This in-depth discussion covers the dynamics of emerging startups, the impact of AI on coding and education, and the future prospects of junior positions in law, medicine, and finance potentially becoming extinct.

Edited & Compiled by Wu Blockchain

In this episode of GoodGame, Imran and Qiao, co-founders of AllianceDAO, delve into how the tech world’s focus has rapidly shifted toward AI and robotics, overshadowing the current innovation cycle of cryptocurrency. They assess the stagnant narratives around stablecoins and tokenization in the crypto space, while highlighting the competitive landscape dominated by exchanges and meme-driven token launches.

Robinhood, as a formidable competitor, is bridging the gap between fintech and tokenized assets. The discussion covers the dynamics of emerging startups, the impact of AI on coding and education, and the future prospects of junior positions in law, medicine, and finance potentially becoming extinct, ultimately painting a future where AI-native, founder-led micro-startups reshape industry norms. This article is edited by Wu Blockchain.

Original Link: https://x.com/goodgamepodxyz/status/1907801545065820269?s=19
Note: Due to network issues, the link may not be accessible. Please check the validity of the link and try accessing it again. If you need specific information from this link, feel free to let me know, and I can help answer any related questions!

The AI and Robotics Boom Overshadows the Current State of Cryptocurrency

Imran: Welcome to GoodGame, where we provide no-nonsense insights for cryptocurrency founders. We’ve seen ups and downs. I think in terms of attention, there are a lot of exciting new releases in the AI and robotics space, which are overshadowing the dynamics of cryptocurrency.

Qiao: Absolutely.

Imran: There will be periods of innovation that capture a lot of people’s attention and mindshare. I think we are currently at a stage with AI and robotics, while cryptocurrency is going through a rebuilding process. If you’re looking for the next startup idea in cryptocurrency, you can check out our startup request list and get inspired at align.xyz/ideas.

Qiao: Currently, in the cryptocurrency space, whether you’re a builder or an investor — even on Crypto Twitter — there’s pretty much only one narrative.

Imran: Stablecoins and tokenization are those two narratives.

Qiao: But it’s still the same story. It’s just about putting traditional assets on the blockchain.

Imran: It seems like there’s a consensus now. Yes.

We’re seeing many institutions launching their own stablecoins. I think Fidelity recently just announced their own stablecoin.

Who else? I mean, there are a bunch of companies trying to do exactly the same thing. From an innovation standpoint,

it doesn’t seem like there’s anything truly new; they’re just reinventing the wheel.

I’m planning to post this meme. I tried to get ChatGPT to generate a Ghibli-style meme. But essentially, what I’m trying to convey is that the competitive landscape is actually very small.

Everyone is fighting over each other’s profits. If you look at Binance, they’ve made two very significant indirect statements. The first one is, I don’t know if you’ve seen the Hyperliquid incident, but to summarize at a high level, there’s a token on Hyperliquid called Jelly.

Intense Exchange Competition Highlights Challenges for Hyperliquid

Imran: The trading volume and liquidity on Hyperliquid have reached a level where manipulation is possible. Someone opened a short position to extract value from HLP.

OKX and Binance publicly engaged in this — posting about it on Twitter — and many interpreted it as them wanting Hyperliquid to fail because it’s seen as a competitive threat to their derivatives business.

Another example: Binance is listing tokens from FourMeme, which is a PumpFun clone running on the BNB chain. Tokens like Mubarak and Broccoli are being listed, sparking criticism of Binance’s direction. But the logic is clear — they view platforms like PumpFun as competitors.

Now, Binance is actively competing with Hyperliquid, PumpFun, Jupiter, and others — it’s a war on-chain and off-chain.

Qiao: Everyone is targeting the same verticals — trading and stablecoins. In trading: crypto-native platforms and Robinhood. In stablecoins: Circle, Tether, and traditional fintech companies.

Robinhood’s Strategic Push Toward Tokenization

Imran: Robinhood recently held an Apple-style launch event, emphasizing their commitment to “tokenizing everything.” With their massive distribution network, they are in a strong market position.

They also want to tokenize real estate — something like a tradable OpenSea-style MLS — allowing users to trade exposure to real estate assets.

Qiao: But not physical real estate — they might offer derivatives tied to real estate, which fits their strengths.

Imran: Exactly — they have a deep understanding of their user base.

Additionally, they’ve launched a cash-delivery service — you can request physical cash instead of going to an ATM. Initially, I wondered who still uses cash, but many people do — contractors, hairstylists, etc. — mostly for privacy reasons.

Qiao: I get the appeal. Banks ask invasive questions when you try to withdraw large amounts of cash. It’s frustrating. I just don’t quite understand why Robinhood wants to get into this space.

Robinhood’s Cash Delivery and Banking Services

Imran: You know, it might be another angle — maybe because the ATM business is still very profitable. If you can capture that…

Qiao: Do they want to become a bank? They want people to deposit money. Yes, they want people to deposit funds so they can lend and earn the interest spread, essentially acting like a bank.

Imran: That might be the underlying reason — basically, “Take your money out of the bank and give it to us.” And then add this cash-delivery service. But they also offer other incentives. Recently, they announced a promotion — which I’m actually considering. If you transfer your brokerage account to them, they’ll give you an extra 2% bonus. So I’m really considering moving it over. It’s not a bad deal.

So, they’re making a full push — traditional business, banking services, traditional brokerage accounts, and now even competing with crypto exchanges. They’re reaching into three different areas.

Qiao: I think Robinhood is the biggest threat to Coinbase.

Robinhood vs. Coinbase: The Platform Distribution Battle

Imran: I think Robinhood is the biggest threat to crypto startups. Because all the services they’re offering now — whether it’s tokenizing X or Y — are exactly what we want our founders to build. If Robinhood becomes the main distribution point, it essentially cuts out the middleman — in this case, the startups.

So if we look ahead and examine the current competitive landscape, it actually feels very small. And when you include Robinhood and other major players, it gets even smaller.

Qiao: By “small,” you mean only a few players are competing for the same opportunities?

Imran: Yes. Hyperliquid.

Qiao: Binance, Coinbase...

Qiao: Pump. Pump is now handling about 30% of the startup trading volume, right? That’s quite significant — quite large.

Imran: Yes, it’s large. I’m not sure about the latest numbers, but the 24-hour trading volume is around $294 million. Annually, that’s about $30 billion in revenue. In comparison, Raydium’s AMM trading volume is $332 million.

However, the trading volume has indeed dropped slightly — now it’s close to $200 million. Basically, Pump has surpassed Raydium in terms of trading volume. That’s the point I’m trying to make.

Liquidity Fragmentation Between Exchanges and Aggregators

Qiao: What data are you looking at? DeFi Llama?

Imran: Yes. Raydium’s trading volume has mainly remained stable, primarily due to previously launched tokens.

Qiao: Mainly.

Imran: Right, but that could change. Pump is gaining attention. Jupiter launched Meteora (an AMM), and there’s also Moonshot. They’re all part of the same founder network. Jupiter as an aggregator.

This market is becoming crowded, with everyone chasing the same marginal users.

The real challenge now is expanding the market — how do we bring new users into cryptocurrency? That’s the next frontier. Until then, it’s a game of waiting for the next wave of meaningful innovation.

An interesting experiment is Noise on MegaETH. They’re using Kaido as a trend oracle — kind of like fantasy sports, but for trend trading. It’s part of the “financialization of attention” theory we’ve been discussing for years.

Qiao: Yes, it’s not new; it’s just a repackaging of the same idea. There’s nothing truly transformative yet.

Imran: Pretty much.

Circle’s Strategic Dilemma: Dependency on Coinbase, Global Competition, and On-Chain Transformation

Qiao: Circle’s IPO valuation is between $3 billion and $5 billion — slightly lower than I expected, but maybe that’s just my bias.

Imran: Fair enough. What stands out in the filing is that Circle pays 50% of its reserve income — income from Treasury bills and other yield-generating assets — to Coinbase.

Last year, Circle’s revenue was about $1.8 billion, of which $800 million was paid to Coinbase. That’s huge.

This shows a clear power dynamic: Coinbase owns the user relationship and is the main distribution channel for USDC. It’s like how Pump owns its end-users and uses them for the AMM.

Qiao: Exactly. If Treasury yields drop, that poses an existential risk to Circle. Maybe that’s part of the reason they’re pushing for an IPO now.

It’s also worth noting — Coinbase returns most of the USDC yield (about 4%) to users. So, Circle pays Coinbase for distribution, and Coinbase uses it as a user acquisition tool, ultimately profiting from higher-margin businesses like trading.

Imran: Circle seems to be fighting a losing battle. While they currently have a regulatory moat, traditional financial competitors are emerging.

Qiao: USDC dominates in the US, but globally, USDT is still king.

Imran: Yes, a founder from Colombia told me that USDC is basically irrelevant in Latin America. Despite offering a better product, it hasn’t gained traction.

Qiao: That’s the network effect of currency. USDT has been around for a decade, and people trust the brand — especially on Tron, where USDT holds a significant share.

Imran: So, what’s Circle’s ultimate goal? They’re caught between regulators and Coinbase. Even though USDC has been adopted in DeFi and by some founders, is that enough?

Qiao: From the outside, Circle seems to be a tough business. I’m not sure what their next move is.

Imran: They seem to be shifting more toward on-chain infrastructure.

Qiao: The best thing they’ve built is CCTP — the cross-chain USDC bridge. It’s fast, with settlement times under a minute, and it’s essentially free. Since it’s centralized, they just move database entries internally.

Honestly, I trust CCTP more than some decentralized bridges.

Imran: I’ve also been using Debridge and Wormhole — they’re both great. But Circle’s solution might be the best in terms of speed and reliability.

There have also been two significant mergers and acquisitions — Kraken acquiring NinjaTrader, a major traditional derivatives platform, and there are rumors that Coinbase made an offer for Deribit.

In my view, this reflects a broader trend: existing companies are expanding beyond pure crypto trading, which is no longer sufficient to meet growth expectations.

Innovation seems to be stagnating, so exchanges are doubling down on adjacent areas. Interestingly, some are moving toward traditional finance, while others — like Robinhood — are refocusing on crypto with a renewed vigor.

Qiao: Yes, I feel the same. The lines are clearly beginning to blur.

Market Sentiment Check: Saylor, GameStop, and the Liquidity Cycle

Imran: Quick market sentiment check — Michael Saylor just raised another $2 billion, and GameStop followed suit with a $1.6 billion issuance.

Qiao: Saylor’s move is almost old news. But yes, I checked his risk — his liquidation risk is minimal unless the price of Bitcoin drops below $20,000 in the next few months.

Imran: Right, he holds about 3% of the total BTC supply. He’s aggressive, but he’s also safe.

Qiao: So, where are we in the cycle? A lot may depend on what Trump says today — policy could change rapidly.

As for stocks, I think only a few US stocks are fairly valued. Google is one of them — it’s recovering in AI, and its valuation remains reasonable. I’m also bullish on Tesla.

I bought my Cybertruck at the end of last year, and in just a few months, FSD has almost become capable of hands-free driving. That made me decide to double down. Musk also plans to launch the Optimus humanoid robot between 2026 and 2027.

For me, Tesla is the most liquid venture investment in AI, autonomous driving, and robotics.

Imran: Agreed. If you want broader exposure to fintech and tokenization, Robinhood is also interesting. I’m currently more inclined toward it than Coinbase, although that could change based on acquisitions.

Escalating AI Competition: Google, Tesla, and China’s Participation

Imran: I’ve seen videos of humanoid robots in public spaces in China — they’re not general-purpose, but still impressive.

Qiao: Yes, they’re probably task-specific robots. But agreed — China is clearly involved.

Imran: If investors want exposure to Chinese innovation, there are more options now.

Qiao: And Chinese tech stocks are far cheaper than US stocks. I hold some — Tencent and Pinduoduo (PDD) are my top picks. Tencent is doing serious AI work at scale with data. PDD is founder-led, growing rapidly, and still feels like a startup.

Imran: That makes sense. So, the US-China tech competition is unfolding in real-time.

Qiao: In the AI model space — have you tried Mistral? We use it internally at Alliance. For deep research tasks, it’s clearly ahead of ChatGPT.

Perplexity is also great for research — it quickly became one of my go-to tools.

AI Assistant Showdown: Gemini, Mistral, and Perplexity

Imran: A few days ago, someone on Twitter compared Mistral to Google’s Gemini. They said if it takes five minutes to do deep work with Mistral, it only takes two and a half minutes with Gemini. So I started using Gemini more.

Qiao: Gemini is indeed great. Its performance has been surprisingly robust.

Imran: Yes, I’ve started switching. Every few weeks, I feel like I have to change my workflow based on the latest tools.

Qiao: Me too.

Imran: There’s no moat yet. So recently, I’ve been using Gemini more. Last night, I tried their new feature — real-time conversation. It’s part of the latest update.

You can actually brainstorm with AI in real-time. For example, I wanted to plan a birthday party — it helped me come up with ideas, find a venue, estimate costs, and I even had it make a phone call for me.

Qiao: Did it actually make the call?

Imran: Not yet. But it got me to the point where all I had to do was make the call myself. It automated everything up to that point. Super useful.

Qiao: Can ChatGPT do that? Or not quite?

Imran: From what I’ve seen, Gemini feels faster and more interactive. Have you tried Sesame AI? It’s the most advanced voice model I’ve seen — it feels like talking to a real person.

Qiao: Who’s behind Sesame?

Imran: Not sure — no major company has claimed it. But I tried both of their models, and they’re impressive. I had my wife try it, and she was really creeped out. She said it felt like talking to a real person. It even simulates breathing — it’s that good.

Qiao: Turing test passed. That’s crazy.

Imran: Yeah, very convincing.

Qiao: The Google thing you mentioned is the only US stock I currently hold — Google. Its forward PE is around 17 — not cheap, but still reasonable compared to the other “Big Seven.”

For the first time in over a decade, Google is back at the forefront. They lost to Facebook in social media and couldn’t catch up with Apple in mobile. But in AI? That’s Google’s home turf. It’s deep software technology, and Google excels at it. I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of this year, Google has the best AI model.

Imran: I heard that Google co-founder Sergey Brin has returned to Google and is working overtime to ensure they win in AI — at least that’s what I saw on Twitter.

I like Google because when I do deep research, it pulls information from sources like YouTube and podcasts — real-time content. That gives it a unique advantage. Sometimes I think, “This research would actually be better on Google than on ChatGPT or Mistral.”

Qiao: That’s a good point. I still use a combination of all the top AIs — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, etc. I just switch based on context.

And although I can’t always clearly articulate why, I instinctively know which tool to use in each situation. It’s like I’ve built my own mental neural network for choosing the right AI assistant.

By the way, OpenAI just raised another round of funding — $300 million, with a valuation of $30 billion.

Imran: Yeah, massive. Definitely high-profile.

Qiao: The AI competition is fierce — both at the foundational model level and in applications. All the big players — the “Big Seven” — are deeply investing in AI, except Apple.

This in-depth discussion covers the dynamics of emerging startups, the impact of AI on coding and education, and the future prospects of junior positions in law, medicine, and finance potentially becoming extinct.

Edited & Compiled by Wu Blockchain

In this episode of GoodGame, Imran and Qiao, co-founders of AllianceDAO, delve into how the tech world’s focus has rapidly shifted toward AI and robotics, overshadowing the current innovation cycle of cryptocurrency. They assess the stagnant narratives around stablecoins and tokenization in the crypto space, while highlighting the competitive landscape dominated by exchanges and meme-driven token launches.

Robinhood, as a formidable competitor, is bridging the gap between fintech and tokenized assets. The discussion covers the dynamics of emerging startups, the impact of AI on coding and education, and the future prospects of junior positions in law, medicine, and finance potentially becoming extinct, ultimately painting a future where AI-native, founder-led micro-startups reshape industry norms. This article is edited by Wu Blockchain.

Original Link: https://x.com/goodgamepodxyz/status/1907801545065820269?s=19
Note: Due to network issues, the link may not be accessible. Please check the validity of the link and try accessing it again. If you need specific information from this link, feel free to let me know, and I can help answer any related questions!

The AI and Robotics Boom Overshadows the Current State of Cryptocurrency

Imran: Welcome to GoodGame, where we provide no-nonsense insights for cryptocurrency founders. We’ve seen ups and downs. I think in terms of attention, there are a lot of exciting new releases in the AI and robotics space, which are overshadowing the dynamics of cryptocurrency.

Qiao: Absolutely.

Imran: There will be periods of innovation that capture a lot of people’s attention and mindshare. I think we are currently at a stage with AI and robotics, while cryptocurrency is going through a rebuilding process. If you’re looking for the next startup idea in cryptocurrency, you can check out our startup request list and get inspired at align.xyz/ideas.

Qiao: Currently, in the cryptocurrency space, whether you’re a builder or an investor — even on Crypto Twitter — there’s pretty much only one narrative.

Imran: Stablecoins and tokenization are those two narratives.

Qiao: But it’s still the same story. It’s just about putting traditional assets on the blockchain.

Imran: It seems like there’s a consensus now. Yes.

We’re seeing many institutions launching their own stablecoins. I think Fidelity recently just announced their own stablecoin.

Who else? I mean, there are a bunch of companies trying to do exactly the same thing. From an innovation standpoint,

it doesn’t seem like there’s anything truly new; they’re just reinventing the wheel.

I’m planning to post this meme. I tried to get ChatGPT to generate a Ghibli-style meme. But essentially, what I’m trying to convey is that the competitive landscape is actually very small.

Everyone is fighting over each other’s profits. If you look at Binance, they’ve made two very significant indirect statements. The first one is, I don’t know if you’ve seen the Hyperliquid incident, but to summarize at a high level, there’s a token on Hyperliquid called Jelly.

Intense Exchange Competition Highlights Challenges for Hyperliquid

Imran: The trading volume and liquidity on Hyperliquid have reached a level where manipulation is possible. Someone opened a short position to extract value from HLP.

OKX and Binance publicly engaged in this — posting about it on Twitter — and many interpreted it as them wanting Hyperliquid to fail because it’s seen as a competitive threat to their derivatives business.

Another example: Binance is listing tokens from FourMeme, which is a PumpFun clone running on the BNB chain. Tokens like Mubarak and Broccoli are being listed, sparking criticism of Binance’s direction. But the logic is clear — they view platforms like PumpFun as competitors.

Now, Binance is actively competing with Hyperliquid, PumpFun, Jupiter, and others — it’s a war on-chain and off-chain.

Qiao: Everyone is targeting the same verticals — trading and stablecoins. In trading: crypto-native platforms and Robinhood. In stablecoins: Circle, Tether, and traditional fintech companies.

Robinhood’s Strategic Push Toward Tokenization

Imran: Robinhood recently held an Apple-style launch event, emphasizing their commitment to “tokenizing everything.” With their massive distribution network, they are in a strong market position.

They also want to tokenize real estate — something like a tradable OpenSea-style MLS — allowing users to trade exposure to real estate assets.

Qiao: But not physical real estate — they might offer derivatives tied to real estate, which fits their strengths.

Imran: Exactly — they have a deep understanding of their user base.

Additionally, they’ve launched a cash-delivery service — you can request physical cash instead of going to an ATM. Initially, I wondered who still uses cash, but many people do — contractors, hairstylists, etc. — mostly for privacy reasons.

Qiao: I get the appeal. Banks ask invasive questions when you try to withdraw large amounts of cash. It’s frustrating. I just don’t quite understand why Robinhood wants to get into this space.

Robinhood’s Cash Delivery and Banking Services

Imran: You know, it might be another angle — maybe because the ATM business is still very profitable. If you can capture that…

Qiao: Do they want to become a bank? They want people to deposit money. Yes, they want people to deposit funds so they can lend and earn the interest spread, essentially acting like a bank.

Imran: That might be the underlying reason — basically, “Take your money out of the bank and give it to us.” And then add this cash-delivery service. But they also offer other incentives. Recently, they announced a promotion — which I’m actually considering. If you transfer your brokerage account to them, they’ll give you an extra 2% bonus. So I’m really considering moving it over. It’s not a bad deal.

So, they’re making a full push — traditional business, banking services, traditional brokerage accounts, and now even competing with crypto exchanges. They’re reaching into three different areas.

Qiao: I think Robinhood is the biggest threat to Coinbase.

Robinhood vs. Coinbase: The Platform Distribution Battle

Imran: I think Robinhood is the biggest threat to crypto startups. Because all the services they’re offering now — whether it’s tokenizing X or Y — are exactly what we want our founders to build. If Robinhood becomes the main distribution point, it essentially cuts out the middleman — in this case, the startups.

So if we look ahead and examine the current competitive landscape, it actually feels very small. And when you include Robinhood and other major players, it gets even smaller.

Qiao: By “small,” you mean only a few players are competing for the same opportunities?

Imran: Yes. Hyperliquid.

Qiao: Binance, Coinbase...

Qiao: Pump. Pump is now handling about 30% of the startup trading volume, right? That’s quite significant — quite large.

Imran: Yes, it’s large. I’m not sure about the latest numbers, but the 24-hour trading volume is around $294 million. Annually, that’s about $30 billion in revenue. In comparison, Raydium’s AMM trading volume is $332 million.

However, the trading volume has indeed dropped slightly — now it’s close to $200 million. Basically, Pump has surpassed Raydium in terms of trading volume. That’s the point I’m trying to make.

Liquidity Fragmentation Between Exchanges and Aggregators

Qiao: What data are you looking at? DeFi Llama?

Imran: Yes. Raydium’s trading volume has mainly remained stable, primarily due to previously launched tokens.

Qiao: Mainly.

Imran: Right, but that could change. Pump is gaining attention. Jupiter launched Meteora (an AMM), and there’s also Moonshot. They’re all part of the same founder network. Jupiter as an aggregator.

This market is becoming crowded, with everyone chasing the same marginal users.

The real challenge now is expanding the market — how do we bring new users into cryptocurrency? That’s the next frontier. Until then, it’s a game of waiting for the next wave of meaningful innovation.

An interesting experiment is Noise on MegaETH. They’re using Kaido as a trend oracle — kind of like fantasy sports, but for trend trading. It’s part of the “financialization of attention” theory we’ve been discussing for years.

Qiao: Yes, it’s not new; it’s just a repackaging of the same idea. There’s nothing truly transformative yet.

Imran: Pretty much.

Circle’s Strategic Dilemma: Dependency on Coinbase, Global Competition, and On-Chain Transformation

Qiao: Circle’s IPO valuation is between $3 billion and $5 billion — slightly lower than I expected, but maybe that’s just my bias.

Imran: Fair enough. What stands out in the filing is that Circle pays 50% of its reserve income — income from Treasury bills and other yield-generating assets — to Coinbase.

Last year, Circle’s revenue was about $1.8 billion, of which $800 million was paid to Coinbase. That’s huge.

This shows a clear power dynamic: Coinbase owns the user relationship and is the main distribution channel for USDC. It’s like how Pump owns its end-users and uses them for the AMM.

Qiao: Exactly. If Treasury yields drop, that poses an existential risk to Circle. Maybe that’s part of the reason they’re pushing for an IPO now.

It’s also worth noting — Coinbase returns most of the USDC yield (about 4%) to users. So, Circle pays Coinbase for distribution, and Coinbase uses it as a user acquisition tool, ultimately profiting from higher-margin businesses like trading.

Imran: Circle seems to be fighting a losing battle. While they currently have a regulatory moat, traditional financial competitors are emerging.

Qiao: USDC dominates in the US, but globally, USDT is still king.

Imran: Yes, a founder from Colombia told me that USDC is basically irrelevant in Latin America. Despite offering a better product, it hasn’t gained traction.

Qiao: That’s the network effect of currency. USDT has been around for a decade, and people trust the brand — especially on Tron, where USDT holds a significant share.

Imran: So, what’s Circle’s ultimate goal? They’re caught between regulators and Coinbase. Even though USDC has been adopted in DeFi and by some founders, is that enough?

Qiao: From the outside, Circle seems to be a tough business. I’m not sure what their next move is.

Imran: They seem to be shifting more toward on-chain infrastructure.

Qiao: The best thing they’ve built is CCTP — the cross-chain USDC bridge. It’s fast, with settlement times under a minute, and it’s essentially free. Since it’s centralized, they just move database entries internally.

Honestly, I trust CCTP more than some decentralized bridges.

Imran: I’ve also been using Debridge and Wormhole — they’re both great. But Circle’s solution might be the best in terms of speed and reliability.

There have also been two significant mergers and acquisitions — Kraken acquiring NinjaTrader, a major traditional derivatives platform, and there are rumors that Coinbase made an offer for Deribit.

In my view, this reflects a broader trend: existing companies are expanding beyond pure crypto trading, which is no longer sufficient to meet growth expectations.

Innovation seems to be stagnating, so exchanges are doubling down on adjacent areas. Interestingly, some are moving toward traditional finance, while others — like Robinhood — are refocusing on crypto with a renewed vigor.

Qiao: Yes, I feel the same. The lines are clearly beginning to blur.

Market Sentiment Check: Saylor, GameStop, and the Liquidity Cycle

Imran: Quick market sentiment check — Michael Saylor just raised another $2 billion, and GameStop followed suit with a $1.6 billion issuance.

Qiao: Saylor’s move is almost old news. But yes, I checked his risk — his liquidation risk is minimal unless the price of Bitcoin drops below $20,000 in the next few months.

Imran: Right, he holds about 3% of the total BTC supply. He’s aggressive, but he’s also safe.

Qiao: So, where are we in the cycle? A lot may depend on what Trump says today — policy could change rapidly.

As for stocks, I think only a few US stocks are fairly valued. Google is one of them — it’s recovering in AI, and its valuation remains reasonable. I’m also bullish on Tesla.

I bought my Cybertruck at the end of last year, and in just a few months, FSD has almost become capable of hands-free driving. That made me decide to double down. Musk also plans to launch the Optimus humanoid robot between 2026 and 2027.

For me, Tesla is the most liquid venture investment in AI, autonomous driving, and robotics.

Imran: Agreed. If you want broader exposure to fintech and tokenization, Robinhood is also interesting. I’m currently more inclined toward it than Coinbase, although that could change based on acquisitions.

Escalating AI Competition: Google, Tesla, and China’s Participation

Imran: I’ve seen videos of humanoid robots in public spaces in China — they’re not general-purpose, but still impressive.

Qiao: Yes, they’re probably task-specific robots. But agreed — China is clearly involved.

Imran: If investors want exposure to Chinese innovation, there are more options now.

Qiao: And Chinese tech stocks are far cheaper than US stocks. I hold some — Tencent and Pinduoduo (PDD) are my top picks. Tencent is doing serious AI work at scale with data. PDD is founder-led, growing rapidly, and still feels like a startup.

Imran: That makes sense. So, the US-China tech competition is unfolding in real-time.

Qiao: In the AI model space — have you tried Mistral? We use it internally at Alliance. For deep research tasks, it’s clearly ahead of ChatGPT.

Perplexity is also great for research — it quickly became one of my go-to tools.

AI Assistant Showdown: Gemini, Mistral, and Perplexity

Imran: A few days ago, someone on Twitter compared Mistral to Google’s Gemini. They said if it takes five minutes to do deep work with Mistral, it only takes two and a half minutes with Gemini. So I started using Gemini more.

Qiao: Gemini is indeed great. Its performance has been surprisingly robust.

Imran: Yes, I’ve started switching. Every few weeks, I feel like I have to change my workflow based on the latest tools.

Qiao: Me too.

Imran: There’s no moat yet. So recently, I’ve been using Gemini more. Last night, I tried their new feature — real-time conversation. It’s part of the latest update.

You can actually brainstorm with AI in real-time. For example, I wanted to plan a birthday party — it helped me come up with ideas, find a venue, estimate costs, and I even had it make a phone call for me.

Qiao: Did it actually make the call?

Imran: Not yet. But it got me to the point where all I had to do was make the call myself. It automated everything up to that point. Super useful.

Qiao: Can ChatGPT do that? Or not quite?

Imran: From what I’ve seen, Gemini feels faster and more interactive. Have you tried Sesame AI? It’s the most advanced voice model I’ve seen — it feels like talking to a real person.

Qiao: Who’s behind Sesame?

Imran: Not sure — no major company has claimed it. But I tried both of their models, and they’re impressive. I had my wife try it, and she was really creeped out. She said it felt like talking to a real person. It even simulates breathing — it’s that good.

Qiao: Turing test passed. That’s crazy.

Imran: Yeah, very convincing.

Qiao: The Google thing you mentioned is the only US stock I currently hold — Google. Its forward PE is around 17 — not cheap, but still reasonable compared to the other “Big Seven.”

For the first time in over a decade, Google is back at the forefront. They lost to Facebook in social media and couldn’t catch up with Apple in mobile. But in AI? That’s Google’s home turf. It’s deep software technology, and Google excels at it. I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of this year, Google has the best AI model.

Imran: I heard that Google co-founder Sergey Brin has returned to Google and is working overtime to ensure they win in AI — at least that’s what I saw on Twitter.

I like Google because when I do deep research, it pulls information from sources like YouTube and podcasts — real-time content. That gives it a unique advantage. Sometimes I think, “This research would actually be better on Google than on ChatGPT or Mistral.”

Qiao: That’s a good point. I still use a combination of all the top AIs — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, etc. I just switch based on context.

And although I can’t always clearly articulate why, I instinctively know which tool to use in each situation. It’s like I’ve built my own mental neural network for choosing the right AI assistant.

By the way, OpenAI just raised another round of funding — $300 million, with a valuation of $30 billion.

Imran: Yeah, massive. Definitely high-profile.

Qiao: The AI competition is fierce — both at the foundational model level and in applications. All the big players — the “Big Seven” — are deeply investing in AI, except Apple.