Dirk X.
Founding Partner
Dirk founded Cliffside Ventures in 2025 with the vision of embracing the growth of the blockchain industry for the next three decades. Before starting his own venture, he held management, investment, and strategic roles at Binance and Consensys, where he gained extensive experience and insights. Prior to entering the crypto industry, he worked in private equity buyout investments at Bain Capital, growth investments at IDG Capital, and investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Akram C.
Liquid Strategy Lead
Before joining Cliffside Ventures, Akram was a Quantitative Researcher at Citadel. Prior to that, he worked in Portfolio Construction & Risk for derivatives at J.P. Morgan. He is experienced in developing quantitative strategies for public markets with varying levels of liquidity. He holds a bachelor's and master's degree in computer science from the University of Cambridge.
Melissa W.
Operations Lead
Before joining Cliffside Ventures, Melissa worked at a small-cap hedge fund and Valar Ventures. She has outstanding know-how in fund finance, legal, operations, and risk management, with expertise in building stable and compliant fund framework. She holds a Master of Financial Engineering degree from University of California, Los Angeles.
Rebecca L.
Research Analyst
Rebecca has a deep understanding of blockchain technology and consistently keeps track of advancements in cutting-edge developments. She has participated multiple times as an intern in tech due diligence for crypto projects. Before joining Cliffside Ventures, she had entrepreneurial experience with a crypto project. She holds a bachelor's degree in physics from Nanjing University.
