Protocol teams, foundations and advisors often ask us the same practical questions: what should we send, who reads it, how long does it take and what happens next? This guide answers them. It explains how to bring Caldrion Digital Assets an opportunity, what we look at first, what diligence involves and what working with us looks like after we invest.
Caldrion is a single family office and principal investor in New York. We invest only our own capital, and we invest it directly. That shapes almost everything about our process: you deal with the people who decide, and once terms are agreed, nothing outside Caldrion stands between agreement and execution.
What we consider
We consider a defined range of opportunities in digital assets:
- Early-stage protocol rounds, through SAFTs (simple agreements for future tokens) or token warrants
- Liquid tokens, through spot purchases
- Liquidity partnerships with new protocols and structured products
- OTC block trades, where a foundation, treasury or early holder needs to move a large position without disturbing the market
- Co-investment, where families and institutions invest directly alongside Caldrion in an opportunity, never into a Caldrion vehicle
Check the criteria first
Before you send anything, check the opportunity against our published criteria. They guide where we spend our time, and they are the same criteria Caldrion publishes on caldrion.com.
- Market cap: $500M+ for liquid tokens; $10M+ valuation for early-stage rounds
- Liquidity: high daily volume on top-tier exchanges
- Sectors: infrastructure, DeFi and scaling; Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks; consumer and gaming applications
- Tokenomics: transparent, sustainable supply schedules and clear value accrual to token holders
- Governance: an active developer community, with audited, open-source code
- Structure: spot, SAFTs or token warrants
Two further lines are not negotiable. We do not invest in meme coins or projects with anonymous teams. If an opportunity falls into either category, we will not be the right partner, and we would rather say so now than waste your time.
The fastest way to a useful answer is a complete package that speaks directly to our criteria.
What to send
Every submission comes through one short form on our contact page. The form takes links, not uploads. Share a link to non-confidential materials (whitepaper, deck or data room); we sign NDAs promptly when there is mutual interest.
A complete package includes:
- A link to the whitepaper or technical documentation. We want to understand what the protocol does, how it works and the problem it solves.
- A link to the tokenomics model (vesting, distribution and supply). This is often the most important document we read. Show total and circulating supply over time, every allocation and every vesting schedule.
- A link to the code repository, if applicable. We look for audited, open-source code and an active developer community.
It also helps to include, in the form or your materials:
- The team, with names, roles and relevant history
- Audit reports, with their scope and how findings were resolved
- How the token accrues value, in a few plain sentences
- For a round: its size, the valuation and the instrument
- For an OTC trade or liquidity partnership: the asset, the approximate size and any timing constraints
We do not need polish. A clear, honest package with a well-built tokenomics model is worth more to us than an elaborate deck.
What happens when you submit
A decision-maker reads it. Submissions go to our digital assets team, which reads the materials itself. There is no outside screening layer.
We review the essentials. We read the whitepaper, the code and the tokenomics model, and look at who the team is and how the protocol is governed. For liquid tokens, we also look at market depth and trading volume.
We give initial feedback. We aim to give initial feedback within 72 hours of receiving a complete package. That feedback will be one of three things: a clear no, with a reason where we can give one; questions we need answered; or an invitation to go further.
We do not promise a term sheet or a decision within a particular time frame, because the right timing depends on the opportunity. We do promise that you will not be left waiting without knowing where you stand.
What diligence involves
If there is mutual interest, we sign an NDA promptly, meet the team and go deeper. Diligence in digital assets covers the questions any careful investor asks, applied to a new kind of asset.
The team. We meet the people building the protocol, understand their history and incentives and ask how the protocol would continue without any one of them.
The code and audits. We review audit reports critically: what was in scope, what was found and what was fixed. We look at how upgrades are governed, who holds administrative keys and what could change without holders’ consent.
The token economics. We model the supply schedule in detail, test the value accrual mechanism and ask how the design behaves if usage or price disappoints.
Contracts and structure. We review the SAFT or token warrant, vesting terms, treasury arrangements and the legal structure of the project, including how and where the token will reach holders.
Custody and execution. Before we commit, we confirm how we will hold the asset under our custody controls, which use multi-signature and MPC wallets, air-gapped cold storage and institutional custodians to minimize counterparty risk. For OTC trades, we agree settlement mechanics in advance.
Good diligence is a conversation, not an interrogation. The questions we ask are the ones a long-term holder should ask, and the answers usually make a protocol stronger.
How we decide
Decisions are made by a small internal investment committee that meets weekly. We need no outside approvals and no fundraising to close. Our digital assets team presents the opportunity, the committee discusses it with the full picture of Caldrion’s portfolio in view and the decision is made by the people you have been speaking with and their colleagues.
Because we invest from our own balance sheet, once terms are agreed we can sign a SAFT or token warrant, or execute an OTC block trade, promptly.
After we invest
Our relationship does not end at execution. As a long-term holder, we:
- Hold assets under our custody controls, so the protocol knows its holder is not a security risk
- Respect vesting schedules, because our capital is permanent and free from fixed fund lives
- Vote actively in governance, reading proposals, forming our own view and voting it
- Provide liquidity where it fits, as a partner that will not leave at the first drawdown
- Stay reachable, with direct access to the people who made the decision
Working together on timing
Digital asset opportunities often come with timing constraints: a round with a closing window, a token launch date or a treasury that needs to complete a sale before a particular event. Tell us about those constraints in your first submission. We cannot promise to meet every timeline, and we will not commit to a decision before we have done the work, but knowing the constraints early lets us tell you honestly whether we can move at the pace you need.
The same applies to confidentiality. If your opportunity involves information that should not be shared before an NDA, describe it in general terms in the form and say that more is available. We sign NDAs promptly when there is mutual interest, and we would rather wait for the right materials than ask you to share something prematurely.
For advisors and intermediaries
We treat advisors who introduce opportunities as an extension of our team, and we respond to them as we would to a protocol team. If you represent a protocol, foundation or holder, please say so in the form and tell us what you need from us. We respect the relationships you bring.
Common reasons we decline
Saying no quickly and clearly is part of respecting your time. The most common reasons we decline are:
- An anonymous team, or a meme coin
- A token without a clear answer to how holders benefit when the protocol succeeds
- Supply schedules that are opaque, or that front-load dilution well ahead of usage
- Closed-source or unaudited code
- A liquid token below our market cap criterion, or without high daily volume on top-tier exchanges
- A sector outside infrastructure, DeFi and scaling
A no is not always permanent. Protocols change, and an opportunity that does not fit today may fit later. We are happy to hear from teams again.
A simple standard
Our process is designed around a simple standard: tell you quickly whether we can help, go deep only when there is mutual interest and decide without outside dependencies. If your protocol or opportunity fits our criteria, we would be glad to hear from you through the form on our contact page.
This article reflects Caldrion’s views as of November 2026. It is not an offer of securities or investment advice.