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Web3 Breakdowns

Web3 Breakdowns

74 Episodes • By Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts • www.joincolossus.com/
Web3 Breakdowns is a series of conversations exploring innovation in the decentralized internet. Each episode will focus on a different topic - we will cover NFT projects, crypto assets, blockchain-based protocols, and businesses being built with Web3 architecture. We will talk to founders, artists, ...more
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Web3 Breakdowns
Web3 Breakdowns
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Keone Hon - How Blockchains Work: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.63]
This is Eric Golden and today we’re going to break d... more
Mar 24 2023 1h
Understanding Bitcoin Mining
Chapter 1 8 mins
(First question) An analogy to explain how crypto and blockchain work
Chapter 2 5 mins
Scenarios to further explore his schoolyard analogy for Bitcoin
Chapter 3 6 mins
The reality of the math and power balance surrounding blockchain technology
Chapter 4 1 min
Expanding the analogy to explain Ethereum
Chapter 5 3 mins
The broad impact of Ethereum on smart contracting and proof of staking
Chapter 6 2 mins
Major differences between proof-of-work versus proof-of-stake models
Chapter 7 3 mins
Comparing Solana’s stateless design to the older chains
Chapter 8 1 min
The added privacy and speed advantages enabled by Solana
Chapter 9 2 mins
The real security and risk profiles of these major chains
Chapter 10 2 mins
Explaining Solana’s parallel transactions
Chapter 11 1 min
Why the creation of new chains and further chain optimization still matters
Chapter 12 2 mins
Why he got interested in the problem of chain efficiency and accessibility
Chapter 13 3 mins
How crypto tech continues to build upon itself and expand to new use cases
Chapter 14 1 min
How Monad is building their blockchain to solve inefficiencies in crypto markets
Chapter 15 2 mins
How he thinks about competition given the open-source nature of the space
Chapter 16 3 mins
The process of actually building and testing a new chain
Chapter 17 1 min
What motivates him to continue building
Chapter 18 1 min
Diffusing a new blockchain innovation to users and coders
Chapter 19 2 mins
What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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Avery Akkineni: Brand Building in Web3 - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.62]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Avery Akki... more
Mar 17 2023 43m
Planning Ahead for the Cutting Edge
Chapter 1 4 mins
(First question) How her background in marketing informs her work at Vayner3
Chapter 2 3 mins
The competitive and dynamic nature of the marketing industry
Chapter 3 3 mins
How Vayner3 leverages agility and keeps up with trends
Chapter 4 2 mins
Her pivot from corporate marketing to Web3 brand-building
Chapter 5 3 mins
What attracted her to the NFT space in the early days
Chapter 6 2 mins
Balancing risk aversion versus early adoption in marketing
Chapter 7 3 mins
How different brands have come online to Web3 and how Vayner3 enables them
Chapter 8 3 mins
Common mistakes made by brands trying to enter the space
Chapter 9 4 mins
What she learned from the launch of VeeFriends
Chapter 10 2 mins
How VeeFriends came to be and how it keeps momentum up
Chapter 11 3 mins
How she approaches brands following the recent crypto downtown
Chapter 12 1 min
The aspects of Web3 adoption and growth that she’s most excited about
Chapter 13 1 min
What she’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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Austin Campbell - A Primer on Stablecoins - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.61]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Austin Cam... more
Mar 10 2023 1h 2m
Cryptocurrency Financial Assets
Chapter 1 1 min
[First question] What can be learned from TradFi and applied to crypto
Chapter 2 2 mins
The basics of Stablecoins and why they are important
Chapter 3 9 mins
The logistics and mechanics of Stablecoins from the ground up
Chapter 4 4 mins
Time-delay and infrastructure problems when trading with Stablecoins
Chapter 5 3 mins
Liquidity, time sensitivity, and credit risk for issuers and buyers of Stablecoins
Chapter 6 8 mins
The roles, challenges, and faults of regulators in the space
Chapter 7 1 min
The extent to which he sees regulators favored versus fouled by crypto natives
Chapter 8 3 mins
The SEC’s imposition that qualified custodians are needed to exchange crypto assets
Chapter 9 5 mins
His takes on news regarding Paxos and the BUSD
Chapter 10 3 mins
Concerns regarding Binance and its Stablecoin consolidations
Chapter 11 2 mins
Aspects of global Stablecoin regulation he’s optimistic about
Chapter 12 1 min
Why the US may not be a promised land for crypto
Chapter 13 3 mins
The positives and potential impact of Stablecoins broadly, despite the pushback
Chapter 14 6 mins
The possibility of traditional assets using crypto rails
Chapter 15 2 mins
What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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Dan Finlay: MetaMask and the Future of Crypto Wallets - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.60]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Dan Finlay... more
Mar 3 2023 54m
Exploring Proprietary Logins and Delegation Accounts
Chapter 1 3 mins
[First question] His view of hyperlinks and self-security
Chapter 2 4 mins
What’s happening when you’re signing a smart contract with MetaMask
Chapter 3 2 mins
An elevator pitch of what MetaMask Learn is
Chapter 4 2 mins
Thinking about adoption when building general purpose tools in a technical space
Chapter 5 3 mins
How people feel about computer security versus Web3 security
Chapter 6 1 min
Whether or not he wishes the stakes were lower for perfecting MetaMask
Chapter 7 3 mins
Stepping into crypto and the founding story of MetaMask
Chapter 8 4 mins
What their intentions were for building MetaMask in the first place
Chapter 9 1 min
Some examples of what they tried to solve that didn’t pan out
Chapter 10 6 mins
Dealing with asset co-location and the pros and cons of it
Chapter 11 6 mins
Whether or not MetaMask will deploy the first ‘revoke all’ button
Chapter 12 3 mins
Users generally being displeased with the program’s UX
Chapter 13 1 min
Thoughts about what to prioritize as they improve MetaMask
Chapter 14 2 mins
The account abstraction without a protocol change proposal
Chapter 15 3 mins
An example of someone building on SNAPS and how it is beneficial to users
Chapter 16 1 min
What he’s most excited to build over the next six months and six years
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Andrew Parish: The DCG, Genesis, Gemini Saga and Operation Chokepoint - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.59]
This is Eric Golden and my guest this week is Andrew... more
Feb 24 2023 55m
Crazy Amounts of Noise
Chapter 1 3 mins
[First question] His look behind the curtain at DCG Genesis and Gemini
Chapter 2 1 min
The connections he discovered between DCG and Gemini
Chapter 3 2 mins
The special circumstances that led to Gemini’s unique exposure and platform
Chapter 4 3 mins
How external lending by Genesis led to cascades of trouble in crypto markets
Chapter 5 2 mins
DCG’s problematic transactions associated with Three Arrows
Chapter 6 1 min
The unraveling of DCG’s integrity following the collapse of FTX
Chapter 7 3 mins
How Gemini tried to hang on to its image and win over public opinion
Chapter 8 2 mins
A basic overview of the DCG-Gemini deal as it stands today
Chapter 9 5 mins
His correction of the mainstream story about Grayscale (GBTC)
Chapter 10 6 mins
His process of sourcing information and separating signal from noise
Chapter 11 9 mins
How regulators are choking out crypto-based businesses using banking infrastructure
Chapter 12 1 min
The potential for legal escalation between banks and federal regulators
Chapter 13 3 mins
A deeper look at circumstances that may point to conspiracy by regulators
Chapter 14 1 min
Additional concerns he has that he hasn’t shared yet on Twitter
Chapter 15 4 mins
What he’s most excited to build over the next six months and six years
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Will Weinraub: A Toy Company From The Future - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.58]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Will Weinr... more
Feb 17 2023 47m
Verifiable Ownership Blockchain
Chapter 1 2 mins
[First question] The success of Cryptoys brand deals despite crypto downturns
Chapter 2 1 min
The basics of IP licensing deals in the crypto industry
Chapter 3 1 min
The kind of external partners he typically deals with for toyetic brand deals
Chapter 4 7 mins
Rewinding to the company’s genesis and how people reacted early on
Chapter 5 1 min
The prototype design for Cryptoys
Chapter 6 2 mins
A closer look at the Cryptoys business model then and now
Chapter 7 2 mins
How kids are increasingly attracted to digital products
Chapter 8 2 mins
Why they can’t buy and sell their NFTs to kids today
Chapter 9 2 mins
What stops a child from joining Opensea and buying an NFT
Chapter 10 4 mins
His take on digital ownership and the pushback from the gaming community
Chapter 11 52 sec
Where Cryptoys on their timeline for developing a gaming component
Chapter 12 4 mins
What building on different blockchains means for the competitive landscape
Chapter 13 3 mins
Blockchains aren’t a one size fits all solution for application development
Chapter 14 2 mins
Why Cryptoys needs a blockchain at all compared to being hosted on a server
Chapter 15 2 mins
Potential risks to owning an asset on a newer blockchain
Chapter 16 1 min
His take on going from a tech startup to a toy-focused startup
Chapter 17 2 mins
What he’s most excited to build over the next six months and six years
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Nikolai Yakovenko: Algorithms We Live By - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.57]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Nikolai Ya... more
Feb 10 2023 1h 2m
Model Mastery and Consistency
Chapter 1 1 min
[First question] His impressions of recent innovations by ChatGPT
Chapter 2 2 mins
A rundown of the technical breakthroughs that led to today’s most cutting-edge AI
Chapter 3 2 mins
The types of questions he asks to test and evaluate new AI like ChatGPT
Chapter 4 48 sec
Questions or requests that would stump ChatGPT
Chapter 5 2 mins
Intuitive human tasks that would deeply confuse chat-based AI
Chapter 6 1 min
Impressive R&D spend at OpenAI to optimize machine learning
Chapter 7 1 min
The prospect of ChatGPT as competition for major search engines in the future
Chapter 8 1 min
How his time at Google and Twitter informed his understanding of algorithms
Chapter 9 5 mins
How social media algorithms work and how users reverse engineer them
Chapter 10 3 mins
His take on the amount of people it takes to run tech companies like Twitter
Chapter 11 1 min
How protocols like Twitter Spaces factor into the modern tech ecosystem
Chapter 12 2 mins
His transition from big tech to Wall Street and how the two career paths intersect
Chapter 13 1 min
How proximity to the investing side of the tech industry boosted his finance skills
Chapter 14 1 min
The degree to which AI tech shows promise for universal applications
Chapter 15 1 min
How his affinity for poker led him to crypto and NFTs
Chapter 16 2 mins
What inspired his jump to creating an NFT-based startup
Chapter 17 1 min
The comparative value of powerful machine learning models versus the data itself
Chapter 18 2 mins
How he thinks about different NFT value models and their tradeoffs
Chapter 19 1 min
The criteria that tend to make a given NFT more valuable than other similar ones
Chapter 20 3 mins
How his model for NFTs valuations actually works
Chapter 21 1 min
Feedback he gets from users about his model
Chapter 22 42 sec
High valuations associated with both minimalistic and cluttered NFT visuals
Chapter 23 1 min
The NFT liquidation auctions of FTX and Three Arrows
Chapter 24 58 sec
The proportion of NFT profits from instant buying versus bidding
Chapter 25 1 min
How NFT traders make use of the model through the DeepNFTValue open API
Chapter 26 1 min
The future of their profitability given that their goal is widespread distribution
Chapter 27 4 mins
The potential for lending and levering in future NFT markets
Chapter 28 2 mins
What he’s most excited to build over the next six months and six years
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Mike Dudas: Apprentice to Entrepreneur to Investor - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.56]
This is Eric Golden and my guest this week is Mike D... more
Feb 3 2023 56m
Building a Crypto Community
Chapter 1 2 mins
[First question] Why it seems like he’s so connected across different networks
Chapter 2 1 min
Whether or not he always wanted to be an entrepreneur
Chapter 3 2 mins
When crypto entered the picture for him
Chapter 4 1 min
Why he didn’t jump in earlier after being fully aware of the potential of crypto
Chapter 5 2 mins
What taught him the skills he needed to confidently step into the startup space
Chapter 6 1 min
Being in the business of manufacturing courage
Chapter 7 5 mins
The transition from Button to The Block in 2018
Chapter 8 1 min
Recruiting people to the journalistic side of cryptocurrency
Chapter 9 7 mins
Promise-driven sales and having strong convictions that are loosely held
Chapter 10 58 sec
Things he said as a Bitcoin maximalist that he regrets
Chapter 11 7 mins
Selling The Block and what happened in the aftermath
Chapter 12 3 mins
What lead him from The Block into venture capital
Chapter 13 1 min
Going from a 7 million dollar fund to a 140 million dollar fund
Chapter 14 4 mins
How he sees the pre-seed and seed stage focus in crypto playing out
Chapter 15 1 min
What the most exciting area is today and the deals that come across his desk
Chapter 16 4 mins
How much of Twitter is a personal outlet for him and how he handles it
Chapter 17 2 mins
What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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Magdalena “Mags” Kala: Hot Takes on Consumer Culture - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.55]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Magdalena ... more
Jan 27 2023 1h 9m
Impact of Regulation on Crypto Industry
Chapter 1 2 mins
[First question] Her surprising and unique background
Chapter 2 53 sec
To what she attributes her drive and ambition
Chapter 3 2 mins
Her big move from Poland to the US at 16 years old
Chapter 4 1 min
Challenges in adapting to American culture
Chapter 5 1 min
Her analysis of the world as a game
Chapter 6 3 mins
How she approaches both failure and risk
Chapter 7 2 mins
Her time with a group of all-female card-counting blackjack hustlers
Chapter 8 1 min
Her most memorable blackjack game
Chapter 9 2 mins
Getting a start in consumer investing at Bain Capital
Chapter 10 3 mins
Criteria she looks for in consumer investment targets
Chapter 11 2 mins
Analyzing the stickiness of identity-driven consumer brands
Chapter 12 2 mins
Using customer demographics to pinpoint long-lasting brands
Chapter 13 1 min
Why she goes after cheap partnership arbitrage
Chapter 14 1 min
The push-pull between exclusivity and mainstream success of a brand
Chapter 15 2 mins
Her transition from Bain Capital to striking out on her own
Chapter 16 2 mins
Why she chose to pursue early-stage VC investing
Chapter 17 3 mins
What drew her to Web3-integrated consumer products
Chapter 18 2 mins
Her focus on mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain tech
Chapter 19 3 mins
How both traditional brands and crypto natives are impacting the space
Chapter 20 2 mins
The gestation period of a crypto-native brand compared to traditional big brands
Chapter 21 3 mins
Venture pitch deck characteristics she’s seeing in 2022 and 2023
Chapter 22 1 min
The eccentric non-crypto-native people that back her fund
Chapter 23 3 mins
How she managed to close her fund right before the FTX collapse
Chapter 24 2 mins
Her philosophies for handling both early adopters and mainstream consumers
Chapter 25 1 min
Her current hot takes on the venture market
Chapter 26 2 mins
How LPs are handling committing their capital in 2023
Chapter 27 2 mins
What she looks for when evaluating founders
Chapter 28 39 sec
Why a founder might want to avoid picking her as an investor
Chapter 29 2 mins
What she’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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Matt Walsh: Crypto Needs Higher Standards - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.53]
This is Eric Golden, and my guest today is Matt Wals... more
Jan 20 2023 59m
The Dilemma of Governance Tokens
Chapter 1 2 mins
[First question] Being labeled as one of the first people to understand Bitcoin
Chapter 2 1 min
How his relationship with crypto evolved from a curiosity to investing in it
Chapter 3 53 sec
Partnering with Nick Carter and how they came together
Chapter 4 1 min
What drove his decision to finally take the leap and become an entrepreneur
Chapter 5 1 min
Lessons learned from setting up and deploying his first fund
Chapter 6 1 min
Comparing the crypto space in 2022 to what it was in 2018
Chapter 7 2 mins
His opinion on what’s happened this year writ large and what it means
Chapter 8 1 min
How regulation serves customers better than a libertarian outlook
Chapter 9 2 mins
Thoughts on the best way forward given crypto’s regulatory shortcomings
Chapter 10 33 sec
Commissioner Hester Peirce A Regulator’s View of Crypto
Chapter 11 2 mins
How far away we are from having an active congress involved in crypto
Chapter 12 2 mins
The notion of retail and yield generating products and why that part of the industry imploded on itself
Chapter 13 51 sec
Whether or not he’d invest in crypto again given its current state of affairs
Chapter 14 3 mins
Areas and macro trends he’s most excited about today
Chapter 15 3 mins
How the concept of crypto is more enticing for brands than a public database
Chapter 16 1 min
Securities versus non securities and what brands are talking about
Chapter 17 3 mins
The difficulty of figuring out the real market value of any given project
Chapter 18 2 mins
How he would approach handling privacy and KYC in DeFi
Chapter 19 1 min
Defining financial service infrastructure and where they invest in it
Chapter 20 2 mins
Some of the market structure bets they’ve made over the years
Chapter 21 1 min
How a prime broker would have helped in light of the FTX scandal
Chapter 22 6 mins
His view on where things stand with Genesis and FTX and how they’ll unfold
Chapter 23 1 min
Monetary networks and what has his attention lately
Chapter 24 1 min
Why some countries and governments will push back against stablecoins
Chapter 25 56 sec
Some of the craziest ideas that have come across his desk
Chapter 26 1 min
Trying to get to the base of an idea when it comes to due diligence
Chapter 27 1 min
What he’s most excited to build over the next six months and six years
Chapter 28 2 mins
Whether we’ll get regulation in crypto or a migration of traditional assets to crypto rails first
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Quarterly Market Recap: Q4 2022 - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.53]
Our final quarterly recap to close what’s been an ev... more
Jan 13 2023 49m
The Concept of Self-Custody
Chapter 1 7 mins
[First question] His reaction to market fallout following the FTX collapse
Chapter 2 2 mins
How crypto tech and infrastructure can outlast its disgraced figureheads
Chapter 3 5 mins
His response to the notion that bad actors are weakening the crypto space
Chapter 4 6 mins
How widespread negative perception of the crypto industry might affect innovation
Chapter 5 4 mins
The impact of this crypto washout on future investment in eccentric founders
Chapter 6 6 mins
Speculations on the magnitude of the domino effect from FTX’s downfall
Chapter 7 2 mins
The precariousness and subjectivity of legal agreements in the space
Chapter 8 6 mins
The level of risk the remaining big personalities of crypto are responsible for
Chapter 9 5 mins
His closing thoughts on the state of crypto in Q4 2022
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Jared Klee: Web3 Insurance - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.52]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Jared Klee... more
Jan 6 2023 56m
Insurance in the CryptoWeb Three Arena
Chapter 1 1 min
[First question] What IBM was working on when he was the Director of Blockchain
Chapter 2 1 min
How an enterprise blockchain works compared to popular blockchains
Chapter 3 1 min
What it means to secure a network like an enterprise blockchain
Chapter 4 1 min
Whether or not their process is displacing databases
Chapter 5 1 min
Making the jump from a manilla envelope system to a blockchain
Chapter 6 4 mins
A thumbnail sketch of the insurance world and policies one might need
Chapter 7 3 mins
How the old model of insurance compares to the insurance market today
Chapter 8 2 mins
Strong underwriting practices that ensure policies generate a profit
Chapter 9 1 min
Adding risk to their balance sheet when they underwrite projects
Chapter 10 3 mins
Thinking about underwriting risk as the insurer
Chapter 11 47 sec
Key factors that allow their model to work
Chapter 12 2 mins
How founders work through the policy price, coverage, and terms
Chapter 13 3 mins
Why Vouch considers Web3 an opportunity and not a risk
Chapter 14 2 mins
How the crypto downturn has impacted their underwriting process
Chapter 15 3 mins
Handling the uncertainty of the future when their clients add leverage
Chapter 16 5 mins
Base level insurance packages startups should have and when to step it up
Chapter 17 2 mins
Some of the greatest mistakes he’s seen while working with founders
Chapter 18 2 mins
Examples of smart contract risk going well and badly
Chapter 19 2 mins
Whether or not more insurers will enter this space over time
Chapter 20 2 mins
A risk they’ve encountered that was too big for them to engage
Chapter 21 2 mins
What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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GMoney: Status Games at Scale - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.51]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is gmoney. Gm... more
Dec 23 2022 1h
NFTs
Chapter 1 5 mins
[First question] Context and inspiration for GMoney’s famous Twitter thread
Chapter 2 1 min
Why he dove into NFTs so aggressively
Chapter 3 4 mins
All-in crypto diversification as opposed to closed-minded crypto trading
Chapter 4 1 min
NFT collecting in the mainstream
Chapter 5 2 mins
The potential of an NFT as a “digital flex”
Chapter 6 3 mins
The sharp increase in NFT values and the volatility of NFTs
Chapter 7 3 mins
Distinctions between NFT technology and the NFT market
Chapter 8 2 mins
How he landed his deal with Adidas
Chapter 9 1 min
His transition from traditional trading to the NFT market
Chapter 10 2 mins
His early goals with NFT trading and adaptation as the space evolves
Chapter 11 3 mins
The role of brand deals and influencer marketing in GMoney’s business model
Chapter 12 2 mins
Helping clients and partners understand the NFT space
Chapter 13 2 mins
Incentivising buyers to pay royalties to NFT artists
Chapter 14 1 min
The future of NFT royalties technology
Chapter 15 3 mins
Divisions of the GMoney empire
Chapter 16 3 mins
Explaining POAPs and their potential in the crypto community
Chapter 17 54 sec
Why he gives out POAPs for free
Chapter 18 3 mins
About 9dcc, the crypto-native fashion brand for real-world gamification
Chapter 19 1 min
How a POAP transfer works using a 9dcc t-shirt
Chapter 20 1 min
The communal success of the POAP pop-up event in Miami
Chapter 21 1 min
Why your net worth equals your network in the crypto universe
Chapter 22 49 sec
Figuring out the optimal volume of POAPs to distribute
Chapter 23 2 mins
What he is most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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Jay Stolar: The Future of Songwriting - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.50]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Jay Stolar... more
Dec 16 2022 49m
A Songwriter's Journey to Success
Chapter 1 4 mins
[First question] His background and what it’s been like to live the life of an artist
Chapter 2 1 min
How good the songs are that he tries to write every single day
Chapter 3 2 mins
When you know you have a hit on your hands
Chapter 4 3 mins
Persevering through writer’s block and the origin of the word genius
Chapter 5 8 mins
How he went from being a musician to writing for Selena Gomez and pop stars
Chapter 6 2 mins
Starting from a position of opportunity not disrupting an existing industry
Chapter 7 1 min
What a virtual artist or metastar is and how to create one
Chapter 8 2 mins
Transitioning from a digital project to Web3
Chapter 9 3 mins
Overview of angelbaby their origin story
Chapter 10 3 mins
How the mechanics of angelbaby as an artist works
Chapter 11 3 mins
Organizing and engaging with a community that has influence over the project
Chapter 12 2 mins
How community voting impacts songwriting
Chapter 13 2 mins
Visions for HUME as a platform and label
Chapter 14 3 mins
What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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Adam Brotman: Web3 Loyalty Programs - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.49]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Adam Brotm... more
Dec 9 2022 41m
The Importance of Digital Strategy
Chapter 1 1 min
[First question] A background sketch of his early career in the digital world working with Starbucks
Chapter 2 2 mins
How Starbucks felt about moving to digital back in 2008
Chapter 3 2 mins
The vision to turn a coffee company into a tech platform company
Chapter 4 2 mins
Moments where they felt they were pushing the edge of what digital could be
Chapter 5 5 mins
Going from digitizing Starbucks to stepping into the crypto space
Chapter 6 2 mins
Consumer brand loyalty is a quid pro quo and loyalty program economic tuning
Chapter 7 3 mins
Early thoughts on consumer brand loyalty and NFTs colliding
Chapter 8 1 min
The initial reactions to an augmented loyalty program
Chapter 9 2 mins
What Starbucks Odyssey is and what they plan to do with it
Chapter 10 1 min
The ideal customer that Starbucks Odyssey is designed for
Chapter 11 2 mins
Why use a blockchain for Odyssey instead of a central database
Chapter 12 3 mins
Big brands concerns about moving their customers onto public blockchains
Chapter 13 1 min
Competitive brand perceptions in a memetic sense
Chapter 14 1 min
Other exciting projects he’s working on currently
Chapter 15 2 mins
A good example of collaboration that benefited the customer
Chapter 16 1 min
What’s he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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Sergio Silva: Institutional Custody and Payments - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.48]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Sergio Sil... more
Dec 2 2022 1h 2m
What is a Wallet?
Chapter 1 2 mins
[First question] His thoughts on NFT royalties dropping to 0% and the impacts of that change
Chapter 2 50 sec
Whether or not secondary sale royalties could be implemented via smart contracts
Chapter 3 5 mins
Where the industry is headed given the changing landscape and its underlying technology
Chapter 4 2 mins
His background ranging from banking all the way to Crypto Punks
Chapter 5 1 min
What moved him from writing an article against NFTs to dropping $10k on them
Chapter 6 1 min
The dissolution of the Crypto Punks Discord channel and where it’s at now
Chapter 7 1 min
Overview of what Fireblocks is and what they do
Chapter 8 1 min
What MPC is and why it makes Fireblocks so special
Chapter 9 36 sec
Fireblocks’ target audience and clientele
Chapter 10 1 min
Why they choose to stay B2B and not launch their own exchange
Chapter 11 1 min
Definitions of custodians, qualified custodians, self-custody, and technology layer
Chapter 12 2 mins
Overview of what crypto wallets actually are and the broad scope of them today
Chapter 13 2 mins
The different use cases of wallets writ large
Chapter 14 2 mins
How to handle wallets as an identity on blockchains in tandem with privacy
Chapter 15 1 min
Brands building on top of crypto layers and what’s impressed him the most
Chapter 16 1 min
How much Fireblocks deals with TradFi compared to crypto native firms
Chapter 17 6 mins
The chances of Fireblocks becoming solely a technology layer
Chapter 18 3 mins
How he lost his Punk and what he had to do to get it back
Chapter 19 1 min
DeFi collateralization, overcollateralization, and the use cases for it
Chapter 20 4 mins
Overview of the global payments system and where crypto will have a place in it
Chapter 21 7 mins
Explaining sending crypto and NFTs to his family
Chapter 22 1 min
Concerns for capital controls as crypto becomes more globally adopted
Chapter 23 1 min
Thoughts on the greatest use cases for stablecoins
Chapter 24 2 mins
What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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Nick Cannon: Risk Management in DeFi - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.47]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Nick Canno... more
Nov 18 2022 41m
The Mango Squeeze.
Chapter 1 45 sec
[First question] His take on FTX selling itself to Binance
Chapter 2 46 sec
Categorizing at a high level the different sectors of DeFi
Chapter 3 59 sec
How DeFi handles the subjective parts of credit financing
Chapter 4 4 mins
What Mango is and what happened to them in their recent attack
Chapter 5 35 sec
Whether or not a decision was made to settle with the attacker
Chapter 6 1 min
How the insurance funds are structured for DeFi protocols
Chapter 7 1 min
Getting through the cold start problem of launching a new exchange
Chapter 8 49 sec
What Gauntlet is and what they do
Chapter 9 57 sec
His view on DeFi attacks in general
Chapter 10 51 sec
The story of how Gauntlet came to be
Chapter 11 1 min
Thoughts about safety and experimenting as early adopters
Chapter 12 1 min
Working with protocols to help them navigate risk management
Chapter 13 1 min
Being a key player in risk management in the crypto space can be a dangerous and thankless job
Chapter 14 54 sec
Thinking about alignment being third party players on a contract
Chapter 15 1 min
What it’s like to simulate and present risk to clients and how they receive it
Chapter 16 59 sec
Whether or not the Mango Squeeze can be done anywhere with enough money
Chapter 17 1 min
What position limiting and supply caps are and how they work
Chapter 18 53 sec
Going about implementing risk parameters into a protocol
Chapter 19 44 sec
Whether or not Gauntlet is running an API and involved on an ongoing basis
Chapter 20 38 sec
How hard it is to get a voting consensus in risk management
Chapter 21 1 min
Pitching fine tuning risk parameters to a protocol
Chapter 22 57 sec
Gauntlet’s liability and being held accountable if something bad happens
Chapter 23 53 sec
What he was doing before joining Gauntlet
Chapter 24 56 sec
Bullish and bearish factors for the future growth of Gauntlet
Chapter 25 39 sec
Whether or not this space will ever self-govern or require outside regulation
Chapter 26 2 mins
The mechanism for incentive optimization and how it works
Chapter 27 3 mins
Inherent flaws of third party staking to get liquidity without collateral requirements and risk parameters
Chapter 28 2 mins
How Gauntlet has such a widespread impact over an exchange like Sushi
Chapter 29 31 sec
Whether or not they use their data for other applications or advantages
Chapter 30 1 min
What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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EG Galano: Decentralized Infrastructure - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.46]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is EG Galano,... more
Nov 11 2022 56m
Smart Contracts
Chapter 1 2 mins
[First question] How he first got involved with Ethereum and wound up at ConsenSys
Chapter 2 1 min
What made the idea of smart contracts so special and first got his attention
Chapter 3 2 mins
The original inspiration behind building Infura
Chapter 4 1 min
What life was like trying to build on top of Ethereum before Infura
Chapter 5 1 min
Overview of what a node is and what it’s like to run one
Chapter 6 2 mins
When the time came to outsource instead of handling infrastructure internally
Chapter 7 5 mins
How Infura was initially received and whether or not blockchain participants and builders felt it went against their decentralized philosophies
Chapter 8 3 mins
Going from an open source project to a monetized platform
Chapter 9 1 min
How their premium offering was received and which developers made them second guess themselves
Chapter 10 3 mins
The story of Uniswap and how Infura influenced and impacted their success
Chapter 11 4 mins
How the buying and trading of an NFT with MetaMask interacts with Infura
Chapter 12 2 mins
Whether or not building applications on blockchains is more similar to on-premise servers than building on the cloud
Chapter 13 1 min
His thoughts about their market share and possible system fragility
Chapter 14 3 mins
How their mission incentivizes them to help and support their competitors
Chapter 15 1 min
What he’s worried about that could go wrong when decentralizing infrastructure
Chapter 16 2 mins
Jai Ramaswamy Crypto Regulation and Enforcement
Chapter 17 4 mins
Thoughts about decentralization, the benefits of it, and where Infura is headed
Chapter 18 1 min
Describing the future of Infura in a non-technical way
Chapter 19 4 mins
The trigger that lead to making an immediate pivot in their trajectory
Chapter 20 2 mins
What he’s most excited to see built in the six months and six years
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Jai Ramaswamy: Crypto Regulation and Enforcement - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.45]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Jai Ramasw... more
Nov 4 2022 1h 10m
OFAC Sanctions on Crypto
Chapter 1 6 mins
[First question] How he went from a traditional finance lawyer to a crypto one
Chapter 2 4 mins
A framework for how to think of the regulatory bodies that intersect with crypto
Chapter 3 7 mins
Who’s responsible when you receive an OFAC sanction and what it was like seeing a protocol receive one
Chapter 4 2 mins
Whether or not OFAC is an organization that tries to send a message to participants through their actions
Chapter 5 6 mins
Thoughts about the line regulators are walking between being thorough and protecting transaction privacy
Chapter 6 5 mins
Money laundering in traditional finance versus crypto
Chapter 7 4 mins
How law enforcement could enforce or stop a truly decentralized smart contract
Chapter 8 8 mins
The nature of disclosure and what the Howey Test is
Chapter 9 3 mins
Commissioner Hester Peirce ; Smart Regulation and how guidance and enforcement can help legitimize an asset class
Chapter 10 3 mins
His take on the recent FTX piece that came out
Chapter 11 5 mins
Thoughts on stablecoins, their uses, and a possible means of destabilization
Chapter 12 6 mins
The tension between innovation and compliance and the implications of the balance between them
Chapter 13 3 mins
What he’s doing about policy in light of everything that was discussed today
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0xfoobar: Crypto Culture and Convention - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.44]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is 0xfoobar. ... more
Oct 28 2022 48m
New Innovations and Discoveries
Chapter 1 2 mins
[First question] How he built such a robust technical background in his career that lead him to crypto
Chapter 2 2 mins
The trade off between compliance and privacy and his take on it writ large
Chapter 3 3 mins
Whether or not people have given up on the idea that privacy of transaction matters
Chapter 4 2 mins
The current technical framework for what exists in privacy today for crypto
Chapter 5 4 mins
Defining a zero knowledge proof and explaining the process to do one
Chapter 6 1 min
The public ledger incentivizing other economic models and the ways crypto will be used in the future that might not be what we imagine today
Chapter 7 1 min
People want to experiment but doing so can involve blind risk unless they’re familiar with the space
Chapter 8 4 mins
Reversible transactions and why they’re harmful
Chapter 9 2 mins
Opensea’s flagging involvement and whether or not we’ll have a cash-like layer built on top of the irreversible chain
Chapter 10 3 mins
Minimizing crypto purchase risk and protecting participants with a transaction cooling process or holding period
Chapter 11 1 min
The ways in which law and culture shape each other
Chapter 12 2 mins
Examples of how culture affects crypto in ways that laws don’t yet
Chapter 13 4 mins
DeFi protocol hacks and how the culture should handle that kind of behavior
Chapter 14 1 min
His thoughts on the current takes of trying to bring regulation by enforcement to the crypto space
Chapter 15 44 sec
What he would do about regulation with SBF’s wealth, power, and influence
Chapter 16 3 mins
His current area of focus is lately and what he enjoys doing the most
Chapter 17 1 min
What he’s most excited to see built in the next six months and six years
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Jared Grey: Leading a Decentralized Exchange - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.43]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Jared Gre... more
Oct 21 2022 42m
Centralized Leadership
Chapter 1 2 mins
[First question] Addressing the accusations after being appointed head chef at Sushiswap
Chapter 2 2 mins
How he first got into crypto and the road leading him to Sushiswap
Chapter 3 1 min
Overview of what a decentralized exchange is compared to a centralized one
Chapter 4 1 min
The unique way liquidity is provisioned in a DEX
Chapter 5 46 sec
What permanent loss is and the main critique against DEXs
Chapter 6 1 min
Whether or not he believes DEXs will surpass centralized exchanges in volume
Chapter 7 3 mins
The history of SushiSwap before he arrived
Chapter 8 3 mins
Explaining the differences between Uniswap and SushiSwap
Chapter 9 2 mins
Where his power starts and stops, and the challenges of running a community lead organization versus a traditional governance structure
Chapter 10 2 mins
An example of how decision making happens inside of SushiSwap
Chapter 11 3 mins
A situation where a gridlock happened and having a centralized governance structure might have helped
Chapter 12 2 mins
The challenges of developing more features without making an overwhelming user experience
Chapter 13 2 mins
The nomination process for him to become the head chef at SushiSwap
Chapter 14 2 mins
The voting system and candidates involved in the voting process
Chapter 15 3 mins
His mental model for the voting system and ways to modify the existing one
Chapter 16 1 min
How the transition of power works in a situation like his
Chapter 17 1 min
Thoughts on regulatory risk and regulatory structure
Chapter 18 1 min
His outlook for Sushi and where he wants to take it going forward
Chapter 19 1 min
What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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Matthew Graham: Bringing Crypto to Emerging Markets - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.42]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Matthew G... more
Oct 15 2022 47m
Betting on the Right People in Crypto
Chapter 1 2 mins
[First question] How he got into one of the hardest asset classes in emerging markets
Chapter 2 2 mins
What lead him to China and where he first started his career
Chapter 3 2 mins
The origin story of Sino Capital and what its first iteration looked like
Chapter 4 30 sec
Whether or not he felt he had an edge in the early days
Chapter 5 1 min
Being comfortable in an uncomfortable idiosyncratic position and if he would have ever gone back to a traditional path
Chapter 6 1 min
What European and Western investors would miss and not understand about the regions he invests in
Chapter 7 57 sec
His take on Chinese and Indian markets and their similarities and differences
Chapter 8 1 min
Deciding to enter these markets and what gave him the confidence to do so
Chapter 9 48 sec
How often he’s dealing with international founders versus local ones
Chapter 10 3 mins
The Sino Capital business model and balancing being long-term greedy with stakeholder needs
Chapter 11 3 mins
Thoughts on evaluating founding teams and where Sino wants to invest
Chapter 12 2 mins
How long they wait to invest after first meeting a team or founder
Chapter 13 1 min
What percentage of his time is spent sourcing new deals versus managing the existing portfolio
Chapter 14 1 min
Whether or not he’s relied on the insight of investors and mentors when it comes to how he’s structured Sino Capital
Chapter 15 2 mins
His philosophy when it comes to bringing new people onto the team
Chapter 16 1 min
The turnover rate of Sino interns and how many become employees
Chapter 17 4 mins
Ways to explain to laypeople the differences between TradFi and DeFi and the what DeFi will unlock for the future
Chapter 18 3 mins
How he’d rebuild TradFi if he could wave a magic wand
Chapter 19 4 mins
Walking through the pros and cons of the role regulation will play in crypto
Chapter 20 1 min
Where he’d suggest a young entrepreneur go in the world to find a new frontier and which asset classes they should participate in
Chapter 21 1 min
What he’s most excited to see built in the next six months and six years
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Quarterly Market Recap: Q3 2022 - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.41]
This is Matt Reustle and it's that time again - our ... more
Oct 7 2022 56m
Gantz's Odd Behavior Grabs Headlines.
Chapter 1 4 mins
[First question] General thoughts and most memorable points of Q3 2022
Chapter 2 5 mins
Getting comfortable with the idea of a floor in an industry without the means of being bailed out by something like the Fed
Chapter 3 3 mins
The level playing field and other players that have come out looking strong given the downside in the market
Chapter 4 5 mins
A quick recap of the Ethereum merge, current takeaways, and the road ahead
Chapter 5 4 mins
Whether or not there’s a way to measure the merge’s success going forward
Chapter 6 1 min
The ultimate vision for Ethereum staking and its reward system
Chapter 7 3 mins
Whether or not leverage is what brought the system down
Chapter 8 3 mins
Major institutional momentum and adoption in crypto
Chapter 9 7 mins
The growth equity trolls were louder than the crypto trolls and crypto social stigma
Chapter 10 3 mins
Sentiments around the new wave of Free-To-Own NFTs
Chapter 11 4 mins
Material impacts on NFTs with a trend towards creative commons licensing and the experimentation phase of Intellectual Property
Chapter 12 5 mins
What’s driving his interest around Bitcoin mining in the near future
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Michael Safai: High Frequency Crypto Trading - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.35]
    This is Eric Golden, and my guest today is Micha... more
Sep 30 2022 50m
Exchanges Working Towards Standardization.
Chapter 1 2 mins
[First question] Pivoting away from law and winding up in crypto
Chapter 2 1 min
A thumbnail sketch of Dexterity and what a proprietary capital firm is
Chapter 3 3 mins
The juxtaposition between TradFi and DeFi in high frequency trading
Chapter 4 2 mins
How non-standardization is as much an opportunity as it is challenging for builders
Chapter 5 1 min
Whether or not he plans on managing money for outside capital
Chapter 6 1 min
A high level overview of running a market neutral firm in the crypto space
Chapter 7 55 sec
What a retail trader would need to take advantage of their arbitrage strategy
Chapter 8 1 min
Strategies to deploy to reduce volatility in crypto at a microstructure level
Chapter 9 37 sec
How much large firms are trading against each other and their market structures
Chapter 10 1 min
What perpetuals are and trading them as a security
Chapter 11 1 min
How he’d interpret Ethereum’s negative funding rate during the merge
Chapter 12 1 min
Whether he’s seeing traditional firms trying to get into and staying in crypto
Chapter 13 2 mins
Top data and indicators to get a sense of the healthiness of a market
Chapter 14 1 min
His high level thoughts on web3, NFTs and new mainstream assets
Chapter 15 2 mins
Pros and cons of a centralized exchange versus a DEX
Chapter 16 1 min
Thoughts on the code is law versus trading philosophy
Chapter 17 1 min
Some crazy stories from his early days of trading on DEXs
Chapter 18 1 min
The level of difficulty to getting alpha today compared to in the early days
Chapter 19 1 min
The different game of trading on DEXs versus centralized exchanges
Chapter 20 43 sec
How to find an edge when everyone’s cards are face up
Chapter 21 1 min
His approach to diligence and analyzing an investment firm like his to invest in
Chapter 22 1 min
What good regulation would look like to minimize public skepticism
Chapter 23 1 min
How he looks to recruit talent and managing a global workforce
Chapter 24 47 sec
Staying on top of all of his teams and what’s going to happen next for Dexterity
Chapter 25 1 min
Managing risk in automated systems when unexpected events occur
Chapter 26 2 mins
Where we are in the cycle of standardization and what it means for finding returns
Chapter 27 1 min
Binance shifting to a single stablecoin affecting liquidity for market neutral firms
Chapter 28 1 min
Leverage six months ago compared to today and what it means going forward
Chapter 29 1 min
What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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Tom McLeod: Genius of the Commons - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.39]
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Tom McLeod... more
Sep 23 2022 48m
The Great Patent Debate.
Chapter 1 3 mins
[First question] Having a vision to work with computers in the second grade
Chapter 2 1 min
Going from a child computer coder and starting an indie record label
Chapter 3 2 mins
Working in a big music studio in the midst of the streaming and digital revolution
Chapter 4 3 mins
The road leading from Omni to Arkive
Chapter 5 1 min
A high level sketch of Akrive and what their mission is
Chapter 6 1 min
Finding pieces to fill this new approach to curating a museum
Chapter 7 2 mins
Who can become a member and vote for what makes it into the museum
Chapter 8 2 mins
Community owned capital and community owned assets
Chapter 9 1 min
How members can earn their Arkive points
Chapter 10 3 mins
Mechanics of voting and the curation community decisions
Chapter 11 1 min
Sourcing items of the caliber able to excite their participants
Chapter 12 1 min
How they approach pricing and valuation for art and collectibles
Chapter 13 2 mins
What it was like to hold the ENIAC patent for the first time
Chapter 14 2 mins
Making sure items purchased can be seen by the public
Chapter 15 2 mins
Whether or not they plan to step outside of the viewable museum model
Chapter 16 1 min
Plans to make fractional ownership and private investing possible
Chapter 17 2 mins
Advertising that they’re hiring on-chain pricing oracles
Chapter 18 59 sec
The likelihood of liquidity in light of exclusivity
Chapter 19 2 mins
Building out their own infrastructure and tools
Chapter 20 2 mins
What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years
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