Maximilian Sarafin

Max “Crypto Max” Sarafin is an American cash-game poker player known for his appearances on Poker At The Lodge, with documented broadcasts dating back to 2021. Away from the table, his professional background is in cryptocurrency investment and research, where he also appears publicly as Max Scruffur.

Sarafin has worked with WWVentures, a venture-capital firm focused on early-stage cryptocurrency and Web3 businesses. In an August 2024 interview, he was introduced as the firm’s Head of Research and discussed its approach to supporting investments through communities, content creators and athletes.

His entrepreneurial interests began before his investment career. He has described organizing esports events and operating a Minecraft server while still in high school. His enthusiasm for game theory also helped draw him toward tokenomics - the economic incentives and structures behind cryptocurrency projects.

Sarafin has shared his views on crypto’s future through public interviews, including a 2023 appearance on the Aleph Zero Podcast representing WWVentures. During that discussion, he argued that mainstream adoption would arrive when blockchain-based products became everyday tools people used without consciously thinking of them as “Web3.”