Making Markets

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. Commissioner Peirce was sworn into the SEC in 2018. During her tenure, she has been a vocal advocate of free markets and a supporter of the crypto industry, to the point where she is often referred to as “Crypto Mom”. Regulation is a huge issue for our industry and I hope you’ll walk away from this discussion with a better appreciation for the nuance around protecting investors while letting innovation flourish. Please enjoy my conversation with Commissioner Hester Peirce. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag  Show Notes[00:02:15] - [First question] - The role of a regulator and the relationship between a regulator and the sector or product they oversee[00:04:29] - Her thoughts on how regulators are more like lifeguards than parents[00:05:36] - Striking a balance that allows innovation to thrive instead of suppressing it[00:07:17] - Overview of the 3 pronged approach of the SEC’s crypto mission[00:10:15] - Being painted as an entirely fraudulent industry full of bad actors[00:11:18] - What it’s like working inside of the seeming blackbox that is the SEC[00:13:33] - How many of the 4,500 employees are dedicated to crypto and finances[00:14:19] - Internal debates and public meetings amongst the commissioners  [00:16:18] - Ways the commissioners learn about crypto being unable to participate in it[00:17:36] - Whether or not there are restrictions on crypto ownership for the rest of the SEC[00:20:38] - Managing the entrepreneurial spirit as we navigate the legalities of crypto[00:23:16] - How revolutionary it would be if TradFi transactions were on a public blockchain [00:26:29] - Risky corporate assets and how blockchains could have averted the 2008 crisis[00:28:47] - Difficulties of being a regulator and respecting the responsibility [00:29:56] - Self-reporting and the crypto community reporting suspicious activity[00:32:12] - A skin-in-the-game investment that promotes self-education[00:34:24] - Where the Safe Harbor stands and what it’ll take for it to move forward[00:35:37] - The Howey Test and realizing we need new securities laws[00:37:59] - Going from a security to a non-security and instruments that allow a transition[00:39:25] - Leading a commission and if there’s a risk of losing a case[00:43:18] - Alternative Trading Systems and Communications Protocol Systems[00:45:03] - When the market could expect a spot Bitcoin ETF[00:46:50] - NFT financialization and how they might need to be regulated[00:48:12] - Her thoughts on DAOs and they’re rapid evolution[00:50:29] - The underbanked using crypto and whether or not it impacts the SEC’s agenda[00:51:54] - Emergence of stablecoins and her thoughts on their development[00:53:37] - What role if any might self-regulating organizations play in the future[00:56:35] - What she’s excited to see achieved over the rest of her term and what are some exciting dates or events she’s watching in the crypto space Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Laura Shin. Laura is a crypto journalist, host of the Unchained podcast, and author of the book The Cryptopians. While writing her book, Laura uncovered one of the biggest mysteries in crypto - who was behind the 2016 DAO hack on Ethereum. We cover that episode in detail, her methods for gathering information in crypto more broadly, and what she learned from studying the founding of Ethereum. Please enjoy my conversation with Laura Shin. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag  Show Notes[00:02:11] - [First question] - When she knew she wanted to become a journalist[00:04:06] - Stepping into crypto seven years ago and what pulled her into it[00:06:23] - Forbes’ thoughts on her covering crypto and going full-time[00:07:39] - Her TedX 2018 presentation and how her predictions held up today [00:10:39] - Doing 200 interviews over 2 years to write The Cryptopians[00:12:33] - Balancing how wild the story felt with factual evidence-based reporting[00:15:39] - What it was like to try and gather information in the crypto space[00:17:33] - Who she most relied on to tell the story and who she wishes she could have spoken with while writing it[00:20:25] - Idealists, capitalists and technologists shaping the messy foundation of Ethereum[00:22:19] - How Vitalik maintained his dominance and influence over Ethereum[00:23:54] - Thoughts on how a single figure can have so much power over an ecosystem[00:25:17] - The battle between the Nonprofit and For-Profit status of blockchains[00:28:16] - What made it so difficult to get involved in crypto in the early days[00:29:11] - The first DAO coming together and within a few weeks getting hacked[00:31:22] - Going from journalist to detective and trying to find out who the hacker was[00:38:47] - How nervous she was about someone else breaking the story first[00:42:08] - Big takeaways from illegal activity being traceable on public blockchains[00:45:28] - Why she was able to find the DAO hacker before the government did[00:46:21] - Whether or not there will be a movie made out of Cryptopians[00:46:47] - What she’s most excited to see built in the next six months and six years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Dan Matuszewski, co-founder of CMS Holdings. If you follow Dan on Twitter, you’ll recognize him as one of the wittiest and most fun voices in crypto. In this episode, we cover a wide variety of topics including Dan’s successful trading career that led to the launch of CMS - a proprietary trading firm, why he is so attracted to this space, and how from his perspective markets have evolved over the past few years. We also discuss the importance and mechanics of stablecoins, and it is worth pointing out we recorded this before they became frontpage news last week. Please enjoy my conversation with Dan Matuszewski. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag  Show Notes[00:02:22] - [First question] - Dan’s early years and his first steps into crypto [00:06:17] - Whether or not he was accumulating Bitcoin and saw the long-term utility of cryptocurrencies out of the gate [00:07:41] - How traders would get money in and out of old crypto wallets and exchanges[00:10:16] - Having moments of doubt and why he stuck with crypto amidst it’s shortcomings[00:11:02] - What he was hired at Kraken to do and becoming an active crypto trader[00:13:41] - The ICO coin boom and what it was like trading the order flow in 2017[00:15:20] - Thoughts on what it looked like during the ICO boom as a trading desk[00:16:07] - Where stablecoins came from and why they were so necessary to invent[00:17:59] - Tether’s negative reputation and his views of Tether outside of bad press[00:21:14] - How stablecoins make money and how Circle makes money on USDC[00:21:43] - Thoughts on leverage in the crypto space and how borrow rates affect investment decisions [00:23:48] - Arriving at a risk-free rate and how CMS’ liquidity is structured [00:24:27] - Capital allocation and the size and scope of CMS today [00:25:10] - Differences between running a fund with your own money versus investors[00:26:42] - How megafunds will impact the market[00:27:18] - Getting into exotic collectibles and buying a Triceratops fossil  [00:29:10] - The impacts of the war in Ukraine, inflation and current events on crypto[00:30:01] - The role and impact of leverage in a market selloff [00:31:20] - Coming regulatory oversight and the path ahead [00:32:19] - Why crypto investors and traders prefer the CFTC[00:32:50] - Thoughts on NFTs as an asset class and how his mind has changed on them[00:33:37] - What running a farming operation means and strategies that he runs[00:35:06] - Ways for the average person can get involved in crypto and get exposure [00:35:55] - His information flow and where he sources his signals[00:36:44] - How helpful it is to have a liquid token side and venture capital arm[00:37:05] - What he’s most excited to see in the next six months and six years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Reed McGinley-Stempel. Reed is the co-founder and CEO of Stytch, which is on a mission to eliminate friction and improve security on the internet. Stytch started with passwordless authentication and Reed does a great job explaining why this is so important to businesses. We discuss the power of using Ethereum to sign on to any website and, towards the end of the conversation, Reed shares their newest product, Vessel - a wallet solution that eliminates the need to memorize 12 word seed phrases. Please enjoy my conversation with Reed McGinley-Stempel. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. -----Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag  Show Notes[00:02:18] - [First question] - The history of people using passwords online[00:05:34] - How the password structure we use today came to be [00:08:22] - How attack vectors open up and what hackers do to get your information[00:11:49] - His time at Plaid and how it led to him co-founding Stytch[00:15:20] - What it means to be passwordless for the company and the N users [00:18:17] - How they decided where to put their focus when starting Stytch[00:21:24] - What companies did before Stytch to handle different levels of security[00:22:19] - What the authentication of logging in with Google, Apple or email is [00:25:11] - Their ethos on building for developers and being an API first company[00:28:30] - The pros and cons of being an API company and a SDK company [00:31:45] - His first exposure to the Web3 space and how Stytch plays a role in it[00:36:31] - His thoughts on Web2 and if they will adopt the security measures of Web3[00:40:14] - How Stytch will make it easier to attend something based on token gated access[00:42:52] - What a passport of the internet is and what Stytch is doing with it[00:47:17] - Their onboarding process for users from the Web2 space[00:54:00] - What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and the next six years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Ryan Selkis of Messari. If you have spent any time in the crypto markets - you are likely familiar with Ryan and the Messari research platform. We cover his history in the market, including how he broke the Mt Gox story, his latest thoughts on NFTs, and finally it wouldn't be a conversation with Ryan if we didn't cover the regulatory landscape. Please enjoy this conversation with Ryan Selkis For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag  Show Notes[00:02:09] - [First question] - His early days of first entering the crypto space [00:05:18] - Going to battle with the Bitcoin Foundation and being fearless in his reporting[00:06:19] - Whether he’s always been willing to attack the biggest players in crypto[00:08:42] - When he moved over to DCG and what it was like in the early days[00:11:11] - The ICO boom and how the founding vision of Messari has changed over time [00:12:59] - What it means to build the operating system for Web3[00:15:02] - The transition phase from the old world into one lead by DAOs[00:16:19] - Defining companies as a marketplace[00:17:32] - Where he’s seeing opportunity and how companies evolve into DAOs[00:18:19] - His top 3 areas for 2022 and going from an NFT bear into an advocate[00:20:15] - Proof-of-knowledge, opt-in cookies, and growing NFT infrastructure[00:22:08] - The Web3 ecosystem and how regulation impacts the different parts of it[00:24:27] - How the definition of securities are changing and how the crypto industry can shape the future of regulation[00:25:46] - The SEC’s role in regulation and wanting dramatic change in that system[00:29:39] - Stablecoins, algorithmic stablecoins, and why they’re so important[00:31:11] - Thoughts on LUNA using BTC as their reserve currency[00:31:57] - How narratives shape markets and the impacts of media on crypto[00:33:31] - Publicly sharing their portfolio positions as analysts and why[00:34:38] - What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden and today I am hosting Fredrik Haga - co-founder and CEO of Dune. For anyone involved in the crypto markets, you have likely come across a Dune analytics dashboard. In this podcast, we cover Fredrik's background and motivation to start Dune, why he pivoted early to offer a free service, and what he's excited to build in the future. Please enjoy my conversation with Fredrik. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag  Show Notes[00:02:05] - [First question] The early origins of Dune back in 2018[00:06:45] - Trying to fundraise for the first time and having a business model in mind  [00:09:24] - From selling dashboards to making it free and open source[00:10:42] - Gaining momentum in 2020 during the crypto summer and fundraising again[00:14:50] - What Dune Analytics is and how their product works[00:18:30] - Who Hildobby is and the dynamics between Opensea and Dune [00:24:37] - Thoughts on a digital bank and comparing them to traditional banks[00:29:17] - Dune’s business model and how they’ll generate revenue in the future[00:30:43] - Whether or not there will be a native $DUNE token [00:32:08] - Dune’s data treasure trove and how it’s still largely untapped[00:34:57] - What he’s looking forward to building over the next six months and the next six years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are trying something a little different. We’re going to do a quarterly recap. Similar to investor letters that are so common in traditional finance, we thought it would be fun to cover the most interesting topics across Web3 that happened this past quarter by gathering questions from our listeners. Enjoy! For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag  Show Notes[00:01:39] - [First question] - Eric’s takeaways from crypto’s performance in Q1 writ large[00:04:26] - Was anything proven out in Bitcoin’s performance relative to Gold[00:07:48] - Thoughts on the performance of BTC compared to ETH[00:10:27] - Other benchmark assets in crypto used to track performance of the asset class[00:12:39] - Evaluating the performance of NFTs and the impact of Ethereum’s price on NFTs[00:16:32] - Thoughts on the trend of user adoption in Q12022 compared to Q12021[00:21:27] - Where we stand in the geopolitical narrative and it has played out in real time[00:27:00] - Development and politics in emerging markets around adopting cryptocurrencies[00:30:42] - Thoughts on the executive order in the US in regards to regulation[00:32:29] - The catalyst of talent drain and how policy can negatively impact US innovation[00:34:38] - Where the majority of capital coming into the market ends up being allocated [00:38:48] - The rise of play-to-earn in 2021 and the environment we’re in today in 2022[00:41:24] - Metaverse’s hype cycle, capital allocation, and potential prospects[00:44:30] - Ways that the Metaverse will crossover into the physical world Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Justin Waldron, co-founder and President of Playco. Justin is a pioneer of the social gaming industry, having co-founded Zynga at age 19 and then Playco, the world’s first instant gaming company. Our conversation explores the industry’s evolution from web to mobile to blockchain, the unique opportunities crypto offers game creators like Justin, and how Playco’s Web3 project, Storyverse, is creating a game engine for communities. Please enjoy my conversation with Justin Waldron. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag  Show Notes[00:02:15] - [First question] - The story of pizza and how he thinks about game design like restaurants [00:06:07] - Why bringing people together with games feels better than simply being together[00:07:40] - Overview of instant gaming and how people can find creativity and joy from it[00:10:34] - How Farmville’s onboarding process brought in so many new players [00:13:59] - How much of game design is planned out versus being accidental [00:18:08] - Why the industry left web-based gaming and went into the mobile and app space[00:24:55] - His thoughts on seeing the industry shift away from his vision[00:27:55] - How he first approached crypto and Web3 game development [00:33:29] - Was he always sure of the direction he wanted to go in Web3[00:38:59] - Where the idea of Storyverse came from and what the vision for it is [00:41:43] - How Storyverse decreases the friction with NFTs and brings them to life[00:45:35] - The ways that their tokens can interact and communicate with stories [00:49:24] - How Storyverse’s IP differs across communities and problems that can arise [00:56:17] - What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and the next six years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, better known as GaryVee. This conversation covers why Gary has so much conviction in blockchain technology, why he sees established companies willing to embrace NFTs, and his vision for how this new medium allows him to build and distribute value today, and far into the future. Please enjoy my conversation with GaryVee. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. -----Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag  Show Notes[00:02:06] - [First question] - Why NFTs are the future and why they’re so powerful[00:04:41] - How his long-term thinking has both helped and hurt his efforts in this space[00:06:24] - Being open about what he’s buying and how a public wallet changes that dynamic[00:09:21] - Whether one can participate in the NFT space without being all in[00:10:47] - How big brands are interacting with NFTs and their adoption cycle[00:12:10] - Whether or not they understand the longevity of their actions and decisions[00:13:46] - Thoughts on separating his public and private life online[00:16:44] - Where his drive and desire to entertain comes from[00:18:47] - How he lets people into his world and betting on people who are “one of us”[00:22:27] - Ways smart contracts will change the future of long term bets on assets[00:25:54] - Things that seem bizarre today that will appear obvious in hindsight[00:28:10] - What he’s most excited to see built in the next six months and six years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Jasmine Maietta, founder of round21. Our conversation is a masterclass in brand building and collaboration. We cover how round21 was able to collaborate with large brands so early, how she builds a digital-physical model around goods, and why it’s so important to speak the same language as your partner, whether they would be a world class athlete or celebrity. Please enjoy this episode with Jasmine. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. ----- Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @ericgoldenx | @patrick_oshag  Show Notes[00:02:09] - [First question] - How round21 ended up collaborating with Budweiser, NFLPA, and Bored Ape Yacht Club[00:04:18] - Overview of round21, their mission, products, and what they do with big brands[00:05:27] - How a traditional athlete sponsorship works today[00:07:43] - Why celebrities entering the NFT space sometimes don’t do as well as they think they will[00:09:45] - The rumor of round21 appearing on Shark Tank and if it’s true[00:11:35] - How interested are athletes in interacting with round21 and what excites them[00:13:21] - If she considers round21 to be a Web2, Web3 or bridge company[00:14:48] - The physical and digital divide of collectibles as it pertains to the customer[00:17:44] - The major differences between the NFL roadmap and the NBA roadmap[00:18:53] - Her insight on pulling off a huge event and how much work and preparation it takes[00:21:28] - Proof of Attendance and how she sees it impacting the world of sports[00:23:05] - What a POAP is and what attendees received for Proof of Moment[00:24:50] - The challenges of running limited run manufacturing and the customer acquisition cycle of a low frequency purchase [00:28:08] - Balancing round21’s brand versus the artist’s or athlete’s brands[00:29:42] - How they work with an artist or athlete when they are unsure of what they want[00:33:43] - Her take on what has been working well in the NFT space and what isn’t[00:35:44] - Advice for keeping brand identity intact with multiple representatives[00:38:22] - Her experience working with big brands over her career and how it’s shaped her learning[00:39:50] - How she would explain the NFT space to a big brand and what their biggest push backs are[00:41:53] - A quick sketch of how she ended up where she is today[00:44:09] - What she is most excited to see built over the next 6 months and the next 6 years Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices