Tech
Cryptocurrency bosses invest millions in anti-aging technology to live longer
Top cryptocurrency CEOs are playing a key role in promoting funding for research into longevity and anti-aging technology, a leading scientist has said.
Longevity Escape Velocity Foundation President Aubrey de Grey, shared her insights on a recent episode of Yahoo Finance The Cryptocurrency Mile.
De Gray highlighted the crypto community’s support for both non-profit and investment initiatives in the longevity sector.
He said influential figures like Richard Heart of Hex, Ethereum (ETH-USD) Vitalik Buterin, Coinbase (CURRENCY) Cardano’s Brian Armstrong and Charles Hoskinson are involved in both non-profit and investment ventures in the longevity space.
“Brian Armstrong, co-founder of Coinbase, created a company called NewLimit, in which he invested about $50 million, and Charles Hoskinson of Cardano created an anti-aging clinic in Wyoming,” de Gray added.
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The longevity scientist also noted that on the nonprofit side of anti-aging research, several donors from the cryptocurrency industry have contributed significantly.
“The biggest and most obvious example of this is the Hex community, the community of people who made money with the cryptocurrency called Hex, led by Richard Heart,” De Gray said.
“Richard had this wonderful idea a few years ago to encourage his flock to donate to the SENS Research Foundation, and it worked very well to the tune of $27 million.”
Investments by sovereign funds and the private sector
According to a report, the longevity industry is experiencing growing momentum and is expected to reach a market size of $44.2 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1% from 2021 to 2030.
Capital inflow into the sector has increased, with notable contributions from individuals such as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and large investments from sovereign wealth funds, particularly from the Middle East and Asia. De Gray pointed out that this influx of funding began around 2017, when private sector involvement was minimal, but has grown exponentially in recent years.
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De Gray highlighted how sovereign wealth funds, especially from the Middle East and Far East, have started to intervene. Saudi Arabia’s goal to invest $1 billion a year has created a ripple effect, inspiring other nations to follow suit.
No distinction between curing diseases and curing aging
De Gray advocated a change in the approach to aging, stressing that the distinction between age-related diseases and aging itself lacks biological validity.
“I think it is extremely counterproductive that we have this tradition of distinguishing between the so-called diseases of aging and the so-called aging itself. This distinction has no biological basis. There are only aspects of aging to which we give names similar to diseases and aspects of aging that we don’t consider,” he added.
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He emphasized the need for treatments aimed at multiple age-related conditions and praised the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the TAME anti-aging study, which tests the effectiveness of metformin against various age-related conditions. ‘age.
“The process has not yet started due to funding difficulties,” he added. However, she stressed the importance of the study being approved by the FDA in the first place.
Longevity tests limited to the laboratory
De Gray highlighted the current focus of longevity research, saying: “The evidence at the moment is almost all limited to the laboratory rather than the clinic, in other words, to laboratory animals rather than humans.”
He explained that researchers are increasingly shifting their focus to later-life interventions in animals, such as mice, “when they are already two-thirds of the way through their lives.”
De Gray clarified the significance of this approach, noting: “To extend the healthy lives of mice when starting treatment late in life, you need to focus on rejuvenation, such as how much you can achieve by simply slowing aging late in life.” “. It’s relatively modest.”
The president of the Longevity Escape Velocity Foundation (LEV) added that scientists are now seeing research developments that show a significant increase in lifespan. “Whenever we see something that significantly increases lifespan, we know we’ve repaired a lot of damage, and there are some examples of that now in the literature.”
He further elaborated on the laboratory strategies, stating, “at the LEV Foundation we are combining various interventions on the same mice at the same time, with the hope of observing a much more substantial increase in both health and lifespan.”
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De Gray addressed widespread skepticism about anti-aging research and the persistent fatalistic perspective on aging in society. He called it the “trance of aging,” explaining that people often resist the idea of extending human lifespan, fearing potential negative consequences.
He added: “They make entirely irrational objections, or offer reasons like aging as a blessing in disguise, suggesting that things would somehow be worse if we had to deal with it.”
De Gray highlighted another common belief, saying, “Or they think it’s somehow woven into the fabric of the universe and is inevitable and universal.”
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