Making Markets

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Jenkins, creator of Jenkins the Valet. For those unfamiliar, Jenkins was one of the first creators to explore the full potential of utilizing the IP granted by the ownership of an NFT. In this conversation, we explore how Jenkins developed the story around the digital character, how this character evolved into its own being, and how that initial act of storytelling opened up an impressive amount of business opportunities. Please enjoy my conversation with Jenkins.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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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

[00:02:10] - [First question] - His opinion on the power and drawbacks of pseudonymity 

[00:03:59] - The doxxing of the founders of the Bored Ape Yacht Club

[00:05:27] - How separate his avatar/NFT life is from his personal one 

[00:08:12] - Buying Jenkins from the secondary market and the first story he wrote

[00:11:41] - Was Jenkins a business from the beginning or did it happen naturally?

[00:15:34] - What Jenkins the Valet is and its role in the larger scope of this project 

[00:19:17] - The writer room structure and NFTs for participating in it

[00:22:16] - Pros and cons of IP ownership and licensing for creating content

[00:25:38] - Economic structure of their NFTs and participating without an avatar

[00:28:25] - Believing in the ownership of commercial rights in the community

[00:30:28] - How comfortable he is with living both on and off chain

[00:34:17] - Signing with a professional talent agency and trying to explain the project to traditional publishing outlets

[00:38:12] - Were there multiple authors wanting to get in before Neil Strauss?

[00:39:51] - Whether or not the Bored Ape Yacht Club founders reached out as this project continued to build momentum 

[00:41:50] - His thoughts on where and how value accrues

[00:42:28] - How much money was raised via NFT sales and outside investments

[00:46:04] - The level of participation rates in community decisions for the writers room

[00:47:31] - Which group has showcased the most interest to be featured in the second book

[00:48:34] - Who is Mutant Jenkins and who runs the account

[00:50:11] - What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years

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My guest today is Diogo Monica, co-founder and President of Anchorage Digital. Diogo started Anchorage in 2017 to meet the growing institutional need to custody and use crypto assets. The business has since grown into a full-service financial platform for institutions, allowing them to securely participate in web3. Our discussion breaks down Anchorage’s business, explores what great digital security looks like, and reveals what new behaviors web3 is unlocking for traditional institutions. Please enjoy this breakdown of Anchorage Digital.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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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

[00:02:10] - [First question] - Why he got into the crypto space and the path that led him to founding Anchorage 

[00:05:23] - An overview of digital security and where people should spend their time learning about it

[00:08:46] - A future of perfect authentication and data protection being so core to this space

[00:12:59] - How custody should be considered in the modern world and with digital assets

[00:18:29] - What it means to be a great qualified institutional custodian

[00:24:47] - The business and unit economics of a custody driven company

[00:27:37] - What it was like working with their first big institutional client

[00:30:22] - Speed as a component of digital security and its implications writ large  

[00:35:21] - How they’re differentiated from their competitors by expanding beyond custody

[00:39:16] - Different challenges between securing NFTs versus currencies and tokens

[00:42:13] - New behaviors he finds most interesting about institutions due to Anchorage

[00:48:16] - Breakdown of what players and services constitute Anchorage’s clients today

[00:50:54] - The best case scenario for the future of the business

[00:53:07] - What would worry him about Anchorage’s development 

[00:55:25] - Opportunities he finds most interesting that haven't materialized yet 

[00:57:16] - Will we need a public blockchain to create the infrastructure needed to bring the world to a more crypto-fluid place

[00:59:37] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

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This is Eric Golden, and my guest today is Micah Johnson the creator and artist behind Aku Dreams. Micah’s story as a pro baseball player turned famed NFT artist and Aku’s story, are both unique and inspiring. We dive into how Micahs childhood inspired the story behind Aku, what he has learned from his success, and tips for artists in the space. Please enjoy my conversation with Micah.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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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

[00:02:04] - [First question] - His backstory and becoming a professional baseball player

[00:03:34] - Who inspired him to pursue a professional career in baseball

[00:04:38] - Whether he had any moments of doubt in his pursuit of the big league

[00:05:16] - Where he found time for painting outside of baseball

[00:06:17] - The origin story of Aku and stepping into the NFT space 

[00:08:17] - Making the transition from physical to digital art

[00:09:27] - The power of his message and the reach it’s had

[00:10:42] - Symbolism of the astronaut mask and where the name Aku came from  

[00:12:02] - How much is planned out in advance when releasing art in chapters

[00:13:59] - The size of the team when they started and where it is today

[00:15:02] - How much revenue they’ve generated and IP wealth

[00:16:12] - The Aku IP structure and how it works

[00:16:49] - What’s worked for him when it comes to community building

[00:18:02] - How different levels of ownership contribute and govern the project

[00:19:10] - Go-to-market products and how community impacts the creative vision

[00:20:37] - Adding value to early adopters and believers in the project

[00:22:01] - Worries about a lack of community engagement and constantly delivering

[00:23:12] - NFTs as a tool in native Web3 companies and how the business model works

[00:24:06] - Receiving movie offers so early and community driven IP

[00:25:42] - How he’s learned so many skills over his lifetime and thoughts on training 

[00:26:34] - Trying to remove money as a target and what success looks like for Aku

[00:27:21] - Lessons that can be shared with new creators in the NFT space 

[00:28:14] - Projects that have inspired him that cross over from web3 to media 

[00:28:55] - Examples where he’s overridden community decisions and why

[00:29:40] - Surprising ways Aku has impacted the lives of different people 

[00:30:56] - Intimate details and Aku as a diary of his lived experience

[00:32:45] - What he’s most excited to build over the next six months and six years  

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My guest today is Axie Infinity co-founder, Jeff "Jiho" Zirlin. The Colossus team covered the Axie origin story through Business Breakdowns in September of last year but we felt it was an ideal time to revisit the "play-to-earn" pioneer. Jiho and I cover his involvement with the Axie ecosystem including gameplay, the economic model, and creating a sidechain. Please enjoy my conversation with Jiho.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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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

[00:02:02] - [First question] - His history and what lead him to work on Axie Infinity

[00:05:26] - The arc of gaming and its evolution leading up to today

[00:07:12] - A high-level overview of Axie Infinity and how you play it

[00:08:21] - The size, scope, and user base of Axie today

[00:09:10] - Thoughts on onboarding and educating their player base 

[00:10:53] - What he thought Axie could become in the early days

[00:12:42] - Difficulties of creating a sustainable game with an economic structure

[00:15:26] - Why there was such huge adoption in the Philippines 

[00:16:53] - The guild’s scholarship model and endorsing Web3 literacy

[00:18:06] - Whether or not the game has always been designed to be a window into crypto

[00:19:41] - Thoughts on how Axie could impact the real world 

[00:21:37] - Why build their own chain, wallet, and ecosystem and how he’d build it today

[00:23:46] - Challenges scaling their business with their own unique ecosystem

[00:25:46] - Internal politics and user mentality around Axie and Sky Mavis

[00:26:46] - Managing and aligning user expectations and how many employees they have

[00:29:51] - Deciding which levers to pull on and which to retire for the sake of the project

[00:32:45] - Understanding how changes made positively impact Axie

[00:33:31] - Inflation and deflation cycles of in-game currency and native tokens

[00:34:24] - Changing player dynamics and public response to them

[00:35:38] - How the structure of the game rewards the builders and what having an Axie unlocks for players

[00:37:19] - Future developments, the builder program, and plans for the future

[00:39:01] - Why play-to-earn is different than play-and-earn gaming

[00:40:55] - How Ronin works and unique characteristics compared to other L2 chains

[00:49:55] - When we may see another game developer build on Ronin

[00:50:36] - What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years

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In November 2021, Graham Novak texted his friend Austin Cain with an idea. He wanted to buy the US Constitution. Little did they know, the next week of their lives would play out like a Hollywood movie script. When we look back on the ConstitutionDAO, I think we’ll remember it as a symbolic and historically significant event in crypto. To cover that moment, I sat down with Graham Novak and Miguel Piedrafita, two core contributors to the project. We dive into the intense 96 hours leading up to the bid, how decisions were coordinated, and just how they managed to raise 40 million dollars in less than a week. This is one of the most fun episodes I can imagine. Please enjoy.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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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

[00:02:27] - [First question] - What led him to text a friend about buying the Constitution

[00:04:14] - What steps they mulled over doing first to accomplish this purchase

[00:05:07] - How quickly this went from idea to reality and the chances of it succeeding

[00:06:00] - Who they called next to start bringing this DAO to life

[00:07:27] - Figuring out who would do what in order to accomplish this

[00:08:43] - When the group went from known people to bringing outsiders into the fold 

[00:10:03] - Getting in touch with Sotheby’s and proposing their idea to purchase as a DAO 

[00:11:37] - Some of the stipulations that Sotheby’s said would need to be met  

[00:12:52] - At what point they engaged lawyers to integrate legal structure 

[00:15:01] - What they were actually buying when you sent ETH in to contribute to the fund

[00:18:46] - Stepping into day two with a legal structure and how big the group became

[00:21:30] - Thinking about the security and the concept going viral on social media

[00:22:55] - The tools used to construct the DAO and secure the funds 

[00:25:46] - An example of a split decision in the group and how it was resolved

[00:28:06] - Who should have control over the funds and why they doxxed themselves

[00:31:49] - Turning JuiceBox on what percentage of possibility day three brought 

[00:32:44] - Making the contributed funds raised open to the public 

[00:34:14] - Convincing large investors and large anonymous contributors

[00:35:38] - What number was needed to enter and be competitive in the auction 

[00:36:51] - How many in the DAO attended the auction 

[00:37:35] - Who was on the phone with David and who was on the phone with Brooke

[00:38:57] - Varying tweets about the outcome of the auction about winning or losing

[00:43:17] - What it was like when Ken’s team contacted the DAO for co-governance

[00:46:19] - Plans for the document if they won and managing refunds after the loss

[00:50:39] - Introducing ideas for the We The People token and continuing the DAO

[00:54:38] - What are some of the criticisms of the movement and things they would have done differently in hindsight

[00:56:41] - How the DAO could have been more decentralized from day one 

[01:01:12] - Inspiring the masses and what they’re excited to see people try in the future

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My guest today is Tina He. Tina is currently building Station.Express, a new blockchain-based labor marketplace. We discuss Tina’s personal journey as an online contributor, what drives her passion for creating a new future for work, and how Station.Express is differentiating itself from Web2 platforms. When I first spoke to Tina, I walked away incredibly impressed at her enthusiasm around this specific problem, and I think you will be too. Please enjoy my conversation with Tina.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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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

[00:02:10] - [First question] - Starting a blog at 14 in China and how China handled it

[00:04:56] - What her vision of America was when she got here and how it helped her career

[00:07:13] - Going from an elite program to a highly competitive job market and how it shaped her perspectives on meritocracy and work

[00:09:30] - How the blockchain helps reputation and can streamline hiring talent

[00:11:53] - Example of how work and actions can be stored on the blockchain

[00:13:41] - What Station Express is and what they’re trying to achieve

[00:15:33] - A good example of authenticating one’s work and proving your reputation

[00:19:09] - Ways they are preventing this system from becoming a popularity contest

[00:20:22] - Token integration within the ecosystem

[00:21:23] - Different structures the hiring side can create to incentivize talent

[00:24:49] - Normalizing the different rating systems DAOs will have and their scoring system

[00:27:17] - How Station Express tries to solve voting on and rating subjective work

[00:30:35] - Approaching starting a business like this and what has to happen first

[00:31:35] - Helping moderators build their resumes even if it seems counterproductive

[00:33:21] - What Station Express will look like in its full form and its impact on Web3

[00:34:56] - How pseudonymity and a global landscape impacts the future of work

[00:40:35] - What she’s most excited about in the next six months and six years

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Today, I am joined by Ari Paul, co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of BlockTower; a crypto hedge fund started in 2017. Before founding BlockTower, Ari spent time at the University of Chicago Endowment and, before that, at Susquehanna as a derivatives trader. Ari has been an active voice in the crypto space for years now, including on the original Hash Power series. With BlockTower being one of the original crypto funds, Ari is an ideal guest to talk about the evolution of crypto markets and where we are today. 

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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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

[00:01:50] - [First question] - How a political science major ended up in investing

[00:05:06] - His perspective on how public opinion has shifted towards embracing crypto

[00:09:58] - Whether or not owning crypto requires you to understand blockchains

[00:13:34] - Setting a valuation for cryptocurrencies 

[00:19:45] - How censorship-resistant currencies could empower bad actors

[00:27:50] - BlockTower’s scale and what kind of investments they make 

[00:31:41] - Thoughts on separating alpha from beta at BlockTower

[00:38:26] - Explaining the protocol risk of crypto to investors

[00:42:38] - Endowment adoption of crypto via fund-to-fund models

[00:45:36] - Differences between equities, tokens, and varying levels of ownership

[00:48:55] - His perspectives on various blockchain asset classes 

[00:54:30] - Parallels between the NFT and DeFi cycles

[01:02:03] - Narrative driven correlations between traditional assets and crypto

[01:05:44] - Defining the current cycle, where we are in it, and his allocations

[01:13:41] - What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years

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Today I am joined by Mike Colyer, the Chief Executive Officer of Foundry, one of the largest players in crypto mining, staking, and financing.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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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

[00:01:55] - [First question] - What he was doing before Bitcoin and what attracted him to crypto and mining specifically

[00:03:21] - Overview of how Bitcoin mining works and the complexity and computing power necessary to participate

[00:05:58] - What role luck plays in mining and winning a block

[00:08:41] - Why some people say that mining is a horrible business

[00:10:42] - The turning point for DCG to get involved in the mining side of crypto

[00:14:03] - Whether or not equipment financing is always the core focus to support miners

[00:15:19] - How a mining pool works and whether or not pools can attack the network

[00:20:19] - His belief as to why China decided to ban mining 

[00:21:46] - Why manufacturers still make Bitcoin’s network vulnerable 

[00:23:17] - How the team at Foundry reacted to China’s decision to ban mining 

[00:24:45] - Thoughts on his role as a distributor and deciding which countries to empower

[00:27:24] - Whether or not Foundry plans on becoming a public company

[00:28:28] - What miners do mechanically on a day-to-day basis 

[00:29:14] - The average return on invested capital when setting up a mining company

[00:29:51] - Why they only mine a small amount of Ether compared to Bitcoin

[00:24:17] - Can miners switch back and forth between assets they mine?

[00:32:14] - How chains convince Foundry to deploy capital and stake on their blockchains

[00:33:18] - Differences between proof-of-work and proof-of-stake blockchains

[00:35:45] - How Ethereum attracts miners and when they’ll move to proof-of-stake

[00:37:05] - The most challenging part of running a mining operation

[00:37:42] - Will we see a world where we can use phones and consumer tech to mine?

[00:38:45] - Can we expect to see energy companies stepping into the mining space? 

[00:41:43] - The countries he’s most excited about that are making strides in mining

[00:42:32] - Thoughts on energy use, consumption and environmental impacts

[00:45:28] - Educating politicians on the advantages and necessity of participating in mining

[00:46:18] - What he’s most excited about seeing built in the short term and mid-term 

[00:48:05] - Learn more about mining; foundrydigital.com

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Hello, this is Eric Golden and my guest today is Dan Hannum, the Chief Operating Officer of ZenLedger, a crypto tax software similar to TurboTax. Dan is here today to help us understand the evolving world of taxes and the impact on crypto, DeFi and NFTs.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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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

[00:01:56] - [First question] - How the US tax code is currently structured as it relates to crypto

[00:03:38] - Classifying cryptocurrencies and taxable events when using and trading them

[00:07:24] - Assigning your cost basis based on your transaction 

[00:09:53] - Structuring data reported from exchanges and how it’s changed over time

[00:13:09] - What the IRS was suing Coinbase for and why 

[00:15:47] - Thoughts on DeFi and reporting transactions to the IRS

[00:18:06] - Airdropped tokens and ways to think about them from a tax perspective

[00:21:34] - Tax loss harvesting and crypto tax loopholes 

[00:23:42] - Tax rates for individuals and companies being involved in crypto full-time  

[00:25:42] - Writing off lost hard-wallets and reporting losses

[00:29:54] - Burner addresses as proof of destruction or loss

[00:31:23] - ZenLedger’s customer base and a focus on retail investors

[00:34:38] - Keep track of your transaction sources for aggregating your data

[00:36:56] - What he’s most excited to build over the next six months and next ten years

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This is Eric Golden, and today I'm covering Ethereum Name Service, also known as ENS. In non-technical terms, a naming service allows you to map human-readable words to computer-based numbers. Listeners are likely familiar with Domain Name Services, DNS, which translates a website name such as joincolossus.com into an Internet Protocol address. ENS is similar, but instead of mapping to an IP address, domains are mapped to Ethereum addresses. When I bought my ENS address, I assumed the use case was to rename my wallet and make it easier than memorizing a bunch of random numbers. But as you will hear on this episode, the use case goes well beyond naming a wallet. To cover this wide-ranging topic, we called on a wide-ranging guest, Brantly Millegan, or better known as Brently.eth. We walk through the ENS backstory, why it seems to be winning over other blockchain-based naming services, and what the future may hold for ENS. There are some really interesting strategic points in this episode that listeners will appreciate. Please enjoy the conversation. 

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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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

[00:02:37] - [First question] - Who he was before crypto and how he ended up there

[00:04:56] - How he found his way into the ENS space 

[00:05:40] - Overview of DNS and domain ownership as it exists today

[00:08:48] - The Zooko triangle and how naming currently works

[00:10:31] - Previous attempts at ENS and how they differ from its final form

[00:14:07] - Deciding to build a system on top of the existing naming infrastructure

[00:20:59] - What you’re buying when purchasing an ENS name

[00:23:28] - How many years you can own your ENS name

[00:24:16] - Are you renting the name or buying it

[00:25:11] - Domain squatting and how they handle it today in this emergent space

[00:30:25] - How much you can do with an ENS name

[00:31:53] - Can ENS names be used as wallet addresses

[00:33:18] - If he would have built it on a different blockchain if the project started today

[00:35:06] - Name collisions, country domains, and working with Ethiopia 

[00:40:53] - Whether or not there will be competitors in name services in the future

[00:42:29] - Funding the project with grants and the capital that built ENS

[00:46:47] - Forming their DAO and the responsibility of token ownership

[00:48:44] - Arriving at the formula to distribute tokens to name holders

[00:55:22] - Token holder influence over the project and internal voting

[00:57:16] - The difference between a protocol and a product

[00:58:23] - KYC, data privacy, and integrating ENS names for account logins

[01:05:41] - What subdomains are and where they could take the project

[01:07:36] - A future where everything on the planet is named and serialized

[01:09:46] - What he’s most focused on building over the next six months and next ten years

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