How to ask for a warm introduction, in short: find a person who already sits on both sides of the gap, ask them for 1 named thing, and hand them a note they can forward without editing a word. The path usually exists, because crypto rounds are crowded. Of the 249 crypto rounds NAUT logged from 1 July to 26 October 2026, 95 name at least 1 backer, and 56 of those 95 name 2 or more investors, which is 59% of them, with 42 naming 3 or more. The other 154 rounds carry no backer row in NAUT's database at all, so that 59% describes the 95 rounds with backer data rather than the full window.
Data note. Every count here was read from NAUT's own database on 25 October 2026, read-only, over rounds announced from 1 July to 26 October 2026. The syndicate split, the per-firm lead counts and the repeat-pair counts all run on the 95 rounds that carry a backer row, never on all 249, and the gap is large: 154 rounds, 62% of the window, name nobody in NAUT's records, so a firm's real count can be higher than the one below. Lead counts are rounds led in NAUT's records. Each X handle quoted below was confirmed against the firm's own site or its prior account on 25 October 2026. NAUT Research wrote it.
How to ask for a warm introduction in crypto, in 5 parts
An introduction is a favour asked of a busy person on behalf of a stranger. The ask that works makes the favour small, specific and safe to say yes to.
- Name the person, never the category. "Anyone at a fund that does payments" puts the work on the connector. "The partner who led that round" is a 1-minute job.
- Say what connects the 3 of you. A shared cap table, a shared portfolio company, a panel you both spoke on. Open with that sentence, because it is the reason they are reading.
- Ask for 1 thing, sized in minutes. A 20-minute call, a reply to 1 question, a forward. An open-ended "connect us" has no finish line.
- Give them an exit. "If this is the wrong read, say so and I will drop it" costs you nothing and it is why people answer.
- Write the forwardable note yourself. The connector should be able to paste 3 sentences and add "see below". Template 5 is that note.
- Pick the gapName the firm or the company you want to reach, and the 1 person inside it who owns the decision.
- Find the overlap56 of the 95 rounds with a named backer since 1 July 2026 carry 2 or more investors, so shared cap tables are the common path.
- Pick 1 connectorAsk the person closest to both sides. 1 ask, 1 channel, no copies to the rest of the cap table.
- Size the askA 20-minute call or a forward, said in 1 sentence, with an exit line.
- Hand over the blurb3 sentences the connector can paste, with the number and the name already in them.
Who can introduce you?
The person who already shares a cap table with your target. In NAUT's records for this window, Coinbase Ventures and Wintermute appear in the same round 3 separate times, the most repeated pair of the 95 rounds with backer data. 3 further pairs show up in 2 rounds each. Those repeats are the practical answer to who can introduce you: a firm that has sat beside another firm 3 times in 4 months has partners who know each other by name.
Across those 95 rounds the average is 3.47 named backers per round, and 42 of them name 3 or more. So on most funded rounds in this window there are other firms beside the lead, and any of them can reach the lead. The firm that wrote the smallest cheque is often the easiest ask and the fastest reply.
A crypto investor introduction lands when the connector can see why the other side would want the call, so name the thing the target gains in the same sentence as the ask.
Which firms lead more than once, and who do they sit with?
8 firms led more than 1 round in this window in NAUT's records, and each of them appears next to other named firms on most of those rounds. Sequoia Capital leads the count at 3. Polychain Capital, Variant, Tether, Portal Ventures, Foundation Capital, Blockchain Capital and Maven 11 Capital each led 2. Tether is the odd one on that list, an issuer that led rounds as an investor.
Sequoia Capital
Polychain Capital
Variant
Tether
Portal Ventures
Foundation Capital
Blockchain Capital
Maven 11 CapitalCounts are rounds where NAUT records the firm as lead, over the 95 rounds that carry a backer row, so a firm with no backer row on a round it led is undercounted here. Read the list as a shortlist of firms worth a warm path rather than a league table.
Why it matters for an introduction: a firm that leads repeatedly is the firm whose existing portfolio founders can vouch for it, and whose co-investors answer its emails. For each of those 8, the useful next click is the firm's own NAUT page, which lists the rounds it has been in and the other firms in them. That list is your connector list.
How to ask for a warm introduction: 5 templates to copy
A warm introduction email template is worth keeping, and the part that does the work is the last one, the forwardable note. Each template below is short on purpose. Replace anything in curly brackets, keep the length, and send it on 1 channel only.
1. To your own investor, asking for the lead on your next round. Use it when a firm on your cap table has co-invested with the firm you want.
Subject: intro to {firm}?
Hi {name}, we are opening a {round} in {month} and {firm} is top of my list. NAUT shows you and they have been in {count} of the same rounds this year, so I thought I would ask you first. Would you forward the note below to {partner}? Happy with a no if the timing is wrong for you. Nothing else needed from you either way.
2. To a founder who shares an investor with your target. Use it when the person you want is a founder, and you both have the same firm on your cap table.
Subject: {shared investor} connection, quick ask
Hi {name}, we are both backed by {shared investor}, which is how I found you. We are building {1 line}, and {target company} is the integration that would move our numbers most. Are you close enough to {person} there to pass my note along? If not, no problem, and I will go the long way round.
3. To a shared investor, asking for a way into a portfolio company. Use it when you sell to crypto teams and a fund you know backs the team you want.
Subject: intro to {portfolio company}?
Hi {name}, you back {portfolio company}, and we do {1 line} for teams at exactly their stage. We already work with {1 reference}. Worth a 20-minute call for them? If yes, forward the note below to whoever owns {the function} there. If it is a bad fit, tell me and I will stop.
4. From one investor to a co-investor, asking to meet a founder. Use it when you source deals and the founder you want is already in a peer's portfolio.
Subject: {company} founder intro
Hi {name}, we were both in {company}'s round, and I am looking at {sector} seriously this quarter. I would like 30 minutes with {founder} to understand {the 1 question}. Would you make the introduction, or tell me if now is wrong? I will keep it to the 1 call and report back what I learn.
5. The forwardable note. Paste this under any of the 4 above, so the connector forwards rather than writes.
{Name} is building {company}, {1 line on what it does}. They raised {amount} in {month} from {investor}, and they are {the ask: raising a {round}, looking for a design partner, hiring a {role}}. The ask is {20 minutes / a reply to 1 question}. Their deck and numbers are at {link}. Introducing you both, over to you.
Keep every number in those 5 true and checkable. The fastest way to kill a warm path is a count the connector can see is wrong, because the connector is the person most likely to know the real figure.
What this tells a founder raising a round
The crowd in a crypto cap table is the asset. 42 of the 95 rounds with backer data since 1 July 2026 name 3 or more investors, so most funded teams in this window have 2 or more firms they can ask, and the smaller names on the list are usually the quickest to reply.
- Work the co-investor graph before the cold list. Open the NAUT page of every firm on your cap table and read who else was in those rounds.
- Rank your targets by how many steps away they are, and spend your warm paths on the firms that lead. 8 firms led more than 1 round this window, headed by Sequoia Capital at 3.
- 1 ask per connector per month. A connector who makes 1 good introduction will make another. A connector asked 4 times in a week will make none.
- Where no path exists, say so in the first line of the cold note and keep it shorter than the warm version.
- List your own backersOpen each firm's NAUT page and read every round it has been in.
- Pull the names beside themAverage syndicate size on the 95 rounds with backer data is 3.47 named investors.
- Rank by repeat contactCoinbase Ventures and Wintermute shared 3 rounds in this window, the tightest pair on record here.
- Ask the nearest firm first1 named partner, 1 channel, the blurb from template 5 pasted underneath.
What this tells a crypto business development lead
Crypto business development runs on the same graph, read from the other end. You want a portfolio company, and the fund that backed it is the connector who gets answered.
- Start from the investor page, never the company page. A fund's NAUT page gives you every company it has backed, which is a target list with a built-in referrer.
- Pick funds that lead, because a lead has board-level contact. Polychain Capital, Variant, Portal Ventures, Foundation Capital, Blockchain Capital and Maven 11 Capital each led 2 rounds in this window, and Tether led 2 as well.
- A fresh round is the window. A team that closed in the last quarter has budget and a mandate to spend it.
- Carry 1 reference customer in the ask. The connector is lending you their name, and a reference is what makes that cheap for them.
How to find the person who can make the introduction
3 clicks on NAUT, in this order.
- The round. Find the round on the target company's page and read every investor in it. That is the full list of firms with standing to make the call.
- The firm. Open each of those investor pages. Each lists the firm's other rounds, so you can see which of your own contacts has sat beside it.
- The person. Open the firm's page for its named people, and pick the 1 whose title owns the decision you need, rather than the most senior name on the page.
Then check the handle before you write. NAUT carries the X account for most firms, and the handle is where you see whether a partner is active and what they are posting about this week. The accounts for the firms above, each confirmed against the firm's own site or its prior account on 25 October 2026, are @sequoia for Sequoia Capital, @polychain for Polychain Capital, @variantfund for Variant, @bcap for Blockchain Capital and @Maven11Capital for Maven 11 Capital.
How to ask for a warm introduction FAQ
How do you ask for a warm introduction?
Name the person you want, say in 1 sentence what connects you to the connector, ask for 1 thing sized in minutes, give the connector an easy way to decline, and paste a 3-sentence note they can forward unedited. In crypto the connecting fact is usually a shared cap table: 56 of the 95 rounds NAUT logged with a named backer from 1 July to 26 October 2026 carry 2 or more investors.
Who should I ask for an introduction to a crypto VC?
A firm already on your cap table that has co-invested with the firm you want, or a founder in that firm's portfolio. In NAUT's records for 1 July to 26 October 2026, Coinbase Ventures and Wintermute were in the same round 3 times, and 3 other pairs of firms shared 2 rounds each, so repeat pairs are the first place to look.
How long should a warm introduction request be?
Short enough to read on a phone without scrolling, which in practice is 4 or 5 sentences plus the forwardable note underneath. The connector reads the first line to see what links the 3 of you and the last to see what you are asking for.
Which crypto investors lead the most rounds on NAUT?
Over the 95 rounds with a named backer from 1 July to 26 October 2026, Sequoia Capital is recorded as lead on 3, and Polychain Capital, Variant, Tether, Portal Ventures, Foundation Capital, Blockchain Capital and Maven 11 Capital on 2 each. 154 of the window's 249 rounds carry no backer row, so those counts are floors.
What do I do when there is no warm path at all?
Send a cold note that reads like the warm one, minus the pretence: 1 named person, 1 sentence on why them, 1 ask in minutes, and the same forwardable blurb in case they pass it internally. Then build the path for next time by getting into rounds, events and portfolios where the people you want already sit.
Sources
- NAUT's own database, read on 25 October 2026, read-only: every crypto round announced from 1 July to 26 October 2026, its recorded backers and its recorded lead. 249 rounds in the window, 95 with at least 1 backer row, 56 of those with 2 or more backers, 42 with 3 or more, 39 with exactly 1, and 154 with none. The 3.47 average, the 59% share, the per-firm lead counts and the repeat-pair counts were all computed from those 95 rounds at that time.
- The X account of each firm whose handle is quoted above, read on 25 October 2026. 4 of the 5 are linked from the firm's own homepage:
x.com/sequoiafromsequoiacap.com,x.com/variantfundfromvariant.fund,x.com/bcapfromblockchaincapital.com, andx.com/Maven11Capitalfrommaven11.com.x.com/polychainis not linked frompolychain.capital, and rests on the profile naming that domain plus the firm's prior account,x.com/polychaincap, pointing to it.