There’s a lot of uproar at the moment about SBF’s blogpost on regulation and the subsequent response to it by Erik Voorhees. I skimmed SBF’s original post and haven’t had a chance to read/digest Erik’s yet (though I always like his way of thinking and communicating). I’m going to do that. I kind of view crypto regulation as like a Disney amusement park with a “Fast Pass.” You get your “Fast Pass” (in this case, your KYC) at the door and then, when you enter the amusement park, you can go on a...

There’s a lot of uproar at the moment about SBF’s blogpost on regulation and the subsequent response to it by Erik Voorhees. I skimmed SBF’s original post and haven’t had a chance to read/digest Erik’s yet (though I always like his way of thinking and communicating). I’m going to do that. I kind of view crypto regulation as like a Disney amusement park with a “Fast Pass.” You get your “Fast Pass” (in this case, your KYC) at the door and then, when you enter the amusement park, you can go on a...

I was reading Sam Bankman-Fried’s proposal for crypto regulation and, I will admit, my first reaction was “wow, it feels like this is an effort to use ‘regulation’ to build a moat around his businesses.” I didn’t want to believe that, but a lot of the comments seemed to suggest the same I have no idea how regulation and crypto co-exist, if ever, but imposing the existing system on crypto seems like the wrong way. But this post isn’t about that. It’s about the fact that many of the early wave ...

I was reading Sam Bankman-Fried’s proposal for crypto regulation and, I will admit, my first reaction was “wow, it feels like this is an effort to use ‘regulation’ to build a moat around his businesses.” I didn’t want to believe that, but a lot of the comments seemed to suggest the same I have no idea how regulation and crypto co-exist, if ever, but imposing the existing system on crypto seems like the wrong way. But this post isn’t about that. It’s about the fact that many of the early wave ...

One of the challenges I am currently facing is how to create an organization that will deliver the desired marketing outcomes. We have grown quite significantly over the past year and we have a wide range of talented individuals. Some coaches build a playbook around their players. Others have a system to which their players must adapt. Both have merit. And, like the Showtime Lakers, I suppose, there can be a hybrid. But not being deliberate in building the organization seems like a cardinal s...

One of the challenges I am currently facing is how to create an organization that will deliver the desired marketing outcomes. We have grown quite significantly over the past year and we have a wide range of talented individuals. Some coaches build a playbook around their players. Others have a system to which their players must adapt. Both have merit. And, like the Showtime Lakers, I suppose, there can be a hybrid. But not being deliberate in building the organization seems like a cardinal s...

For the last few years, my home office has involved a Microsoft Surface computer, a docking station, 2 external monitors and a bunch of peripherals. I’m in the midst of restructuring now to make the home office MacBook Pro-centric. It would be nice if I could use the exact same hub for the MacBook Pro as I do for the Surface, but I can’t. Each vendor wants me “locked in” to their platform. It creates switching costs, literally, in the form of buying a new hub, new adapters, and in time, in th...

For the last few years, my home office has involved a Microsoft Surface computer, a docking station, 2 external monitors and a bunch of peripherals. I’m in the midst of restructuring now to make the home office MacBook Pro-centric. It would be nice if I could use the exact same hub for the MacBook Pro as I do for the Surface, but I can’t. Each vendor wants me “locked in” to their platform. It creates switching costs, literally, in the form of buying a new hub, new adapters, and in time, in th...

I had an interesting experience the other day when I called someone who works in public policy and her voice mail said, “If you are a candidate, I only support women of color, so if this isn’t you, there’s no need to leave a message.” I understand why she does this. I also long for a day when skin color doesn’t matter at all. Perhaps it’s a naive utopic vision of mine, but when there are verifiable IDs attesting to our reputation, character, and capabilities, I hope we’ll be one step closer t...

I had an interesting experience the other day when I called someone who works in public policy and her voice mail said, “If you are a candidate, I only support women of color, so if this isn’t you, there’s no need to leave a message.” I understand why she does this. I also long for a day when skin color doesn’t matter at all. Perhaps it’s a naive utopic vision of mine, but when there are verifiable IDs attesting to our reputation, character, and capabilities, I hope we’ll be one step closer t...

I visited the Musee D’Orsay recently and was enamored by many things, but one of them was a sculpture of Hercules, the Archer. What makes this sculpture so powerful is not just the physical part of it, but the vast empty space in the middle of it, which gives the form so much power and space. This is something that is part of Taoist philosophy as well. It’s the empty space that makes the structure around so meaningful. I think there’s a lesson here for marketing, though it’s not immediately o...

I visited the Musee D’Orsay recently and was enamored by many things, but one of them was a sculpture of Hercules, the Archer. What makes this sculpture so powerful is not just the physical part of it, but the vast empty space in the middle of it, which gives the form so much power and space. This is something that is part of Taoist philosophy as well. It’s the empty space that makes the structure around so meaningful. I think there’s a lesson here for marketing, though it’s not immediately o...

I recently attended a Buddhist meditation session where the teacher was asked “do you need to be Vegan in order to be Buddhist?” His answer, like many Buddhists, was subtle. That it’s impossible to never do any harm, so what we look to do is minimize the amount of harm that we actually do. Eventually, he suggested, the more you study Buddhism and the more you meditate on things like Lovingkindness and Compassion, the more you find the idea of eating animals to be unacceptable. But then he mad...

I recently attended a Buddhist meditation session where the teacher was asked “do you need to be Vegan in order to be Buddhist?” His answer, like many Buddhists, was subtle. That it’s impossible to never do any harm, so what we look to do is minimize the amount of harm that we actually do. Eventually, he suggested, the more you study Buddhism and the more you meditate on things like Lovingkindness and Compassion, the more you find the idea of eating animals to be unacceptable. But then he mad...

For years, the European Union has led the charge in the need to address climate change. It makes me wonder if, what couldn’t be accomplished by proclamation, will be accomplished out of necessity. While the war in Ukraine is awful, the fact that one of the side effects has been the Russian withholding of natural gas from Europe, may be a net positive. In the short term, prices will go up and that is going to suck for a lot of people. However, if the market (alongside the existing government s...

For years, the European Union has led the charge in the need to address climate change. It makes me wonder if, what couldn’t be accomplished by proclamation, will be accomplished out of necessity. While the war in Ukraine is awful, the fact that one of the side effects has been the Russian withholding of natural gas from Europe, may be a net positive. In the short term, prices will go up and that is going to suck for a lot of people. However, if the market (alongside the existing government s...

Someone asked me the other day what I thought the catalyst for the next wave of crypto might be. The first scenario that I thought was likely was that the Fed would have to resume Quantitative Easing because of the extreme pressure that higher interest rates would put on debt service by the government. As more and more of the government budget gets swallowed up by interest payments, it crowds out new and existing entitlement programs, requiring either an increase in taxes or more money printi...

Someone asked me the other day what I thought the catalyst for the next wave of crypto might be. The first scenario that I thought was likely was that the Fed would have to resume Quantitative Easing because of the extreme pressure that higher interest rates would put on debt service by the government. As more and more of the government budget gets swallowed up by interest payments, it crowds out new and existing entitlement programs, requiring either an increase in taxes or more money printi...

We all have lines that, when crossed, change our behavior. We get angry, emotional, irrational and vindictive. There are some lines that should never be moved. But many lines are extended way beyond where they need to be. That’s ego. Move the lines back. That way, it won’t be as easy for you to get ticked off by the actions of others.

We all have lines that, when crossed, change our behavior. We get angry, emotional, irrational and vindictive. There are some lines that should never be moved. But many lines are extended way beyond where they need to be. That’s ego. Move the lines back. That way, it won’t be as easy for you to get ticked off by the actions of others.

Someone wrote me a note the other day that said: “Crypto market sentiment is the lowest it’s ever been.” Five minutes later, a friend wrote me and said, “I’ve never bought Bitcoin, but I’m going to today.” I’m not sure what to make of that, but I found it incredibly intriguing.

Someone wrote me a note the other day that said: “Crypto market sentiment is the lowest it’s ever been.” Five minutes later, a friend wrote me and said, “I’ve never bought Bitcoin, but I’m going to today.” I’m not sure what to make of that, but I found it incredibly intriguing.

Talk to people in their 40s and 50s and the skepticism about crypto is rampant. Talk to people in their 20s and 30s and the belief is clear. I was a guest in someone’s home last week in London. The homeowners are in their late 50s. Their son, in his 20s, was there. We were talking about blockchain (because they asked what I do). The parents said, “I just don’t understand it.” To be fair, they weren’t skeptics, but they just didn’t get it. The son, while walking over to the pantry, calmly said...

Talk to people in their 40s and 50s and the skepticism about crypto is rampant. Talk to people in their 20s and 30s and the belief is clear. I was a guest in someone’s home last week in London. The homeowners are in their late 50s. Their son, in his 20s, was there. We were talking about blockchain (because they asked what I do). The parents said, “I just don’t understand it.” To be fair, they weren’t skeptics, but they just didn’t get it. The son, while walking over to the pantry, calmly said...