Sign in Subscribe
Ian Balina in a navy suit and glasses, photographed against warm architectural panels.

Ian Balina

Founder-investor operating at the edge of AI, crypto, and capital.

Field notes on cycles, systems, ownership, and asymmetric markets, written for builders who move before consensus.

Entrepreneurship AI Crypto Investing
Start here About Ian
Founder / CEO
Built Token Metrics
AI + Crypto Systems
Capital Markets Operator
Featured by
The Wall Street Journal CNBC Bloomberg CNN Forbes CoinDesk
Operating system

Build through cycles.

Notes from building Token Metrics, reading markets, and turning messy domains into playbooks.

Core thesis

Edge comes from structure. The idea is to map incentives, price risk, build the tool stack, then act before the market agrees.

Reading path

Start with the mechanics.

  1. 01Founder notes

    How I think about building through noisy markets.

  2. 02Investment philosophy

    The research, risk, and conviction stack.

  3. 03Founder profile

    The story behind the work, losses, lessons, and rebuilds.

  4. 04Ventures

    Ownership, bets, and the themes I keep returning to.

Field Notes

May 20
Abstract capital allocation diagram with recurrence loops and venture network nodes

My Investment Philosophy

A practical framework for research, risk, and conviction in crypto markets.
Mar 15
Abstract recurrence map for Ian Balina field notes

Welcome to The Eternal Recurrence

Why this site exists: notes on markets, AI, crypto, and building with a long view.

Join The Eternal Recurrence

Essays on AI, crypto markets, investing, and building at the edge of finance.

Popular Topics

Crypto Markets (2)
Essays (1)
Investing (1)
AI (1)
Ventures (1)
Work ledger

The work behind the notes.

CompanyToken Metrics

Crypto research, data, ratings, and AI tools built for investors.

 Operator notesCompany building

What works when the market changes and the plan stops being theory.

 CapitalVentures

Bets, ownership, and the themes that survive more than one cycle.

 ResearchMarket notes

Token incentives, liquidity, timing, and risk before the narrative gets loud.
Field notes

One useful note when the signal is worth sending.

No content treadmill. Just operator notes on markets, AI, ownership, and company building.