My takeaways from recent @CastleIslandVC stablecoins report. (Nice job @nic__carter)
Hard not to get excited.
1/ Real world use.
Blue bars down while green line up shows that stablecoins are increasingly used for everyday payments not just crypto speculation.2/ Trillions in settlement.
On track for $5.3 trillion in stablecoin settlement in 2024. This is about 1/3rd of Visa's annual settlement.
Feb 23, 2023 • 11 tweets • 1 min read
The Coinbase thing is a big deal.
Ten reasons why:
1/ They choose Ethereum instead of launching their own L2. This is a massive vote of confidence for Ethereum.
He says @elonmusk and the OpenAI tribe are putting a demon summoning circle in every household.
He's given up.
"So this is what humanity will elect to do. We will not have more grace, not even here at the very end."
@ESYudkowsky@elonmusk "When everything is in ruins you may as well speak the truth"
Oct 13, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
1/ We had $718m in hacks in crypto this quarter.
$3 billion this yr.
"It's early, hacks will happen"
Yes.
But that's no longer good enough. Not when we face nation state level attacks.
And if we remain cavalier & don't defend our code, it'll cost us.
Thread:
2/ Notice when things turned ugly in the U.S.
The banning of Tornado.
It happened after the $625m Ronin hack. North Korea attackers made off w/ millions, pushed it through Tornado, & rattled U.S. defence aparatice.
An enemy of America got a new business model. Hacking crypto.
"We believed in everything to the fullest" - @KyleLDavies
They went all in on speculative projects, using margin, and didn't hedge. Kinda like gambling.
Jun 7, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Does crypto bring equality?
One person will say crypto gives us a fair & egalitarian system. Another will point at crypto's wealth inequality & disagree.
That's because "freedom" and "equality" mean different things to different people.
There's a conflict of visions.
2/ Crypto people generally emphasize equality of process. Do I have the freedom to fork? To run a node? To get my transaction in at the market price?
Am I treated equally as all other participants? No bias. No special interests. Algorithms not humans.
Equality of process.
Jan 20, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
1/ L1 econ
Every layer 1 chain needs to be defended.
This costs money.
You pay for the defense in two ways.
1) Inflate your money supply 2) Tax blockspace sales
If your inflation costs exceed your tax revenue you're operating at a deficit. A deficit is not sustainable.
2/ The way to create a sustainable layer 1 chain is by making your blockspace valuable.
If your blockspace isn't valuable, people won't pay for it. They'll go elsewhere. Lower tax revenue. Deficits. Money printing.
Every chain competes to make their blockspace more valuable.
Nov 5, 2021 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Why I'm bullish on blockspace.
People forget what blockchains sell.
Apple sells iPhones.
Facebook sells eyeballs.
Blockchains sell blocks.
A thread:
2/ “I think blockspace is the best product to be selling in the 2020s.”
Supply of fiat currencies like USD are subject to the policies of central banks, making them a tool of nation-state politics. Need to reduce unemployment, increase GDP, or stimulate markets? Issue fiat. Can’t pay off the fiscal policy debt? Issue more
May 16, 2019 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Ethernomics 101
Beyond the technical, most people don’t know what Ethereum really is or the fundamental reasons why Ether is valuable
A thread...
2/ What is Ethereum?
Right now, the world's economic networks are mostly nation states. We talk of the US economy or the European economy or the Chinese economy
But crypto allows the separation of economy from nation state
Ethereum is an economy without a nation state
Jan 6, 2019 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
1/ What if Dai becomes the main MoE & UoA in the Eth economy?
This resembles an older era of money when dollars could be redeemed for value in gold. Ether as the commodity money backing a general use currency
Let's explore the relationship between Ether & Dai:
2/ In order for Dai supply to grow it must collateralize tokenized value. Today each Dai is backed by $2-3 worth of Ether. In the future, other tokenized value beside Ether will be accepted in Dai, but it's hard to see a world where Ether doesn't remain the primary collateral
Dapp implies a holistic user experience, a UI. It’s a carryover term we stole from Web/Mobile (We added a “d” to the word app—how clever!)
Nov 6, 2018 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
A topic that deserves way more discussion: composability
Composability in the context of smart-contracts, Eth 2.0, network effects, and constellation chains.
And, are we killing composability in our scaling approaches?
First, what is it?
A smart contract performs a specific function, but is also a building block. Composability is the ability to string together these blocks to build new things
Want a tokenized S&P500 asset? Ok. How? Use an Augur mkt hedged w/ 0x-powered sETH dydx derivative wrapped in Set bundle
Aug 24, 2018 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Eth core devs call didn't make a decision on a revision to block issuance, it listened to arguments then kicked a decision to next Friday
Vitalik's absence from this core dev call was telling—maybe he eschews any appearance of the "benevolent dictator” label
My takes:
A human-driven monetary supply schedule is a attack vector for Ethereum
It’s understandable that devs want the ability to adjust monetary parameters prior to PoS, however they must recognize a TBD supply policy leaves Ethereum open to politicking by self-interested parties
Aug 16, 2018 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
A short analysis on Maker.
If Maker secures it's smart-contract & gets the economic parameters right it becomes a shelling point for loans. A global debt protocol for a new wave of crypto banks
Maker doesn’t need to own the UX. If it achieves low borrowing costs, second layers build on top. Think Coinbase Bank w money market accounts & lending services using Maker CDPs
Crypto banks will use Maker purely for profit motive, just as banks wrap services around T-bills
Aug 14, 2018 • 10 tweets • 1 min read
10 takes on the future of crypto from the depths of a bear market:
The 2017 run-up & 2018 freefall is only a micro-bubble—the crypto mega bubble is yet to come
Ethereum isn’t dead—it’s just getting started. It will become obvious that ETH is a neo-money competitor, backed by an economy of open financial primitives
