🏗️ Building Without Hype: Yellow's Self-Sustaining Path

💰 Rejecting VC Money

By Yellow
May 28, 2026, 2:25 PM
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Yellow founder Alexis Sirkia has doubled down on his decision to reject venture capital shortcuts, choosing instead to build the company on a self-sustaining model.​ In an extended post, he explains why Yellow refunded the majority of VC investors from day one.​

This approach ensures the network remains owned and operated by builders and users rather than speculators.​ The strategy aligns with Yellow's broader vision of creating trustless infrastructure for AI agent commerce.​

Recent developments:

  • Yellow Capital CEO Diego Martin predicts AI trading agents will reshape markets within 12-18 months
  • The company is already running live tests with real capital
  • Sirkia warns that reliance on vertically integrated exchanges creates systemic risks
  • Yellow is positioning itself as infrastructure for prediction markets and the "agentic economy"

The company continues expanding its presence at major industry events, including Money2020 and Consensus 2026, while building state-channel technology for institutional-grade trading.​

Sources

In this extended post from his personal account, Yellow founder and captain @AlexisYellow expands on his refusal "to take the speculator shortcut" from day one, instead building the company on a self-sustaining model that included refunding the majority of VC investors.

Alexis Sirkia
Alexis Sirkia
@AlexisYellow

My co-founder at GSR taught me what it means to be "long-term greedy." Long-term greedy is an old Goldman Sachs concept coined by Gus Levy. It means you don’t prioritize short-term profit. Instead, you obsess over customers, deliver exceptional service, and win the long game

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This simple point-by-point explainer reveals just why state-channel technology (underpinning Yellow's trading structure) and AI agents work perfectly together.

Alexis Sirkia
Alexis Sirkia
@AlexisYellow

Agentic economy is a strong use case for our state channel technology. 1. Two agents deposit collateral into a shared on-chain adjudicator contract. The escrow is non-custodial, programmable, visible to both. 2. Agents exchange signed state updates off-chain through our

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"Yellow is the most ambitious attempt to apply state channels to institutional-grade trading infrastructure. It functions as the crypto equivalent of how SWIFT messaging and direct order matching work in traditional finance." Full explainer linked below.⬇️

Yellow
Yellow
@Yellow

State channels have long been part of Yellow's long-term vision. Now other crypto entities are waking up to the inherent advantages in blending off-chain and on-chain transactions to maximize the best of both worlds. By @re7alien for @YellowMedia_HQ yellow.com/research/state…

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🇹🇭 Day 1 of @money2020 is well under way and @0xburakcem is on the ground in Bangkok with @AlexisYellow - they have a busy schedule in front of them and there's a huge amount of positive energy in the room.

Burak Cem
Burak Cem
@0xburakcem

Just landed in Bangkok for @money2020 alongside our Captain @AlexisYellow. Looking forward to exchanging ideas on payments, how markets are evolving, and where value is actually flowing. If you’re here, let’s connect!

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Prediction markets: spreading like wildfire - but complexity and poor UX mean capturing real benefits is tough. Steven Zeiler (@modernfintech) is working with builders to ensure Yellow is on the path to make the most of it for users and developers alike.

Steven Zeiler
Steven Zeiler
@modernfintech

There is $240 billion trapped behind a bad user experience, and we’re about to unlock it. Bernstein says we're going from $50 billion to $240 billion this year alone. Robinhood just made $435,000,000 from a category that is fundamentally BROKEN. They even called it the

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Thailand has a special place in our hearts because for a long time Chiang Mai has been home for Yellow co-working space. Now @AlexisYellow travels to Bangkok to connect with the world's biggest institutions, and take Yellow to the next level. There's a reason it's called

Alexis Sirkia
Alexis Sirkia
@AlexisYellow

Leaving XRP Japan energized! Next up: Money 2020 Bangkok. 🇹🇭 I'll be giving a keynote on how @Yellow is building the rails for agentic AI. We're looking at a gargantuan market —  and I want everyone to recognize the opportunity. If you're around, come check out the

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