Making Markets

Today we are re-sharing our Hash Power documentary. This series was originally released in September 2017 when 1 Bitcoin hovered around $4000 US Dollars. While so much has changed in the years since - these episodes are a great introduction to the technology, the power of decentralization, Bitcoin, Ethereum, ICO's, cryptography, and hashing. You will hear from a variety of industry experts throughout these episodes - 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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Original Intro (10.03.17)

In episode 1 of Hash Power, we explored blockchains as a technology—how they work, why tokens (also known as cryptocurrencies) are an integral part of any blockchain, and how these new networks might change the world. In episode two, we spend time with the leading investors in the field. Like any frenzied asset class, there are countless cryptocurrency hedge funds popping up everywhere. But founders from three of the original firms—Polychain, Metastable, and Blocktower Capital—are our primary guides this week.

As I speak, the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies is $136B. There are hundreds of tokens currently available, but bitcoin and Ethereum represent 75% of the total market cap. $136B sounds like a big number, but its tiny relative to any other asset class—and I use that term with hesitation. To put it in perspective, that’s exactly the same size as the market cap of IBM. But IBM had more than $10B of earnings in 2016. Tokens have none. As you will hear, valuing tokens is a very hard exercise.

In such a nascent world, we are seeing investing strategies take hold. Olaf Carlson-Wee, Josh Seims, and Ari Paul walk us through different takes on cryptocurrency investing, be it early stage, long term buy and hold, or more hedge fund style strategies.

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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 | @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes:

[00:00:05] – Recap of part 1 and introduction to part 2 of Hash Power

[00:02:58] – Ari Paul, CIO of Blocktower explains how he got involved in cryptocurrencies

[00:05:23] – Why do we need bitcoin

[00:07:23] – Polychain Capital founder Olaf Carlson-Wee on why the value of tokens accrue

[00:09:23] – How mainstream money is getting into this space

[00:12:26] – Useful comparisons when talking about ICOs when compared to IPOs

[00:15:01] – Naval Ravikant, CEO of Angellist, is asked to explain the protocols of cryptocurrencies to platform businesses like Uber or Airbnb

[00:20:25] – What are the most compelling counter-arguments to using cryptocurrencies

[00:23:07] – Olaf Carlson Wee on the lifecycle of a token

[00:25:31] – What is the earliest stage that edge is most present for investors in cryptocurrency protocols

[00:28:12] – How do you mitigate the volatility that is present in blockchain

[00:31:18] – Jeremiah Lowin, a risk and statistics expert, who runs risk management for a large private family office, talks about why he no longer owns cryptocurrencies

[00:34:19] – Jordan Cooper, a venture capital investor, is optimistic about blockchains in general, but thinks there may be some overvaluations in current currencies

[00:43:52] – Josh Seims, of Metastable, the value investor in blockchain?

[00:51:15] – Ari Paul on the equivalent of listed stocks in the cryptocurrency world

[00:55:07] – The fairground analogy to understand cryptocurrencies

[01:02:48] – Where do family offices stand when it comes to jumping into this space

[01:06:51] – Ari is asked to discuss some of the alternative cryptocurrencies

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Today we are re-sharing our Hash Power documentary. This series was originally released in September 2017 when 1 Bitcoin hovered around $4000 US Dollars. While so much has changed in the years since - these episodes are a great introduction into the technology, the power of decentralization, Bitcoin, Ethereum, ICO's, cryptography, and hashing. You will hear from a variety of industry experts throughout these episodes - 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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Original Intro (09.26.17)

Welcome to the first episode of Hash Power, an audio documentary that explores the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies with leaders in the field like Naval Ravikant, Olaf Carlson-Wee, Fred Ehrsam, & Ari Paul. Hash Power is meant to be an introduction, but really, it is an invitation to explore this emerging world on your own. 

We will cover the technology, the power of decentralization, bitcoin, Ethereum, ICOs, cryptography and hashing. We will spend time with the leading active hedge fund managers in the field, and with outside investors who are both optimistic and skeptical. Episode one covers the big picture, and answers the question: what is blockchain and why might it significantly affect our world?

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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 | @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes:

[00:03:25] – CHAPTER 1 – Understanding the Concept of Blockchain

[00:04:30] – Jeremiah Lowin explains how blockchain is like a database

[00:05:46] – Owning a digital asset

[00:07:14] – Naval Ravikant, CEO of Angelist on how blockchains can help to create personal networks and organize humans

[00:11:01] – How blockchains represent a way to coordinate global activity through tokens

[00:13:33] – New coins popping up around data storage and utility needs like solar panels

[00:14:57] – Permission vs permissionless networks

[00:16:37] – Protocols and the introduction of scarcity

[00:18:13] – Keeping track of scarcity and the introduction of tokens

[00:18:49] – Societal structures and how blockchains will change them again

[00:21:55] – The role of blockchains in the informational age and the rise of more individual sovereignty

[00:23:29] – Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase, on the increasing shift to digital worlds led by incentive structures

[00:27:48] – CHAPTER 2 – Blockchain Technology

[00:31:53] – Charlie Noyes, Pantera Capital, explains how SHA-256 was developed and what makes it so special

[00:35:48] – How miners create new blocks and the incentives to do so

[00:40:22] – The nonce field

[00:43:48] – The incentives that exist for miners and the arms race to build more powerful systems to mine

[00:45:20] – The development of mining pools

[00:46:54] – Ethereum, the “spiritual successor” to bitcoin

[00:48:36] – How the Ether network is an ecosystem in which other tokens can sit

[00:50:51] – Naval Ravikant on alternative coins or tokens

[00:51:37] – How the protocol creators are the ones getting wealthy

[00:52:43] – Blockchain as an experiment in distributed government

[00:54:10] – How cryptocurrency is more than just technology, it’s a movement

[01:00:07] – Peter Jubber, of Fidelity, on how huge institutions, like theirs, are getting into the cryptocurrency game

[01:03:34] – The notion of cooperation in an open-source project or protocol

[01:04:39] – Olaf Carlson-Wee, the first employee at Coinbase and the founder of Polychain, on the early excitement for cryptocurrency

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Welcome to our new show, Web3 Breakdowns. We want to be your on ramp into this new decentralized world, and through conversations with builders, creators, and investors, we will do our best to help you understand and navigate this emerging ecosystem.

First up, we are breaking down the NFT project and cultural phenomenon, Bored Ape Yacht Club. To help break down Bored Apes, I am joined by Eric Golden, former Portfolio Manager at Fidelity and current Bored Ape owner. Eric and I start with an overview of the Bored Ape Yacht Club and his path to owning an NFT in the collection. We then use Bored Apes as a lens to understand how NFT projects are not just creating rare art but strong membership communities too. Beyond the cultural differences between NFT communities, it was fascinating to hear how projects are differentiating themselves with IP ownership, roadmaps, and DAOs. Please enjoy this breakdown of the Bored Ape Yacht Club.

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 | @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes

[00:02:30] - [First question] - What the Bored Ape Yacht Club is

[00:03:39] - Motivations for owning a Bored Ape compared to traditional art 

[00:07:46] - The scope of prices, hierarchy, turnover, and trading overview of these NFTs

[00:09:51] - Distribution of rarity and why it matters 

[00:11:29] - How the project roadmap is managed by the member community

[00:16:23] - Who are the members and the key stewards of steering the ship

[00:18:08] - An example of a project where the owners don’t own the IP of their NFT

[00:20:56] - Underlying fundamentals and utility behind owning a Bored Ape 

[00:26:36] - Thoughts on fungible tokens inside of non-fungible projects

[00:29:06] - Ways to think about the value proposition of owning an Ape and an Ape token 

[00:30:36] - Different options for minting NFTs and their pros and cons

[00:34:36] - Literal mechanics of the minting process

[00:36:59] - Smart contract mediating of combining NFTs to generate rare ones

[00:39:20] - Building a bottom up brand and other examples of this trend

[00:41:50] - Are NFTs just gambling, or will they become investable assets like physical art

[00:46:09] - Blockchain infrastructure of the NFT space and whether it’ll stay on Ethereum

[00:48:48] - What makes the Bored Ape Yacht Club so innovative compared to other projects

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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, investors and influencers to understand this emerging ecosystem. Visit joincolossus.com to find more episodes, transcripts and a library of content to continue your learning.

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