Cypher Tank Returns to Lugano With Bigger Stakes for Bitcoin Founders

Cypher Tank, the Bitcoin-native answer to Shark Tank, is back for a second season in Lugano — with applications now open after a debut year that drew more than 4,000 participants from 64 countries.

The format, backed by the Plan ₿ VC Fund and Plan ₿ Foundation, splices startup pitching with documentary production: real negotiations with a judging panel nicknamed the honey badgers, filmed and released as an online series.

What's new this season

The finalist field expands to 12 projects — eight for-profit and four nonprofit, up from eleven total last year — competing for direct investment from the judges plus three $100,000 prizes covering incubation, acceleration, or relocation services.

Selection runs on three criteria: alignment with the values of individual freedom, privacy, decentralization, and resilience; execution ability and market feasibility; and fit within the broader Plan ₿ ecosystem. Applications close September 25, finalists are notified from September 30, and the finals run October 25-27 at PoW Space Lugano, immediately after the Plan ₿ Forum — opening with a coaching day before two days of live pitching.

Why a pitch show matters

Bitcoin's builder economy has a structural funding gap: the asset's ethos discourages tokens, which removes the financing shortcut the rest of crypto leans on, leaving founders to raise equity like any other startup — from a much smaller pool of aligned investors. Vehicles like Cypher Tank exist to widen that pool, and the nonprofit track acknowledges that much of Bitcoin's most important infrastructure has no business model at all.

Last year's 64-country application map is the more interesting statistic. The show's producers are betting that the next wave of Bitcoin companies is being founded far from San Francisco — and judging by where the applications come from, the bet is already paying.