BitAngels Turns Another Year Bolder: Connecting Visionaries Across Blockchain, Web3, and AI
From a chance meeting to a global movement, BitAngels has supported blockchain, Web3, and AI startups since 2013. This is the story of how purpose-driven founders built the future together.
On May 19, we celebrate our 12th anniversary of BitAngels, a community that began with a bold idea and grew into a global network of visionaries, investors, and builders shaping the future of blockchain.
BitAngels was born out of a moment of serendipity and visionary insight. On May 18, 2013, during the first-ever Bitcoin Foundation conference in San Jose, California, Michael Terpin and David A. Johnston met for the first time. Within 24 hours, energized by the possibilities and urgency of the moment, they launched the very first BitAngels gathering on May 19, just days before Bitcoin Pizza Day!
The crypto world was on the edge of transformation. Trust was fragile, Mt. Gox had yet to collapse, but tremors were already being felt, and the rules of the game were still unwritten. Amid that uncertainty, BitAngels emerged as something radically new: an open-door investment community where founders could pitch freely and be supported for their ideas, not their connections. Beyond capital, BitAngels offered mentorship, connection, and a deep belief in the power of decentralized innovation. Twelve years later, that spark of energy still fuels us, and the door remains open for the next generation of visionaries.
From our humble beginnings as a group of angel investors aligned around a shared vision, BitAngels has since become one of the longest-running blockchain investor networks in the world. We have hosted thousands of events and pitch competitions in cities across the globe, helping early-stage companies raise funding, form partnerships, and refine their visions.
Over the years, our stages have hosted the first glimmers of ideas that would reshape the entire industry. In our earliest days, BitAngels shined the spotlight on foundational projects like Mastercoin, an early pioneer in tokenized assets, and Ethereum, which presented to our community before becoming a global platform for smart contracts and decentralized applications. The whitepapers behind these projects would go on to define entire sectors of the crypto economy. As the years progressed, our BitAngels network continued to showcase and amplify a wide range of exciting ventures, including Storj, Shapeshift, Evercoin, BNK to the Future, TrustLayer, Aleph Zero, Fatom Protocol, CoinGenius, and many more projects that reflect the depth, diversity, and evolution of Web3. Beyond big wins, we stand for enduring belief in visionary founders building with intention.
Today, the BitAngels network continues to grow, with active chapters in dozens of cities and a presence at the world’s most important blockchain conferences. The community remains decentralized by nature, bringing together local organizers, investors, founders, and educators to connect globally on what matters most: ideas that can endure.
What sets BitAngels apart isn’t just our longevity; it’s the quality of our community. Across flagship events at Consensus, TOKEN2049, ETHDenver, Money2020, LA Tech Week, and beyond, BitAngels has continued to be a trusted space for early exposure, high-integrity feedback, funding, and meaningful connections between builders and investors.
A major catalyst in BitAngels' recent growth has been the leadership and relentless energy of Alyze Sam, a blockchain educator, founder, and community builder whose efforts have helped launch new chapters globally, mentor founders, and energize the next generation of BitAngels leaders around the world. Alyze leads with a rare combination of kindness and empathy that inspires those around her to show up as their best selves. Her energy creates spaces where people feel seen, supported, and motivated to grow, not just as entrepreneurs and investors but as human beings.
BitAngels isn’t a fund or a brokerage. It’s something rarer: a community built on trust, showing up early, listening closely, and supporting startups long before the headlines. It’s not an insiders-only club. From day one, anyone with a bold idea and a real plan has been welcome to pitch. The next world-changing innovation shouldn’t depend on who you already know; it should depend on what you’re building. We help make the connections happen!
As we celebrate this anniversary, we honor more than a date; we celebrate a philosophy. One that believes the most important innovations are often quiet and small at first. One that values in-person connections and networking, and one that has stood the test of time in a space where few things do.
To everyone who’s joined us on this journey - thank you.
Whether you pitched, invested, organized, judged, mentored, talked on X Spaces, or simply listened, we’re glad you found your way to BitAngels.
Here’s to another year of meaningful connection and visionary building! We are grateful to have you with us!
