Where does Nic Carter work?

Nic Carter is Founding Partner at Castle Island Ventures and Board director at Protagonist-Surus and Board director at Coin Metrics.

What check size does Nic Carter write?

Nic Carter typically writes checks of $100K – $5M.

What boards does Nic Carter sit on?

Nic Carter holds tracked board seats at Coin Metrics, Mash, Project11, Protagonist-Surus, Robostrategy, Surus.

Where did Nic Carter go to school?

Nic Carter studied at University of Edinburgh Business School (Master’s Degree, Finance and Investment); University of St Andrews (Master of Arts (M.A.), Philosophy and International Relations).

What awards has Nic Carter received?

Broke the 'Operation Choke Point 2.0' story in 2023, which became the subject of multiple Congressional investigations.

What podcasts and interviews feature Nic Carter?

Tracked appearances include "Can Bitcoin Survive AI & Quantum? with Nic Carter | Galaxy Brains", "The Politics of Post-Quantum Bitcoin | NIC CARTER", "Bitcoin Has 3 Years to Survive the Quantum Threat | Nic Carter", and 9 more.

Nic Carter

Investor

Founding Partner at Castle Island Ventures · Board director at Protagonist-Surus · Board director at Coin Metrics

Writes $100K – $5M checks · typically $1.5M

About

Nic Carter is a general partner at Castle Island Ventures, a fund investing at the intersection of blockchains and traditional finance, and he cofounded the crypto data firm Coin Metrics, later acquired by Talos Trading. He writes prolifically on Bitcoin, stablecoins, energy, and more recently the quantum computing threat to blockchains, publishing on Substack and previously Medium and Coindesk, and co-hosts the On The Brink podcast. In 2023 he broke the "Operation Choke Point 2.0" story about crypto debanking, which drew Congressional attention. He holds a philosophy degree from the University of St Andrews and an MSc in Finance from the University of Edinburgh, and describes himself as a naturalized American citizen and Roman Catholic. He is also a 1-0 amateur MMA fighter competing in Karate Combat.

Contact· published on Nic's own website

n•••@niccarter.inforeveal

Likely email· guessed from name + firm domain, not firm-published

n•••@castleisland.vcreveal100% confident

Invests in

Crypto & Web3CybersecurityData & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsFintech

Beyond investing

Founded: Cofounded the crypto data firm Coin Metrics, which was acquired by Talos Trading.
Education: Holds an undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of St Andrews. Holds an MSc in Finance from the University of Edinburgh.
Boards: Sits on the board of Mash. Sits on the board of Surus. Sits on the board of Project11. Sits on the board of Robostrategy.
Awards: Broke the 'Operation Choke Point 2.0' story in 2023, which became the subject of multiple Congressional investigations.
Hobbies: Is a 1-0 amateur MMA fighter competing in Karate Combat.
More: Is a naturalized American citizen. Is a Roman Catholic.

Mentioned above: the University of St Andrews mafia →

From Nic's own website — common ground for a warm intro.

Board director at Protagonist-Surus

Intro paths

→

In turn, Nic can intro founders to Protagonist-Surus's investors below.

Protagonist-Surus's investors · 4

Castle Island VenturesBoston · $100K – $5M checks · since 2025 Financial Venture StudioSan Jose · since 2024 ProtagonistBay Harbor Islands · $10K – $1M checks · since 2024 Restive VenturesSan Jose · $50K – $2.5M checks · since 2024

Board director at Coin Metrics

Intro paths

→

In turn, Nic can intro founders to Coin Metrics's investors below.

Coin Metrics's investors · 9

Acrew CapitalSan Francisco · $1M – $15M checks Castle Island VenturesBoston · $100K – $5M checks · since 2023 Coinbase VenturesStamford · $100K – $10M checks Collab+CurrencyEugene Communitas Capital PartnersNew York Digital Currency GroupNew York DragonflyNew York City · $3M – $30M checks F-Prime CapitalCambridge · $3M – $10M checks MetastableNew York City · $3M – $30M checks

Co-founders at Coin Metrics

Timothy RiceExecutive Officer, Director

Tim RiceFounder

Experience

SurusBoard Membercurrent2025 — present
HATABoard Membercurrent2024 — present
Mountain ProtocolBoard Membercurrent2024 — present
MashBoard Membercurrent2023 — present
Castle Island VenturesGeneral Partnercurrent2018 — presentGreater Boston Area
Coin MetricsCofounder & Chairmancurrent2017 — presentGreater Boston Area
Fidelity InvestmentsInvestment Research Analyst, Cryptoassets2017 — 2018Greater Boston Area

Skills & more

Equity Research2Investment Management4Portfolio Management5Investment Advisory

Languages French · Spanish

From Nic's professional profile.

Deals · 2

Protagonist-SurusBoard seat

via Castle Island Ventures · filed Mar 2025 · $10.6M raise

Coin MetricsBoard seat

via Castle Island Ventures · filed Oct 2023 · $6.7M raise

Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.

Other disclosed investments

Board seats

MashProject11RobostrategySurus

Investor

Ancient CrunchAspen Creek DigitalAssist SportsBreed I/IICambreanCheqPayCoconut CartelCore WeaveDaniel AllanEscape VelocityFriendKeeperLanciumMonadMoonwalk FitnessMyPrizeMythos VC I/IINew FoundingOffdealPadelXPhylaxResolvrRosalunaShinkeiSiphox HealthSpotSTFXStudio TBDStytchSunflowerSwayeThe Network FirmVelo DataWitnessZARZbiotics

Sources: SEC Form D filings · the investor's own website.

Podcasts & interviews

featuring Nic Carter

Can Bitcoin Survive AI & Quantum? with Nic Carter | Galaxy Brains

Galaxy

The Politics of Post-Quantum Bitcoin | NIC CARTER

Isabel Foxen Duke

Bitcoin Has 3 Years to Survive the Quantum Threat | Nic Carter

Bankless

Nic Carter: Quantum Threatens $600B of Bitcoin

Delphi Digital

Nic Carter - Cryptodollarization: The Emerging Markets Story - TOKEN2049 Singapore 2024

TOKEN2049

Will Stablecoins Serve or Subvert US Interests

Messari

6 more appearances

Colleagues at Castle Island Ventures

Andrew Brochu

Controller at Castle Island Ventures

Gretchen McCarey

Chief Financial Officer at Castle Island Ventures

Gus Coldebella

Chief Legal Officer at Castle Island Ventures

Henry Harris

Investor at Castle Island Ventures

Hunter Merghart

Venture Partner at Castle Island Ventures

Jeff Nazzaro

Advisor and Co-founder at Collective Liquidity

Laura Lentz

Executive Assistant at Castle Island Ventures

Matt Walsh

Founding Partner at Castle Island Ventures

Network3

Balaji Srinivasan

Angel investor and founder of The Network School

Andy Dunn

Founding Partner at Red Swan Ventures

George Burke

Co-founder and Biz Dev at Portal

Investors connected to Nic in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Nic Carter?: Nic Carter is a general partner at Castle Island Ventures, a fund investing at the intersection of blockchains and traditional finance, and he cofounded the crypto data firm Coin Metrics, later acquired by Talos Trading. He writes prolifically on Bitcoin, stablecoins, energy, and more recently the quantum computing threat to blockchains, publishing on Substack and previously Medium and Coindesk, and co-hosts the On The Brink podcast. In 2023 he broke the "Operation Choke Point 2.0" story about crypto debanking, which drew Congressional attention. He holds a philosophy degree from the University of St Andrews and an MSc in Finance from the University of Edinburgh, and describes himself as a naturalized American citizen and Roman Catholic. He is also a 1-0 amateur MMA fighter competing in Karate Combat.
Where does Nic Carter work?: Nic Carter is Founding Partner at Castle Island Ventures and Board director at Protagonist-Surus and Board director at Coin Metrics.
What does Nic Carter invest in?: Nic Carter invests in Crypto & Web3, Cybersecurity, Data & Infrastructure, Developer Tools, Fintech.
What check size does Nic Carter write?: Nic Carter typically writes checks of $100K – $5M.
What boards does Nic Carter sit on?: Nic Carter holds tracked board seats at Coin Metrics, Mash, Project11, Protagonist-Surus, Robostrategy, Surus.
What companies has Nic Carter invested in?: Investments tracked here include Ancient Crunch, Aspen Creek Digital, Assist Sports, Breed I/II, Cambrean, CheqPay, Coconut Cartel, Core Weave, Daniel Allan, Escape Velocity, Friend, Keeper, and 24 more.
Where did Nic Carter go to school?: Nic Carter studied at University of Edinburgh Business School (Master’s Degree, Finance and Investment); University of St Andrews (Master of Arts (M.A.), Philosophy and International Relations).
What awards has Nic Carter received?: Broke the 'Operation Choke Point 2.0' story in 2023, which became the subject of multiple Congressional investigations.
What podcasts and interviews feature Nic Carter?: Tracked appearances include "Can Bitcoin Survive AI & Quantum? with Nic Carter | Galaxy Brains", "The Politics of Post-Quantum Bitcoin | NIC CARTER", "Bitcoin Has 3 Years to Survive the Quantum Threat | Nic Carter", and 9 more.