Blockcrunch - 20 Minute Crypto Insights

In today's Roundtable Jason and Sanat discuss Social Apps! They kick things off with a review of friend.tech's Airdrop, before defining ‘Web3 Social’ and ‘SocialFi’. The two then take a look at Farcaster's DAU growth, 'Stealcam', and the value-transfer in Social Apps. The two then discuss fantasy.top, Social Apps monetization, the explosion of pump.fun, and what the total-addressable-market of Social Apps might be. Plus, a whole bunch more—enjoy! Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:20) friend.tech airdrop (06:27) What is ‘Web3 Social’ & ‘SocialFi’  (09:15) Farcaster user growth (10:19) Stealcam (13:25) Value transfer in SocialFi (16:23) fantasy.top (20:19) Early monetization in SocialFi (26:17) pump.fun (33:38) SocialFi TAM (36:34) Analysing SocialFi protocols (40:00) a16z ‘How do you define a Social App?’ (43:19) Define SocialFi users (49:00) Outro    Partner Message: Yield Guild Games (YGG) is a web3 guild protocol that enables players and gaming

In today's episode Jason and Sanat take stock of token fundamentals. The two conduct a deep dive on C/DEX listing strategy, airdrop/liquidity campaigns, liquidity vs token volume, and much more. As well as looking at examples of winners and losers and also commentary on the recent StarkWare controversy, as well as Ethena's success—enjoy! Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:02) “YGG Ad” (04:16) Token/product relationship (06:36) What makes a good token? (15:03) How to get a C/DEX listing (18:17) Exchanges as a price discovery tool (20:18) When/how to engage with CEXs (23:39) Points/aidrops liquidity campaigns (30:16) Liquidity vs volume (36:01) StarkWare controversy (40:19) Ethena review (44:33) Token holders (47:24) Outro   Twitter accounts: Jason Choi’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrjasonchoi   Sanat Kapur’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/kapursanat Blockcrunch VIP: https://blockcrunch.substack.com/ Blockcrunch Twitter:   https://twitter.com/theBlockc

Today Jason is joined by Drift Co-Founder Cindy Leow & Developer Chris Healey. In today’s episode the three discuss the founding story of Drift, why there was a gap in the market for Drift, why the Solana ecosystem made sense, and whether it would if Drift launched today. Cindy and Chris then share their bear market learnings, what they took away from the Luna saga, and Drift’s 2024 roadmap—enjoy!   Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.   This episode is sponsored by YGG. https://www.yieldguild.io/ https://twitter.com/yieldguild   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction  (02:48) Motivation to found Drift (05:05) “YGG Ad”  (05:56) Why Drift chose Solana   (08:16) Ecosystem tradeoffs    (11:07) Drift’s growth   (14:29) Bear market start-up learnings   (15:53) Would Drift choose Solana in 2024?  (19:35) Drift’s USP  (24:21) Cross-collateralization (28:45) Market research findings   (31:16) Luna leveraged short learnings   (36:05) Drift’s roadmap  (38:28) Outro    Twitter accounts: Jason Choi’s Twitt

Today Jason is joined by Arweave Co-Founder & CEO Sam Williams. In this episode the two discuss the founding story of Arweave, solving infinite scalability, smart contract transferability, as well as breaking down actor oriented computing. Sam also explains the possibility of on-chain AI training with AO, AO’s ostensibility, what the ecosystem allows for developers. Plus; the two explore the blockchain trilemma and AO’s roadmap—enjoy!   Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.   This episode is sponsored by YGG.   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction  (02:57) “YGG Ad” (04:02) The history of AO  (09:51) Infinite scalability (14:57) Smart contract transferability (18:04) ELI5: Actor Oriented computing (19:41) Composability trade-offs (27:32) Removing on-chain AI training restraints with AO (28:58) Security trade-offs (32:31) The blockchain trilemma (36:34) AO’s ostensibility (42:22) AO ecosystem builders (45:09) The AO roadmap (49:59) Outro Twitter accounts: Jason Choi’s Twitter:   https://twitte

Today Jason is joined by 9GAG CEO Ray Chan, the Godfather of meme’s. In this episode Ray breaks down how to successfully transition from Web2 to Web3, why the ‘midcurve strategy’ might be best, the best Web3 GTM execution, as well as exploring a framework for Memeland, meme coin fundamentals, and an analysis of the modern day attention economy. For those of you deep in the meme cycle, obsessively on Blast, or otherwise interested in how and why we find ourselves in this memetic cycle, this one’s for you—enjoy. Note: 9GAG is an online platform and social media website based in Hong Kong, which allows its users to upload and share user-generated content or other content from external social media websites, check it out here: https://www.memeland.com/ Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice. This episode is sponsored by YGG. This episode is sponsored by YGG: Yield Guild Games (YGG) is a web3 guild protocol that enables players and gaming guilds to find their community, discover games and level up t

Today Jason is joined by Mahesh Ramakrishnan, Seed Investor at Escape Velocity (EV3). Today Mahesh joins us to discuss all things DePIN. The conversation begins with an overview on the DePIN category and why EV3 has chosen to focus it's attention here. The two then go on to review how the labour market may change as a result of DePIN developments, DePIN's unit economics, bandwidth vs compute providers, as well as EV3's North Star, and 2024's leading DePIN projects. This is not one to miss as we breakdown the past, present, and future of decentralized physical infrastructure—enjoy!   Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:19) Why EV3 focuses on DePIN (05:34) DePIN’s developments (11:22) The future of UBI & DePIN node operators (13:38) DePIN categories  (20:22) DePIN network unit economics  (30:15) Bandwidth vs compute providers  (33:25) EV3’s DePIN market research approach (36:37) EV3’s North Star (40:40) 2024’s leading DePIN projects (44:29) DePIN’s ma

In today’s Roundtable, Jason and Sanat take a moment to assess what has happened in Q1 2024. They kick things off by discussing new BTC ATH's and what this means for liquidity flows and meme coins. As a result, the two turn to venture opportunities this cycle, given the meme activity in recent months. Jason and Sanat then go on to discuss the Jupiter Airdrop, the future of L1s, EigenLayer's $100M raise from a16z, as well as a review on Ethena as the most dominant rev-gen application in crypto right now, and much more — enjoy! Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:01) ETH Denver recap (04:16) BTC ATH review (11:47) Liquidity flows & meme coins (18:36) 2024 cycle venture investing (20:31) $JUP: Jupiter Airdrop (26:21) The future of L1s (30:52) EigenLayer: a16z $100M raise (36:52) Ethena: the biggest rev-driving application in crypto (39:35) Maker Endgame (42:50) BTC L2s (47:57) Uniswap fee switch update (52:13) Outro   Twitter accounts: Jason Choi’s Twi

In today’s Roundtable, Jason and Sanat are joined by Catrina Wang of Portal Ventures. Catrina has written one of the most comprehensive breakdowns of the BTC/BRC thesis to-date. At the time of recording (02/22/24) Bitcoin just broke $50,000, however what’s new this cycle is the BRC phenomenon. Today, BRC’s are at a $3 billion market cap and now more than ever, there’s a rekindled interest in BTC L2s.  In this episode Catrina discusses her thesis in detail, as it relates to BRC reactions, intended target market, adoption strategy, WBTC, BTC L2 vs BitVM, Layer 1 programmability, The Panda Renaissance and much more! Press play now.   Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:31) Catrina’s BTC Thesis (07:29) Initial BRC reactions (09:06) Ordinals & programmability demand  (12:24) BRC target market (15:11) How to achieve BRC adoption  (21:30) How much of the BRC/BTC market is not addressed by WBTC (23:54) BTC L2 vs BitVM (33:15) Centralized L2 trust vs securit

Today Jason is joined by none other than EigenLayer Founder, Sreeram Kannan. Sreeram kicks things off by sharing the founding story of EigenLayer and how Sreeram and the team thought about EigenLayer's value proposition. Jason then digs into the details; what are EigenLayer's Actively Validates Services (AVS)? Are there security assumptions related to slashing? What are the centralisation considerations for EigenLayer? What are the commercial incentives for builders? And much, much more. Enjoy the conversation and please share and like — it goes a long way.   Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:29) EigenLayor’s backstory & Sreeram’s early start (11:05) EigenLayer’s proposition (14:54) EigenLayer’s AVS: Actively Validated Services (19:56) Slashing & security assumptions (29:40) EigenLayer’s centralisation considerations (34:30) Commercial incentives (42:37) Long term incentives: coprocessor & intelligent DeFi (46:40) Best vs worst case for th

In today’s Roundtable 006 episode Jason and Sanat discuss all things Airdrops. They start by reviewing the history of Airdrops, among the most successful releases, before diving deep on trying to objectively evaluate Airdrops and their utility;  are they a good way for retail investors to make money, for founders to grow their projects and whether or not it’s financially sound strategy and business decision. Jason and Sanat dive deep on the data, reviewing on-chain activity and historic examples — this is not one to miss, enjoy   Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:10) Historic tier-1 Airdrops (11:45) Fiat raises vs Airdrops (18:05) Airdrop customer-acquisition-cost analysis (33:32) LayerZero Airdrop speculation (41:50) Gamification of points vs Airdrops (46:12) Whales Market points market (48:48) Points as user retention mechanic critique (52:40) Celestia Airdrop: crypto native user reward strategy (53:40) Points program scrutiny continued (57:30) Outr

In today’s Roundtable 005 episode Jason and Sanat are joined by Blockchain Capital’s Principle, Yuan Han Li, where the three discuss ETH value accrual, ETH’s money utility, before diving deep on infrastructure mechanics and Jason’s changing views on ETH. As well as much, much more — enjoy!   Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.   Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (01:27) Disagreggation of ETH Value Accrual (16:20) $ETH as money (27:40) Modularity conviction (33:11) Fees as behaviour incentive (42:16) Off-chain cryptography as Proofs (50:02) Jason’s changing view on ETH (51:10) Outro   More Resources: Hosts Jason Choi’s Twitter:    / mrjasonchoi   Sanat Kapur’s Twitter:    / kapursanat   Yuan's Twitter: / yuan_han_li   Watch the episode on Youtube: https://rb.gy/yki70a Blockcrunch Blockcrunch VIP: https://blockcrunch.substack.com/ Blockcrunch Twitter:    / theblockcrunch     Disclaimer: The Blockcrunch Podcast (“Blockcrunch”) is an educational resource intended for informational purposes

It’s the start of 2024 and you know what time it is - time for predictions! Don't miss this week's thrilling episode where Jason and Sanat unveil their top 9 predictions for the year: Will ETH ETF bring about another bull run Launch of restaking and future of ETH Will Cosmos ecosystem finally take off And more! Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice. Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Episode introduction (00:02:20) – Will ETH ETF disappoint (00:08:10) – % of ETH that will be restaked (00:14:27) – TVL of Yield projects (00:19:54) – Fees paid by Rollups to ETH  (00:24:25) – ETH’s future (00:32:06) – Will Cosmos finally take off (00:36:50) – Will Apps outperform Infra (00:41:21) – Are Telegram Bots here to stay (00:46:22) – A massive crypto-app will be built on…   More Resources: Hosts Jason Choi’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrjasonchoi Sanat Kapur’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/kapursanat Blockcrunch Blockcrunch VIP: https://blockcrunch.substack.com/ Blockcrunch Twitter: https://twitter.c

In December 2023, Sei Network joined the “billion-dollar network club” in market cap, as its value doubled and its user count skyrocketed. Sei stood out amongst the crypto natives as it claims to be the fastest Layer 1 out there (yes, even faster than Solana) and the first live blockchain to become a parallelized EVM chain.   Today we have Jayendra Jog, Co-Founder of Sei, to share with us  - How did Sei become the fastest blockchain - What is parallelized EVM and why it's a game-changer - Sei’s roadmap in 2024 - And more!   Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice. Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Episode introduction (00:01:04) – What is Sei (00:04:30) – Why is everyone excited for Sei  (00:08:11) – Monolithic vs Modular chains (00:12:10) – Parallelizing transactions vs sequential  (00:20:46) – Solving state bloat with SeiDB (00:27:27) – Expanding beyond Cosmos (00:32:45) – Building on Solana vs Sei (00:35:25) – Does Neon EVM compete with Sei (00:37:19) – Why Sei can’t be forked as a rollup (00:40:50) –

Stablecoins represent a significant segment of the cryptocurrency market due to their widespread applicability. So far, stablecoin models range from centralized, fiat-backed variants such as USDT and USDC, to more decentralized models like Maker's DAI, an over-collateralized stablecoin, and the infamous algorithmically-backed UST by Luna. Despite this variety, the crypto industry still lacks a decentralized, internet-native stablecoin that combines attractive yet sustainable yields. Ethena aims to bridge this gap, offering a novel solution in the stablecoin space. | Today we have Guy Young, Founder of Ethena Labs, to share with us  What exactly is Ethena’ stablecoin model, and how can it be sustainable Can Ethena dethrone USDC and USDT The future of the stablecoin landscape And more Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice. Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Episode introduction (00:02:08) – How Ethena was founded (00:04:30) – How Ethena works & why now (00:11:19) – Will USDT and USDC be

In 2021, a few Web 3 games emerged, briefly capturing global attention and demonstrating the potential of this gaming sector. Fast forward to 2024, numerous game studios are poised to launch their titles, honed over three years. This raises the question: Are we on the cusp of another GameFi revolution, this time for good? The Web 3 gaming landscape so far, and what to look forward to in 2024 Immutable’s partnership with Polygon and Immutable Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice. Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Episode introduction (00:01:53) – Web 3 gaming in 2023 (00:03:52) – Overview of different Web 3 gaming ecosystems (00:09:21) – Immutable’s business model (00:12:55) – What game publishers Want (00:16:42) – What drives players into Web 3 gaming? (00:19:07) – Deciding which ecosystem to build in (00:22:21) – Should game create their own rollups? (00:24:31) – Partnership with Merit Circle & Polygon (00:31:51) – Partnership with Ubisoft (00:34:11) – Greatest barriers for Web 3 gaming (

The crypto markets are showing signs of revival. With the recent resolution of Binance's case alleviating market uncertainty, investors are looking forward to 2024 with optimism. More importantly, what tokens are worth looking at across the various crypto verticals? Jason and Sanat shares their list with viewers this week: In episode 3 of Blockcrunch Roundtable, Jason & Sanat discusses: Why resolution of Binance’s case is good for the markets Top picks for different verticals heading into 2024 Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice. Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Episode Introduction (00:02:03) – Impacts of Binance’s fine & CZ’s “retirement” (00:05:33) – Blur & their L2, Blast (00:12:06) – Betting on L2s via DA layers (00:21:16) – Alternative L1s to Ethereum (00:25:25) – What’s next for DeFi (00:31:30) – The revival of Web 3 gaming scene (00:38:30) – Other side of real-world assets; DePINS (00:43:18) – New contender in the Oracle vertical (00:47:03) – Retail favourite; Meme Coin

Exploring history offers valuable lessons, enabling us to sidestep past errors and identify markers of excellence. These insights are particularly beneficial in the realm of investing, where understanding historical trends and outcomes can inform smarter, more strategic decisions In episode 2 of Blockcrunch Roundtable, Jason & Sanat discusses: 3 verticals that showed promise but ultimately failed to gain traction 3 emerging verticals with the potential for significant success Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice. Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Episode Introduction (00:03:18) – What Web 3 apps make sense? (00:06:45) – Will Metamask remain the No. 1 wallet? (00:13:30) – Why prediction markets never really took off (00:20:48) – How to invest in DAOs and their tooling (00:30:11) – Can re-staking take off? (00:36:05) – Case for and against DePINS (00:43:33) – Decentralized social and Friend.Tech (00:53:23) – 1 vertical to never invest, & 1 to spend most time on More Resources: Hosts

The trading volume of NFTs has markedly decreased since the previous bull market, with a recent figure of merely $37 million per week, a sum that constitutes less than 1% of Bitcoin's daily trading volume. This downturn begs the question: are NFTs facing extinction, or is there potential for resurgence? Joining us today is Tieshun, widely recognized as Pacman on Twitter and notably the founder of Blur, the singular NFT marketplace that triumphed over Opensea to talk about: Why NFTs are not dead How Blur successfully dethroned OpenSea Outlook for the NFT market and Blur Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice. Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Episode Introduction (00:01:33) – Pacman’s Web 3 journey (00:07:31) – How to revive the NFT markets (00:12:39) – User behaviour in bull vs bear market (00:14:52) – How Blur dethroned OpenSea (00:19:59) – Sustainability of Blur’s incentive program  (00:27:33) – Key KPIs that matters (00:35:53) – Blur’s stance on royalties (00:42:34) – Blur’s future plans  

We’re back with a brand new series - Blockcrunch RoundTable! In this new format, Jason is joined by Sanat, an Investor at Dragonfly to discuss all things crypto - from latest market developments, their investment experiences and future outlooks For this episode, they discussed the top 5 wildest crypto ideas that were funded, and dived into: Why they are considered wild Their thoughts on what went wrong and right Things to look out for in the future Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice. Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Episode Introduction (00:04:00) – Yuga Labs’ $450 million raise (00:016:52) – Worldcoin: One of the most controversial crypto project (00:32:54) – Praxis: Building a real-world city (00:46:20) – Olympus DAO: Crypto-native reserve currency (00:57:15) – BreederDAO: Guild for P2E games More Resources: Hosts Jason Choi’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrjasonchoi Sanat Kapur’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/kapursanat Blockcrunch Blockcrunch VIP: https://blockcrunch.substack.com

Over the past 5 years, Blockcrunch has been a beacon for the Web 3 community. As we evolve, we're thrilled to announce an upcoming rebrand. Stay tuned for details on our renewed commitment to serving our audience even better! But before we embark on this new journey, we’re celebrating the legacy of our current show. This week, join us as we host Darryl Wang, Co-Founder of Tangent - the angel collective co-founded by our very own Jason - to discuss: Bull and bear case for the next 12 months Biggest lessons learnt in investing 2 bold predictions for the next crypto cycle Investing in meme coins Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice. Timestamps: (00:00:00) – Introduction to Tangent  (00:04:10) – Darryl’s entry into Web 3 (00:05:51) – Bullish case for next 12 months (00:12:04) – Bearish case for next 12 months (00:15:51) – Consensus ideas that turned out wrong (00:21:06) – Bringing treasury yields onchain via Maker (00:24:40) – Is there need for more chains (00:34:18) – Most hated coin