- Max Rebol, CEO of Harbour Industrial Capital, shares insights on investing in Polkadot-based projects, highlighting the potential of blockchain technology in gaming, decentralised infrastructure, and government services.
- Rebol emphasises Polkadot’s energy efficiency and scalability, with innovations like the Join-Accumulate Machine (JAM) demonstrating its potential for future applications.
Navigating the Web3 landscape
Harbour Industrial Capital, led by CEO and Managing Partner Max Rebol, is making significant strides in the Web3 space, particularly within the Polkadot ecosystem. Rebol’s journey into Web3 began nearly a decade ago, rooted in traditional finance roles at Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank AG. His early investments in Bitcoin and Ethereum laid the groundwork for his deep dive into Polkadot, a blockchain technology he believes is highly scalable and future-proof.
Rebol’s transition from traditional finance to Web3 was catalysed by the active crypto community in Hong Kong and a pivotal talk by Gavin Wood, the co-founder of Ethereum and founder of Polkadot. This exposure sparked Rebol’s interest in Polkadot’s potential to revolutionise blockchain technology. In 2021, he launched a VC fund focused on early-stage Polkadot projects, capitalising on the growing demand for investment opportunities in this space.
Investment strategies and market trends
Harbour Industrial Capital’s investment strategy is centred on identifying and supporting promising projects across various verticals within the Polkadot ecosystem. Rebol highlights three particularly exciting areas: gaming, decentralised physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), and government services on blockchain.
In gaming, Harbour Industrial Capital has invested in Mythical Games, which is developing FIFA Rivals—a mobile game that integrates blockchain technology to enable secure trading of virtual assets. This approach aligns with Rebol’s vision of Web3 gaming, where the focus is on fun and engaging gameplay with added blockchain benefits, rather than short-term financial gains.
The DePIN space is another area of interest, with investments in companies like Peaq Network. This Polkadot parachain facilitates communication between machines, creating new economies around data monetisation. For instance, self-driving cars can generate valuable data about traffic conditions and weather, which can be sold to insurance companies, with the car owners receiving a share of the profits.
Government services on blockchain represent a third vertical. Harbour Industrial Capital has backed Mandala Chain, which is working with the Indonesian government to implement blockchain-based solutions for identity management, healthcare records, and other public services. This partnership aims to enhance security and efficiency while driving mass adoption of blockchain technology.
Sustainability and the future of Web3
Rebol emphasises the importance of sustainability in Web3 projects, particularly from an environmental perspective. Polkadot’s nominated proof-of-stake algorithm is highly energy-efficient compared to proof-of-work protocols like Bitcoin. This efficiency is crucial for scalability, as Polkadot aims to support applications for billions of users.
Harbour Industrial Capital is also excited about the development of the Join-Accumulate Machine (JAM), a new model for securing computation that is incredibly efficient. Rebol highlights a recent demonstration by Dr. Gavin Wood, where the classic game “DOOM” was run entirely on a blockchain using JAM. This achievement showcases the potential for highly scalable and powerful blockchain applications.
Looking ahead, Rebol believes that the next few years will see a significant evolution in blockchain technology, with Polkadot leading the way in creating a new abstraction layer for computation. This development could enable the creation of complex, multi-core applications that were previously inconceivable, driving further innovation in the Web3 space.
