Brian FakhourySettlement Layers
A settlement layer is where the final ledger of an asset lies. For physical goods & commodities, this definition is trivial, it’s just physics. For traditional, intangible financial assets, the ledger lies with some central authority. In the world of digital assets where the assets themselves are emergent from cryptonetworks, it’s not as straightforward. Bitcoin’s settlement layer is on the bitcoin network. ETH settles on Ethereum mainnet. USDC has multiple settlement layers across many smart...
Brian FakhouryHistory Rhymes, In Defense Of Crypto
TLDR; Crypto doesn’t matter until it does.“what if all the layer 1's and eth died tomorrow would anyone care?”I saw this question floated around in a group chat and was surprised by my kneejerk reaction: “of course people would care!” But there is plenty of truth in the demise of smart contract platforms not affecting the real world. Airplanes would continue flying, grocery stores would still sell food, businesses would keep conducting business, and people would keep living without a hic...
Brian FakhouryThe logical conclusion of zero knowledge computation
Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) are an absurd technological breakthrough, and people like @VitalikButerin have publicly commented that they're likely on par with blockchains in terms of ideological importance for this decade. The power of ZKPs can be generally split into two superpowers: privacy & compression. Both sides of this technology are incredibly important, but I want to focus on the compression superpower as it relates to the first line of this thread. How do ZKPs help power compre...
I'm a crypto researcher, enthused by _web3_ technologies, and an inveterate student that is trying to maximize his product to the world.
Brian FakhourySettlement Layers
A settlement layer is where the final ledger of an asset lies. For physical goods & commodities, this definition is trivial, it’s just physics. For traditional, intangible financial assets, the ledger lies with some central authority. In the world of digital assets where the assets themselves are emergent from cryptonetworks, it’s not as straightforward. Bitcoin’s settlement layer is on the bitcoin network. ETH settles on Ethereum mainnet. USDC has multiple settlement layers across many smart...
Brian FakhouryHistory Rhymes, In Defense Of Crypto
TLDR; Crypto doesn’t matter until it does.“what if all the layer 1's and eth died tomorrow would anyone care?”I saw this question floated around in a group chat and was surprised by my kneejerk reaction: “of course people would care!” But there is plenty of truth in the demise of smart contract platforms not affecting the real world. Airplanes would continue flying, grocery stores would still sell food, businesses would keep conducting business, and people would keep living without a hic...
Brian FakhouryThe logical conclusion of zero knowledge computation
Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) are an absurd technological breakthrough, and people like @VitalikButerin have publicly commented that they're likely on par with blockchains in terms of ideological importance for this decade. The power of ZKPs can be generally split into two superpowers: privacy & compression. Both sides of this technology are incredibly important, but I want to focus on the compression superpower as it relates to the first line of this thread. How do ZKPs help power compre...
I'm a crypto researcher, enthused by _web3_ technologies, and an inveterate student that is trying to maximize his product to the world.
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My understanding of digital ownership changed quite abruptly in 2021.
I was never much of a gamer, but there were still points in my life where I sunk hundreds of hours into titles like Clash of Clans; never truly considering the existential risk of losing my “in-game” property that comes with the architecture of the internet pre-blockchain era.
Elsewhere in the emerging metaverse, I was writing occasionally on web2 platforms, engaging in social networks, making memes, etc….
The common denominator is I’m not in true ownership of my work. And yes, I believe gameplay can be considered ‘work’ retrospectively.
One principle has become obvious to me:
Just like in the physical world, the product of your time and effort on the internet can become an asset.
This is also affectionately known as the Internet of Value thesis.
Today, with the opening of the gates on Mirror where writers like myself can now freely publish onto the permaweb (Arweave) and verify authorship (Ethereum address), I feel myself taking one step forward in choosing to live in a digital economy where I can own my production.
I’m looking forward to posting all long-form writing I do in the future on a truly decentralized publication platform like this one.
It’s weird to refer to a decentralized post as being “posted” anywhere. While the Mirror platform does have some assets tied to it, it’s such an open protocol that one does not even have to touch Mirror.xyz the website or its related resources (see Miguel’s musings on that here).
Hello Mirror, until next time!
My understanding of digital ownership changed quite abruptly in 2021.
I was never much of a gamer, but there were still points in my life where I sunk hundreds of hours into titles like Clash of Clans; never truly considering the existential risk of losing my “in-game” property that comes with the architecture of the internet pre-blockchain era.
Elsewhere in the emerging metaverse, I was writing occasionally on web2 platforms, engaging in social networks, making memes, etc….
The common denominator is I’m not in true ownership of my work. And yes, I believe gameplay can be considered ‘work’ retrospectively.
One principle has become obvious to me:
Just like in the physical world, the product of your time and effort on the internet can become an asset.
This is also affectionately known as the Internet of Value thesis.
Today, with the opening of the gates on Mirror where writers like myself can now freely publish onto the permaweb (Arweave) and verify authorship (Ethereum address), I feel myself taking one step forward in choosing to live in a digital economy where I can own my production.
I’m looking forward to posting all long-form writing I do in the future on a truly decentralized publication platform like this one.
It’s weird to refer to a decentralized post as being “posted” anywhere. While the Mirror platform does have some assets tied to it, it’s such an open protocol that one does not even have to touch Mirror.xyz the website or its related resources (see Miguel’s musings on that here).
Hello Mirror, until next time!
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