NFT market making, from the early days of CryptoKitties to sophisticated platforms like Blur, highlighting the impact of volume, sentiment analysis, and order book dynamics on quoted spreads. She notes the importance of assessing organic demand and managing inventory risk, especially around idiosyncratic NFT features and airdrop events. Tran also discusses the shift in price discovery from centralized to decentralized exchanges and the emerging opportunities in DeFi, emphasizing the need for new data sets and a more nuanced understanding of market participants.