RBV + Denarii Labs Weekly Newsletter 🧔📖 Week of 2/19/26

Welcome to the latest edition of the Red Beard Ventures newsletter, where we dive into exciting updates and insights from all over our portfolio and network!

📣 As a reminder, Red Beard Ventures has a syndicate, fund, tokenomics accelerator, and Web3 consultancy:

• The Red Beard Ventures Syndicate is stage agnostic and invests in Frontier Technology with a focus on Web3, Space, FinTech, Sports, Robotics, Biotech, and Climate. We invest anywhere between $100k - $1.5M. 

• Red Beard Ventures Fund I invests $100k - $1M in Pre-seed and Seed blockchain based companies.

• Denarii Labs is a tokenomics accelerator which invests $100k into companies interested in designing and launching a token over a twelve week hands-on program. Denarii also features a consulting business for later stage clients with higher touchpoint needs in tokenomics, communications, growth, and marketing.

🎤 RBV / Denarii Labs Announcements:

Denarii Labs Cohort 4 - Applications Now Open for Cohort 4

Denarii Labs is now accepting applications for Cohort 4. We are actively reviewing applications and investing $100K into projects looking to design, launch, and scale their token ecosystems over a 12 week program. Apply now to join a network of high-conviction builders shaping the next generation of on-chain economies.

Previous cohorts have partnered with leading ecosystems such as Avalanche, XION, Celo, and more. Hedera and Flow tracks are currently live, with more ecosystem partnerships to be announced soon.

Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Link to apply

🚀 RBV Spotlight:

QuickNode launches “Blockchain Skills,” making AI agents fully API-aware 

QuickNode introduced Blockchain Skills, a compact knowledge layer that gives AI coding agents complete, source-of-truth awareness of QuickNode’s APIs across all supported chains. Instead of guessing endpoints or hallucinating parameters, agents now receive precise methods, inputs, and examples directly from QuickNode.

The shift is functional: AI agents become API-native on-chain developers. With Blockchain Skills, they can write accurate RPC calls, stream real-time data, backfill history, deploy contracts, and self-debug with far fewer errors.

Because Blockchain Skills plug directly into Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf, developers can pair them with agentic workflows that build and iterate faster than human-only loops. This positions QuickNode as core infra for the emerging world where agents write, maintain, and optimize on-chain software.

A strong step toward agent-driven development and autonomous blockchain engineering.

Congratulations to the QuickNode team! 🚀

💼 Portfolio News:

3DOS and Gemini Deep Think launch “think → print → earn” 3D manufacturing loop
• Connects AI-generated 3D models directly to a decentralized manufacturing marketplace.
• Lets designers turn concepts into printable files and ongoing royalty streams.
• Positions 3DOS as core infra for AI-driven, on-demand manufacturing.

Agoric launches yMax Early Access with gas-subsidized, multi-wallet support
• Opens Early Access to yMax with compounding points, fully retroactive for testers.
• Subsidizes gas (ETH) during the launch period to reduce friction for early deployments.
• Supports 520+ EVM wallets, signaling broad reach across the modular EVM ecosystem.

Alethia AI debuts EMOTE-1 to power emotionally aligned AI agents
• Treats emotion as a real-time control layer governing pacing, emphasis, and safety cues.
• Maps emotional signals into coordinated facial and voice output for digital characters.
• Strengthens Alethia’s edge in relational, presence-driven AI agent experiences.

bitsCrunch introduces MCP to plug NFT and wallet intelligence into AI workflows
• Exposes NFT valuations, wallet behavior, wash-trading detection, and market trends via MCP.
• Lets AI agents query institutional-grade NFT and wallet data inside existing tools.
• Positions bitsCrunch as core data infra at the intersection of AI, NFTs, and onchain forensics.

Chainalysis previews 2026 Crypto Crime Report with darknet and fentanyl insights
• Reports ≈$2.6B in darknet market activity in 2025, underscoring persistent illicit use.
• Highlights sharp declines in onchain fentanyl flows, aligning with reduced overdose deaths.
• Reinforces Chainalysis as the reference data provider for regulators and institutions.

Loft Orbital partners with SmartSat CRC on on-orbit wildfire detection
• Deploys a wildfire detection application on Loft’s AI-enabled satellites.
• Uses hyperspectral data and on-orbit analytics to detect faster, more complex fire patterns.
• Demonstrates Loft’s model of “software-defined satellites” solving climate and security use cases.

Genies ships Avatar SDK for plug-and-play in-game avatar economies
• Provides sample scenes, a ready-to-use Avatar Editor, NPC spawning, and UGC rewards out of the box.
• Allows game developers to integrate avatar identity and cosmetics without writing custom code.
• Expands Genies from consumer brand to foundational avatar infra for games and virtual worlds.

Senpi quickly climbs into top Hyperliquid apps with standout user profitability
• Reaches top-20 app status on Hyperliquid just ~45 days after public launch.
• Posts ~40% profitable users, ranking second across all apps tracked by HyperTracker.
• Validates Senpi’s AI-driven trading assistant as a sticky, compounding revenue engine.

Saga to launch AI-native coordination protocol AgenticNet as a Saga Chainlet
• Hosts AgenticNet, a protocol for agent-to-agent communication and programmable value routing.
• Uses a dedicated Chainlet to give agents custom execution, economics, and cross-chain connectivity.
• Aligns Saga with the thesis that AI agents will become full economic actors onchain.

SuperRare introduces Dynamic Pricing upgrades for onchain auctions
• Replaces a rigid 10% minimum bid increase with a dynamic curve that scales with price levels.
• Reduces last-second sniping while favoring serious bidders and healthier price discovery.
• Improves UX with more precise minimum bid display and smarter auction logic, strengthening SuperRare’s marketplace moat.

Unocoin spotlights momentum and sustainability narratives for mainstream crypto adoption
• Highlights building market momentum across BTC, LTC, and presale activity for Indian retail investors.
• Emphasizes energy-efficient chains like XRP Ledger as core to long-term institutional acceptance.
• Positions Unocoin as an educational and trading gateway for India’s next wave of crypto adopters.

🥳 Upcoming Events:

ETHDenver is officially underway, and we’re excited to be on the ground this week. We’re hosting the Token Salon Brunch ✨, a private brunch and working session led by Red Beard Ventures and Denarii Labs.

A special thank you to Wire Network for sponsoring the event.

We’re finalizing our full 2026 event calendar and would love to hear what other conferences you plan on attending throughout the year.

🚀 Onwards!

Drew, Elana, Joshua, Lauren, and Jeff