1/ LONG READS SUNDAY #10. There are two ways one might see the crypto conversation: 1) an acrimonious battle of opposing tribes; 2) a crucible of learning, debate and experimentation that, of course, gets heated..but only because new worlds are born in fire.
2/ Consider each of these Long Reads Sunday lists a submission of evidence for latter. The labor put into all of these pieces is an expression of their writers' desires to build and create, and is to be celebrated. So, without further ado, here’s the Labor Day edition of LRS 👇
3/ For a week that tends to be quiet in nearly every other industry (at least in the USA), the last week before back-to-school was full of (fire) in crypto. Pomp summed it up nicely:
4/ One big event that didn’t make that list was EIP-1234, a proposal to move the ETH block reward from 3 ETH to 2 ETH per block, being accepted for the upcoming Constantinople hard fork. @econoar argues the pro & gives background here: medium.com/@eric.conner/a…
5/ For those interested in why the move could be a positive thing for the Ethereum community as a whole, check out the thread that follows @spencernoon’s post
6/ At the same time, the decision almost immediately brought critique via comparisons of the decision making process to a central bank or Fed with the ability to control monetary policy.
7/ The debate around EIP-1234 is a good example of the two views on the crypto convo. On the one hand, it’s heated and maybe too rancorous in places. On the other, monetary policy and governance are at the heart of this whole experiment, and practically demand debate.
8/ In that spirit, I loved @AriDavidPaul’s thread on “probabilistic finality” and what it means in PoW vs. PoS systems.
9/ Speaking of governance, @VitalikButerin explores innovation at layer 1 vs. layer 2, with the key note being how some the same design principles that would enable base layers to adapt also make them susceptible to political volatility and centralization. vitalik.ca/general/2018/0…
10/ The evolution of consensus models is also the central subject of this piece by @JonathanCheesm4 & @jonathanmarcus. The central point is that staking represents a new paradigm (and opportunity) for investors. medium.com/@jc_78614/free…
11/ On the point of new paradigms, @ercwl wrote a monster thread recapping how that last new paradigm - the ICO boom - went in an attempt to create some collective memory for whenever we head into the next boom
12/ @Crypto_Macro wrote this monster essay arguing that crypto is a traders’ paradise but an investors’ hell. It’s an incredible look at the last couple years with a constant consideration of how different factors have and will impact the market. hackernoon.com/crypto-traders…
13/ All that volatility may be part of why @danheld argues that holders are revolutionaries. Money line: "The faith in a new financial system is what binds everything together.”
14/ Speaking of holding, @koeppelmann explores the importance of holding behavior to token value and looks at the various mechanisms - strong SOV narrative, staking mechanisms, burn mechanisms, etc - are currently at use
16/ Another much discussed topic this week had to do with decentralized identity and reputation. As a starting point, go back and re-read @_jillruth’s essay on how decentralized p2p attestations can serve as reputation for applications like credit scoring. medium.com/@jillcarlson/d…
17/ Next, give a look to what @SendWyre is building. Suggestion: read their blog post first, then read the full comment thread discussion between @MichaelDunwort1 @mattgcondon @udiWertheimer blog.sendwyre.com/community-driv…
18/ Then, if you’re still hungry for more, dive into this killer thread extending the conversation on self-sovereign identity and the proper role of tokenization therein
19/ If you’re like me, this long holiday weekend you’re h̶o̶l̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶e̶m̶b̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶s̶u̶m̶m̶e̶r̶ fiercely preparing for the thrilling fall, so you won’t mind a few more excellent posts.
20/ There were a couple interesting funding announcements this week. In this post, @ali01 and @cdixon explain their investment in @Dfinity with the key theme being scalability and comprehensiveness of vision for becoming the decentralized ‘world computer’ a16zcrypto.com/2018/08/dfinit…
21/ How bout some alliances for crypto capital? @MarkYusko / @apompliano’s Morgan Creek partnered with @HHorsley @bitwiseinvest on a new Digital Asset Index fund that provides another powerful resource for institutional investors coindesk.com/morgan-creek-d…
22/ This essay by @annimaniac announcing Floodgate’s investment in meanwhile doubles as an introduction to zero knowledge proofs and their role in blockchain privacy and scalability. medium.com/@amk/why-stark…
23/ Then again, not all investments in the crypto era will look like traditional venture investments. The buzz about crypto native funds that incorporate things like staking and ‘generalized mining’ is growing. By way of example, see: @notationcapital medium.com/notation-capit…
24/ If the idea of crypto native funds and new strategies for investments is one that interests you, two more resources. First, I shared a few of the people I follow who are doing the most interesting thinking in this space:
25/ Second, as part of a massive 12 episode Crypto Stories podcast mixtape drop @ErikTorenberg features a conversation on crypto native funds with @jbrukh @ajcronk and @meherRoy. Listen to the whole series:
26/ Speaking of podcasts, you could do a lot worse than @nikbhatia featured everywhere or @WhatBitcoinDid’s interview with @TuurDemeester
27/ Last podcast note: If you like these LRS threads, you can now hear the audio version of my rambling crypto explorations thanks to the fellas at @thebtcpodcast. Hot off the presses:
28/ Just a couple more great pieces and we’ll wrap up. @etekis of @coinbase provides one of the best overviews of what we’re talking about when we talk about ‘web 3’ blog.coinbase.com/understanding-…
29/ @coinfund_al writes a ranging piece critiquing some of the assumptions in building crypto systems (& actually offering some answers). Love the line: "the potential of failure is not as scary if your product is already awful by any established criteria" drive.google.com/file/d/1o2ZHsy…
30/ @Shaughnessy119 writes a comprehensive primer on the what custody looks like in the crypto sphere and how the set of solutions coming online could unlock a wave of new capital medium.com/@toms119/crypt…
31/ @MartyBent flags & adds to @cryptorae’s observation that the retail volume share 1) may be one of the most important oft-overlooked indicators of market health and 2) may be improving: mailchi.mp/63e6fce00165/m…
32/ Token Economy features @paulkhls exploration of how curation markets & NFTs could power better distribution of IP. Builds on great thinking from folks like @simondlr tokeneconomy.co/token-bonding-…
33/ @twobitidiot captures one sentiment that even contentious crypto Twitter *does* tend to agree on, which is that accredited investor rules need to evolve. Interestingly, the SEC Chairman seems to agree.
34/ And finally, what a difference a year makes. @cburniske resurfaced a thread from last year about what 2018 might look like. The reminder to me? We’re still writing this story, kids. Buckle up and bang on. Happy Labor Day!
