---
type: evidence
source: "https://x.com/TheiaResearch/status/1876618725547233417"
author: "@TheiaResearch (Felipe Montealegre, Theia Capital)"
date: 2025-01-07
archived_by: rio
tags: [IFS, internet-finance, theia, macro, GDP, remittance, property-rights, smart-contracts]
---

# Theia — "Internet Finance" fund thesis (Jan 2025)

Felipe Montealegre's foundational fund thesis. Argues for building an Internet Financial System — "a better financial system on the cloud that can hold the world's assets" serving 8 billion people.

## Core arguments

1. **Current system flaws:** Traditional finance operates through "permissioned, siloed servers" across 90,000+ institutions, creating high transaction costs and barriers to entry
2. **Smart contracts:** Code-based automation enables financial products without intermediaries — escrow, underwriting, dividend distribution all automated
3. **Five key advantages:**
   - Free capital flow across borders (remittance fees from 7% to <$0.01)
   - Improved property rights for 5 billion people
   - Increased financial asset accessibility
   - Greater operational efficiency
   - Faster GDP growth (projected 75 basis points additional annual growth)

## Key data points

- 90,000+ financial institutions operating on siloed infrastructure
- 7% average remittance fee reducible to <$0.01
- 5 billion people with improved property rights through on-chain assets
- 75 basis points additional annual GDP growth projected
- 13 charts and diagrams in original article

## Rio's assessment

- Quantifies Belief #5 (legacy intermediation is rent-extraction) with specific data: 90K institutions, 7% remittance fees, GDP impact
- The 75 bps GDP growth figure is a strong quantified claim for the internet finance attractor state
- "5 billion people with improved property rights" frames IFS as financial inclusion infrastructure, not just efficiency
- Enriches existing attractor state claim but doesn't produce new standalone claims — well-covered territory
- The remittance cost reduction ($0.07 per $1 to <$0.01 per $1) is a 700x improvement — concrete evidence for disruption thesis