As companies like Facebook, Microsoft & Nike announce plans to build “Metaverse infrastructure” it begs the question: Who’s done what and where? Here we take a look at some of the non-crypto native players building in the space. This is important to note as despite the headlines, there is so much more to crypto & blockchain than what the headlines tell you about NFTs.NFT collections are the low-hanging fruit for brands to engage in crypto in the fastest way possible (remember Visa's Cryp...

As companies like Facebook, Microsoft & Nike announce plans to build “Metaverse infrastructure” it begs the question: Who’s done what and where? Here we take a look at some of the non-crypto native players building in the space. This is important to note as despite the headlines, there is so much more to crypto & blockchain than what the headlines tell you about NFTs.NFT collections are the low-hanging fruit for brands to engage in crypto in the fastest way possible (remember Visa's Cryp...

[Archived Upload from October 2021] Multi-billion dollar industries are being underpinned by the next wave of "Mana" contenders, a select group of them are highlighted in the above landscape.. The focus of this blog going forward will be the proliferation of the Crypo-Economy. Yesterday (10/4/21), I quit my job on Wall Street to jump off the Crypto deep end with a goal of bringing this community further mainstream via my TradFi niche. As exponential as the growth has been over the last 14 mon...

[Archived Upload from October 2021] Multi-billion dollar industries are being underpinned by the next wave of "Mana" contenders, a select group of them are highlighted in the above landscape.. The focus of this blog going forward will be the proliferation of the Crypo-Economy. Yesterday (10/4/21), I quit my job on Wall Street to jump off the Crypto deep end with a goal of bringing this community further mainstream via my TradFi niche. As exponential as the growth has been over the last 14 mon...

In February of 2021, Coinbase alerted users of their platform that they can join a wait list to stake their Ethereum 2.0. Staking refers to the act of contributing your tokens “stake” as validators on the network to confirm transactions, in this case for the Ethereum Network. Holders lock up their stake to earn rewards which are represented in an APY – for ETH2 on Coinbase, you can make 4.50% annually. This is all in the context of a broader upgrade for the Ethereum Network, moving from a Pro...

In February of 2021, Coinbase alerted users of their platform that they can join a wait list to stake their Ethereum 2.0. Staking refers to the act of contributing your tokens “stake” as validators on the network to confirm transactions, in this case for the Ethereum Network. Holders lock up their stake to earn rewards which are represented in an APY – for ETH2 on Coinbase, you can make 4.50% annually. This is all in the context of a broader upgrade for the Ethereum Network, moving from a Pro...

While many including myself are laughing at Facebook’s rebrand to META, this is a huge sign of validation for the broader web3 industry. For better or for worse, just as memecoins introduce people to what crypto is, Facebook is at the least adding the word “metaverse” to about 2.9 billion MAUs’ vocabulary – and the data shows:Even if only 1% of those MAUs convert to their Horizon Home platform, that’s still 29 million people engaging in a VR-enabled world, which will eventually cross pollinat...

While many including myself are laughing at Facebook’s rebrand to META, this is a huge sign of validation for the broader web3 industry. For better or for worse, just as memecoins introduce people to what crypto is, Facebook is at the least adding the word “metaverse” to about 2.9 billion MAUs’ vocabulary – and the data shows:Even if only 1% of those MAUs convert to their Horizon Home platform, that’s still 29 million people engaging in a VR-enabled world, which will eventually cross pollinat...

I spoke with a well-regarded colleague of mine about the Crypto market as a whole, we discussed the cool things like NFTs, Metaverse and the proliferation of DAOs. But it struck me that although these “headline topics” have become a part of the mainstream part of discourse, there is still a huge knowledge gap of how these technologies are developed and what the drivers are of them. In this piece, I dive into a surface-level introduction of what Ethereum is and why you should care about it.Not...

I spoke with a well-regarded colleague of mine about the Crypto market as a whole, we discussed the cool things like NFTs, Metaverse and the proliferation of DAOs. But it struck me that although these “headline topics” have become a part of the mainstream part of discourse, there is still a huge knowledge gap of how these technologies are developed and what the drivers are of them. In this piece, I dive into a surface-level introduction of what Ethereum is and why you should care about it.Not...

Exchange models have always interested me. With my background in marketplaces, the business model is pretty simple to understand: a take rate on every trade + upcharges on the more “exotic” products & features like derivatives & margin. However, building on chain with a Layer 2 via Starkware is an interesting approach which lends dydx’s comp set to more of a “DeFi Protocol” than an exchange business model like Coinbase. This helps them avoid the headwinds of traditional brokerage/exchanges wh...

Exchange models have always interested me. With my background in marketplaces, the business model is pretty simple to understand: a take rate on every trade + upcharges on the more “exotic” products & features like derivatives & margin. However, building on chain with a Layer 2 via Starkware is an interesting approach which lends dydx’s comp set to more of a “DeFi Protocol” than an exchange business model like Coinbase. This helps them avoid the headwinds of traditional brokerage/exchanges wh...

Enjin is building an ecosystem which will enable cross-chain gaming, in a true “Ready Player One “ fashion. Gone are the days of putting multiple hours of gameplay in, only for your game developer studio to either shut down the game or remove functionality for your specific in-game asset. One gamer’s experience with centralized gaming stands out in particular, “He happily played World of Warcraft during 2007-2010, but one day Blizzard removed the damage component from his beloved warlock&apos...

Enjin is building an ecosystem which will enable cross-chain gaming, in a true “Ready Player One “ fashion. Gone are the days of putting multiple hours of gameplay in, only for your game developer studio to either shut down the game or remove functionality for your specific in-game asset. One gamer’s experience with centralized gaming stands out in particular, “He happily played World of Warcraft during 2007-2010, but one day Blizzard removed the damage component from his beloved warlock&apos...

[Archived Upload from December 2021] Ah yes…NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens)....Probably Noting, Right? The market that’s done $10.6bn in Gross Volume through the 3rd Quarter of 2021 alone. Maybe you’ve heard of them maybe not (you probably have though). Apes, Punks, Moneys, Chimps, Penguins, Snakes – you probably get the idea of what PFP (Profile Picture) NFT collections are..but there’s a whole other ecosystem behind that first layer. Here we explore life beyond PFP NFTs and some of the future tr...

[Archived Upload from December 2021] Ah yes…NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens)....Probably Noting, Right? The market that’s done $10.6bn in Gross Volume through the 3rd Quarter of 2021 alone. Maybe you’ve heard of them maybe not (you probably have though). Apes, Punks, Moneys, Chimps, Penguins, Snakes – you probably get the idea of what PFP (Profile Picture) NFT collections are..but there’s a whole other ecosystem behind that first layer. Here we explore life beyond PFP NFTs and some of the future tr...

Let me explain: Sotheby’s has been absolutely instrumental in facilitating the exchange of Digital Assets. A British-founded American multinational HQ’d in New York City, it’s one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, and collectibles. A simple search for “Crypto” on the site doesn’t yield much other than a few NFTs for auction. But like with anything in this world, the value is beyond the first layer.In June of 2021, Sotheby’s opened their Virtual Art Gallery in Decentraland and l...

Let me explain: Sotheby’s has been absolutely instrumental in facilitating the exchange of Digital Assets. A British-founded American multinational HQ’d in New York City, it’s one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, and collectibles. A simple search for “Crypto” on the site doesn’t yield much other than a few NFTs for auction. But like with anything in this world, the value is beyond the first layer.In June of 2021, Sotheby’s opened their Virtual Art Gallery in Decentraland and l...