a16z's Crypto Thesis | Arianna Simpson, Ali Yahya
In this episode of Empire, Arianna Simpson and Ali Yahya join to discuss a16z's crypto thesis. We start with Ali's network flywheel framework, the future of interoperability and protocol value capture. Do protocols have moats? Is the L1 trade over? Will applications accrue an outsized share of crypto's value?
We then discuss DAO governance, music NFTs, zero-knowledge proofs and crypto's open design space. This is one of those can't-miss episodes!
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(01:14) Crypto's Network Flywheel
(08:40) Is The L1 Trade Over?
(20:52) a16z’s Value Accrual Framework
(28:03) Circle ad
(29:45) Infrastructure Unlocks
(37:55) a16z’s Governance & DAO Philosophy
(44:33) Evolution of Web3 Gaming
(49:19) Music NFTs
(55:22) ZK Proofs & Building Privacy Into Blockchains
(1:00:33) What Feels Obvious That Others Are Missing?
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Follow Arianna https://twitter.com/AriannaSimpson
Follow Ali: https://twitter.com/alive_eth
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Resources
Ali's network flywheel tweet thread
https://twitter.com/alive_eth/status/1296831069065375749
Computers That Can Make Commitments (Chris Dixon)
https://a16z.com/2020/01/27/computers-that-make-commitments/
The Fat Protocol Thesis
https://www.usv.com/writing/2016/08/fat-protocols/
The Internet Economy
https://cdixon.org/2016/03/13/the-internet-economy
Commoditize Your Complements
https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2002/06/12/strategy-letter-v/
The Myth of The Infrastructure Phase
https://www.usv.com/writing/2018/10/the-myth-of-the-infrastructure-phase/
1000 True Fans
https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/
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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
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85 - The Crypto Gaming Revolution | Arianna Simpson
Arianna Simpson of a16z comes on the Bankless Podcast to explore the insane momentum we've seen around crypto gaming. The product-market fit between the gaming and crypto worlds is palpable. The scaling and maturation of the crypto economy make for a ripe inflection point for an explosion of cultural applications.
What does Play-To-Earn mean for the investor? Is ETH money for the metaverse? Arianna's takes offer a huge amount of insight as we dive into the future of both work and play.
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Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro 5:00 Arianna Simpson 7:05 Crypto Gaming: Why Now? 10:06 How Big is This? 17:15 Building Infrastructure 20:29 Player Ownership 28:13 Eating the World 31:55 Progression to Play-To-Earn 37:30 Capturing Value 41:27 Isn’t it a Ponzi Game? 48:30 Working in Crypto Gaming 58:08 Consolidation of Resources 1:05:03 Impact on Culture & Industry 1:15:36 The Metaverse 1:20:17 ETH is Metaverse Money 1:27:10 Closing & Disclaimers
------ Resources:
Arianna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AriannaSimpson?s=20 Masters of Doom: https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/bankless-disclosures
#14 - The Bitcoin Believer
Arianna Simpson (@AriannaSimpson) quit her comfortable job at Facebook to take a big bet on Bitcoin. She put over 50% of her net worth into Bitcoin back in 2014, and boy did it pay off. Now she's running a multi-million dollar hedge fund, is a renown speaker, and one of the most respected investors in cryptocurrency.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Arianna Simpson – The Crypto Landscape - [Invest Like the Best, EP.84]
My guest today is Arianna Simpson, who has spent her career in an around the world of technology working at startups, Facebook, and now in venture capital as an investor focused on the world of cryptocurrencies.
I met Arianna when I hosted a panel at a big investing conference in New York City and she was one of the panelists. On the panel, I found her style to be very straightforward and compelling. It is clear that she loves to learn and that the best manifestation of her style of learning is investing in technology.
In our conversation we discuss broad trends in crypto that we haven’t spent much time on before: decentralized versus centralized exchanges, privacy coins, and evaluating a found or early team. We build a framework for learning about this new asset class, discuss the importance of travel, and the value of pushing oneself outside of comfort zones.
Hash Power is presented by Fidelity Investments
Please enjoy our conversation
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag
Show Notes
2:12 – (First question) – How to teach someone else to build an investing philosophy around crypto
4:00 – The major risk factors to investing in crypto
6:28 – best practices for mitigating risk
7:39 – What factors to think about when it comes to whether a token will lose all value or not
8:39 - Taking a pulse of the investment community on crypto
11:36 – How she heard about and became interested in crypto currencies
12:34 – Are people really using crypto currency as a hedge against rampant inflation
13:52 – Investing thesis in the space
14:07 – Arianna’s systems for learning about cryptocurrencies and staying up to date on them
15:19 – Arianna’s take on the issue of increasing transactional through put
16:49 – Layer 1 solutions and making it all scalable on a blockchain
17:56 – her take on the fat protocol thesis
20:32 – Defining utility vs security tokens
21:54 – evaluating different coins
21:02 – Why cross currency swaps are important and how they work
26:17 – What are the chances of a scenario where there’s just one token and everything is built off of that one
28:02 - Comparing centralized and decentralized exchanges
29:47 – How the traditional investing world is going to regulate transaction involving cryptocurrencies and view security around those transactions
31:54– Impact this will have on capital formation
33:44 – Evaluating teams behind crypto companies
35:48 – The importance of gut when evaluating people
38:47 – How Arianna’s global upbringing impacts her thinking on the technology
39:51 – What countries or regions have had the largest impact on Arianna’s investing philosophy
42:41 – Doing things you’re not qualified for
43:59 – Gender imbalance in crypto and what can be done to shift that
45:28 – Most recent thing that has gotten Arianna excited in the crypto space
46:15 – Explaining Zero X
47:33 – How her views on reading have evolved
48:54 - Kindest thing anyone has done for Arianna
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
Unconfirmed - Ep.008 - Arianna Simpson of Autonomous Partners on Privacy, Cryptokitties and Crypto Regulation
Arianna Simpson, managing partner of investment firm Autonomous Partners, discusses this week's news that Cambridge Analytica had used data from Facebook to perhaps manipulate the 2016 election and whether that could create an opening for blockchain-based decentralized social networks. We also cover the announcement that Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures and top individual investors invested $12 million in Cryptokitties and why Simpson thinks the area of digital collectibles could take off.
The Facebook/Cambridge Analytica story: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-trump-campaign.html
Cryptokitties: https://www.coindesk.com/a16z-leads-12-million-funding-for-ethereum-app-cryptokitties/
Why Arianna isn't worried about the downturn: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-smart-money-isnt-worried-about-the-bitcoin-selloff-2018-03-19?siteid=rss
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