We are sending this newsletter to the grave for now.

Moving forward you can join our new Telegram Channel to get Industry Alpha from Alliance.

Our promise: no spam, just alpha.

We will send you the best s#it once a week, maybe twice, but not more.

What to expect:

1. The latest Good Game Episodes with timestamps to advice for crypto founders.

2. Curated tweets from our team to get you ahead of the trend.

3. Invitations to private events hosted by Alliance.

4. Deadlines to apply for the MVP hackathon, the accelerator or to join Demo Days.

5. Memes and Illustrations showcasing hot topics or crypto founder lessons.

6. Research articles from our gigabrain phds.

7. Be the first to get dope content like our new Docuseries. Teaser here.

tysm for your interest in crypto.

The term “Memecoin” itself carries negative connotations that lead many to underestimate its significance. Qiao suggests a redefinition: “call it intersubjective token or IST,” a term he picked up from Yuval Noah Harari’s book, Sapiens.

In Sapiens, Yuval discusses intersubjectivity as a consensus on meanings shared among people. This encompasses laws, religions, nationalities, and even the accepted value of money—intersubjective truths shaped by societal agreement, a narrative that resonates within a community.

This is what Memecoins represent: truths endorsed by people rather than by nature. They could be a funny internet meme, a song, or anything else that a community values.

All the stories that we tell ourselves are intersubjective. This doesn’t diminish their importance or weight, if anything, it is even more important that we uphold them.

Qiao beautifully articulates this concept by stating, “People love connecting with each other over a story,” and it’s this connection that Intersubjective Tokens can accelerate. Each token guards a narrative that people can rally around, with the financial upside acting as a reward.

Imran and Qiao discuss how founders could develop specialized versions of platforms like Pump across various domains such as music, videos, subreddits, Farcaster channels, and more. Consider the memetic value of Trends on platforms like X and TikTok dances or Instagram posts.

In essence, intersubjective tokens enable us to tokenize attention onlinechain. Let’s move beyond the label of Memecoins and give these tokens the brand recognition they deserve.

If you want to jump right to the quotes above go to 35:36

Full video: April Roundup: Is it over? EigenLayer, SocialFi Summer, and Outflows

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

• Legendary trader Peter Brandt predicts the bitcoin-to-gold ratio could triple to 100 oz, implying a 230% bitcoin price increase to over $234,000.

• Pension funds are aping into Bitcoin ETFs.

• PayPal launches PYUSD on Solana.

• Aptos Labs CEO Mo Shaikh named to CFTC’s digital assets subcommittee.

• Head over to DeFi Llama to mine airdrops of your favorite Dapps.

While the official application deadline was last Wednesday 29th of May, we've decided to give flexibility for founders who missed the date.

We know this problem all too well in crypto. We have a growth toolbox filled with incentives mechanisms that tend to attract the wrong type of user.

Points, Tokens, Quests, and any monetary incentive that isn't correlated to product usage, or that gets people to use the product not because they need to solve a problem is bound to damage your retention cohorts.

And to the same extent, to create a false sense of product market fit.

Mert explains that the first thing you need to do is "to get very clear on who the ideal customer is".

Understanding your market's hair of fire problem and solving that is possibly the only sustainable way to find initial PMF.

"If your market is people who want to make money, you are not going to get PMF, because what is your product?"

Merts message hits home as Eigen Layer prepares for their airdrop.

Video Source: Mert Gives Advice to Crypto Founders | Instant Impact

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

• Tether, USDC and DAI transaction volume surpasses Visa's 2023 monthly average

• Hire crypto natives

• Bernstein says slowing Bitcoin ETF flows are a 'short-term pause,' maintains $150,000 price target

• Genesis RSICS could be a good bet in the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Alliance offers $350k in funding through two investment tracks:

1. Early Stage (Standard Deal): For companies that haven't launched yet or have been working on their current idea for less than 6 months, we invest at a $5M post-money valuation.

2. Later Stage (Flexible Terms): For companies with strong traction or that are currently raising a multi-million dollar round, we'll typically follow the same terms as other investors.

Its a frequent mistake in a space where builders are arguably redesigning the entire internet and financial infrastructure of the future - one that provides more freedom, ownership and opportunities to individuals.

Alexei Zamyatin is the founder of Build on Bob, the first L2 that combines Bitcoin and Ethereum security and liquidity.

He advices: "Dont get too obsessed with tech and what you think is great. Build what people want". Elaborating further, "narrative is what people want".

This insight rings especially true in the crypto world, where attention and capital constantly shift, often lured by the next shiny object with a compelling narrative.

Alexei knows this challenge well. He spent 4 years developing the Polkadot Parachain Interlay, aimed at enabling Bitcoin DeFi. It faltered because the users simply weren't interested in Polkadot.

Reflecting on these experiences, he shares: "We got punched in the face really hard, focusing only on tech, and that woke us up.

"I think many teams out there focus only on building the super fancy thing that people are going to love because of some founder confirmation bias."

For instance, Alexei believes that Runes is a safe bet for the next few months because it aligns with the current narrative.

"BRC has succeeded so far not because of its technology but because it's easy to use, and that’s true for assets, L2s, wallets, and bridges."

Taking a page from Peter Thiel’s book, Alexei reminds us, "It's zero to one" if you truly listen to what people are telling you.

Video Source: Build What Users Want | Instant Impact [Entire Talk]

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

• Peter Thiel's Founders Fund takes a stake in crypto accelerator Alliance

• US DOJ seeks 36 months’ imprisonment for Binance founder CZ

• EigenLayer's TVL crosses $15 billion

• Ethereum ETFs likely to be approved in May.

• Ansem and others have been playing Fantasy, a SocialFi game that took Twitter/X by storm.

Alliance will launch an IRL hackathon for top crypto founders that need help with their idea. Stay tuned.

For those founder with a clear idea, traction and ready to go, you can apply to the accelerator program until May 29 at 11:59pm Pacific.

In the clip below, Juan advises founders to "become super learners."

He elaborates: "No matter what problem you may be facing, you have to get really good at solving problems. And being able to do this on a really fast iteration loop is one of the most critical entrepreneurial skill sets that you can develop."

This skill significantly unlocks velocity and the ability to learn faster than your competition.

"You will face tens of thousands of problems all of which are themselves not that hard but you have to solve them just good enough so you can move on the next one."

If you want to jump right to the quotes above go to 28:49

Video Source: Building web3 Startups - Juan Benet | Pragma Tokyo = ETHGlobal [Entire Talk]

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

• Stacks Blockchain 'Nakamoto' Upgrade Goes Live.

• SEC Lawyers Resign After 'Gross Abuse' of Power in Crypto Case - bullish.

• BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF joins the top 10 of exchange traded funds after inflows rise to $62.2m post-halving.

• Bitcoin's OP_CAT Proposal Secures Magic Number: BIP-420.

• Venezuelan PDVSA looks to USDT for oil sales as sanctions return.

• Udi believes that the Ordinal blue chips (Bitcoin Puppets, Nodemonkes, Quantum Cats) are the best way to gain exposure to the Bitcoin ecosystem without being glued to the screen 24/7.

Alliance alumni boast a combined valuation of $14 billion.

Apply by May 29 to join elite founders who are building the companies of the future. Notable participants include Pump, Kyber, Fantasy, Xverse, 0x, Synthetix, Tensor, deBridge, Caldera, Primodium, Zerion, Modulus, Glow, StepN, Manta, Wasabi, and many others.

Crypto founders often follow advice tailored to Web2 companies, yet Pacman believes, "Building a DApp or a protocol in crypto is inherently different."

He elaborates, "Typically, you launch rapidly, iterate, and pivot", a strategy which many successful Web2 startups have executed to achieve pmf.

"For us, however, we knew exactly what we wanted to build, how we planned to launch it, and even the points system we developed for growth—all set prior to day one."

Pacman and his team spent 10 months building in stealth before launching, diverging from the well-known "launch now" mantra popularized by YC.

Its actually YC's first piece of advice in their essential pocket guide.

"The reason we were so confident is that the inspiration for Blur came from my own experiences as an NFT trader − an underserved market in 2022."

He reinforces the idea of taking as much time needed to build by explaining that in a financialized industry such as crypto "security is existential".

"In web3 when things work, they escalate rapidly and the numbers get really big, really fast." Bitcoin L2s and Pacman's own Blast L2 are proof of this, reaching billions in TVL in less than just one month.

Pacman explains, "In that environment is always a good idea to get an audit first".

For now, many crypto founders would benefit from adopting a Web3-native approach to development, embracing the strategy of "Not launching now".

Video Source: Founder Lessons Learned While Building Blur and Blast with Pacman [Entire talk]

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

• Hong Kong approves BTC and ETH ETFs

• Toncoin has risen into the top 10 ranks. Listen to Qiao's thesis on Good Game.

• As expected, Base becomes the #1 Ethereum L2 in TPS.

• Despite congestion, Solana's Colosseum Hackathon sees 1000 new projects.

Starting this week, we will share one Alpha on each newsletter.

• Ansem calls PUPS and WZRD the next Doge and Wif.

Join elite crypto founders by applying to Alliance before May 29 at 11:59pm Pacific.

Jesse Pollak, the founder of Base—an Ethereum Layer 2 developed by the Coinbase team—aims to onboard Coinbase's 100 million users onto the blockchain.

He shares two key pieces of advice for founders eager to cultivate a community:

"Focus on nurturing and providing incremental stepping stones to attract your initial 100 true fans of the community - those motivated not just by speculation but by a desire to create and be part of something larger than themselves."

For nurturing, he believes founders need to simply "figure out when people want to participate more" and be ready to onboard them.

Regarding incremental stepping stones, Jesse considers it vital to "offer interested participants a bite size way of getting involved allowing them to feel a sense of achievement, so they can take the next step to doing something bigger."

Another valuable lesson Jesse imparts to founders is one of the guiding principles at Base: "the job's not finished," a motto inspired by the late Kobe Bryant.

He elaborates, "This is because our task will only be complete when we've successfully brought the entire world on-chain."

If you want to jump right into the quotes above go to 53:20

Video source: Bringing the World Onchain with Jesse Pollak from BASE | ZEROPOD Episode 21 [Entire talk]

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

1. Hot Topics: Solana Congestion, Bitcoin Runes, Echo, and Ethena

Alliance's new standard investment is $350k and will host accepted founders in NY for the first 4 weeks of the program.

Antonio opened up, revealing, "It's a significant challenge to oversee 50 employees who've devoted years of their lives, manage users trading a billion dollars daily, and generate tens of millions in annual revenue, all while making big, bold decisions."

He adds: "It really is an innate human thing to be scared of failure, of letting people down."

Antonio notes that "success impacts you in both positive and negative ways. It can heighten fear due to having more to lose, or alternatively, it can bolster your confidence, encouraging you to pursue even greater ambitions than previously imagined."

He argues that leaders can conquer fear by setting clear goals from the outset and adopting a long-term perspective, spanning 10 to 20 years.

"There's no goals that are objectively better than other goals. For me, I want DeFi to be the main way people trade in the world, period."

If you want to jump right to the quotes above go to 45:04

Video Source: The dYdX Appchain Vision: One of Crypto's Boldest Bets | Antonio Juliano [Entire Talk]

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

This week in crypto

1. Good Game - Five Trends Shaping the Bull Run

2. CBDC is “nowhere near” happening,” says Fed chair Jerome Powell.

3. Crypto x AI insider info

3 months until the Alliance's Accelerator deadline.

The application window for Alliance’s ALL13 wraps up on May 29.

For nascent startups, securing a spot in a crypto native media company like Jason's Blockworks is wise during downturns, but in a bull market, "an article in the NYT or Wall Street Journal is going to have a large impact."

Jason built the "Bloomberg of crypto" in just 7 years. In this period, he noted that founders often struggle getting media coverage. He explains "to build a bullet proof PR launch strategy you need to first have an article on why your product is great."

After securing media attention, he suggests founders guest on leading podcasts and finally "do a social media blast where you own crypto twitter for a day."

Jason advises preparing your narrative well in advance: "Media moves really quickly so you want to have everything baked out before you reach out." The average lead time is 5-7 days so don't reach out until your 100% ready to announce.

He suggests making a list of 3-5 targeted reporters, emphasizing, "you are not pitching to a publication, you are pitching to a reporter."

Identifying the right reporters requires research: "go on the publication's website, read the stories, and you'll start to see a trend and see which reporters are relevant to you."

For outreach, he suggests leveraging introductions, or if necessary, direct messaging or emailing, beginning with a compliment, showcasing traction, and big customer names. "Then you give them the news piece" but expect to follow up.

Jason recommends offering an exclusive, explaining, "You all need to do that, because you have no leverage in this situation, because you are a startup. And incentives drive the world, so your startup might not give them the page views."

He believes startups should "lead with the money and the big names" or, lacking those, align with the current crypto narrative and share traction figures.

Lastly, "Only give the full story once they've agreed to an embargo on a specific day," ensuring the reporter holds off on publishing until you're ready.

Video source: this content is from Alliance's ALL10 private cohort lectures. Released to the public for the first time.

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

This week in crypto

1. Uniswap launches ENS subdomains, browser extension, and limit orders.

2. Bitcoin ETFs hit volume record of $7.6B while BoFa and Wells Fargo offer it to their clients.

3. Stablecoins may hit $10 trillion yearly volume in 2024

4. Solana just had its biggest week ever, hitting ~$12B DEX volume.

5. Fidelity recommends a 3% crypto allocation

6. Janet Yellen gives an important update regarding crypto

Regular applications are now open to Alliance's ALL13 cohort.

Apply to ALL13 by May 29 at 11:59pm PST.

He advises founders, "You are a servant to your community, whether you like it or not. The sooner you accept this, the more successful you'll be."

Luca aims to dethrone Yuga Labs, stating, "I want to show the world that it's possible to take something crypto native and develop it into a real entity that tens of millions of people will know and love."

A key element of his strategy to establish a tangible brand involves reaching customers beyond the crypto sphere by selling toys at Walmart, an innovative tactic that has never been attempted before.

He elaborated, "Are we becoming rich by selling toys? No, but does this approach place us in a position of strength where we aren't forced to mint more NFTs at our community's expense? Absolutely."

Luca contends, "Previous NFT projects have relied on monetization through minting and selling additional digital collectibles, which ultimately segments liquidity. The goal should be to consolidate liquidity to boost demand."

He further explains, "building a real business outside of digital collectibles creates more mindshare and markets with a non taboo narrative to people outside of the ecosystem. It also creates a forecastable and growable revenue stream."

"I think of it as an additive layer to the ecosystem instead of an extractive layer of the ecosystem."

If you want to jump right to the quotes above go to 27:17

Video source: Luca Netz's Pudgy Penguins Founder Journey [Entire Talk]

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

This week in crypto

1. Farcaster has shipped support for Solana.

1. LEJILEX and the Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas filed suit against the SEC.

2. Coinbase urges SEC to approve listing of Grayscale's proposed spot ether ETF.

3. Binance's $4.3 billion plea deal for money laundering and sanction violations approved by federal judge

Alliance’s ALL13 cohort early applications close tomorrow.

Apply before Feb 28th at 11:59 PM PST to be considered as an early applicant.

He recommends striving for uniqueness: "Do something different that will spark conversations on Crypto Twitter. That's how you win".

The 2-person Tensor team recently surpassed Magic Eden – a team of 100 – in NFT trading volume on Solana.

Ilja Moisejevs says the appeal of points might only last 6-12 months and predicts a decline in interest moving forward.

Imran Khan, from Alliance, echoed: "People are starting to dislike points. You see startups that don't even have product market fit resorting to points".

"If you are pre-product market fit, defined as having a dedicated user base that engages with your product daily and repeatedly, rewards, whether points or otherwise, shouldn't be your focus", Ilja advised. 

The consensus was that rewards are more effective post-PMF, provided there's a solid product to retain user interest, or else users may quickly disengage.

However, points aren't without their merits: "What's driving the points meta is the regulatory arbitrage. In the U.S., for instance, token airdrops are restricted, making points a good interim solution to devise a regulatory strategy for token distribution.”, added Imran.

Meow from Jupiter concluded: "Incentives in crypto never go away, they get more interesting".

If you want to jump right to the quotes above go to 1:44

Video source: Founder Lessons with The Jupiter and Tensor Teams [Entire Talk]

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

This week in crypto

1. Adam Back's complete email history with Satoshi Nakamato was entered in the court records today

2. Ethena Labs launches with a staggering 24% APY

3. The first Blast L2 hackathon ended successfully

Alliance’s ALL13 cohort is open for early applications.

Apply before Feb 28th at 11:59 PM PST to be considered as an early applicant.

He continues, "We knew exactly what we were doing and what we wanted to build; we could see the future. But it was really hard, and you have to constantly face endless skepticism."

Building something in the face of that skepticism is challenging for anyone, leading to second-guessing oneself. "And on top of that, you have this existential concern: will people use it, like it, will it work?"

Jeremy emphasizes that persistence alone isn't enough to handle skepticism; a network of trusted friends and mentors is crucial for support. "I talk to my brother a lot; we discuss all kinds of challenges, the most difficult things. There are also many other people, mentors who have helped me grow along the way."

This highlights the importance of building a network of friends and mentors. Barack Obama once said to Brian Chesky: "You probably need to renew friendships - It's hard to lose your mind when you have deep connections and relationships with others."

If you want to jump right to the quotes above go to 18:20

Video source: Why $USDC will become a $10 trillion stablecoin | Jeremy Allaire Circle [Entire Talk]

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

This week in crypto

1. Founder Lessons with the Jupiter and Tensor Teams

Alliance’s ALL13 cohort is open for early applications.

Apply before Feb 28th at 11:59 PM PST to be considered as an early applicant.

He continues, "If you're pre-product-market fit, the best advice I can offer from that period is that action produces information, so just keep doing stuff." He advises founders that even if they are unsure of their next steps, they should do anything to gather information about their customers and the product.

"This was certainly true for me. There were times when we just did something instead of endlessly debating it. The moment we shipped it, we knew we had built it wrong, but now we had an idea of what to do next." The lesson here is to move quickly—speed is the number one advantage of a startup.

That said, Brian explains that most people in life including many founders have a hard time producing information because they are "afraid to take steps into the unknown. But to reach the top of the mountain, you must take the first three steps so that the next three steps will be revealed to you."

"That's what separates entrepreneurial individuals—their comfort with risk."

He concludes by saying that people often overestimate the risk of starting a business and encourages them to launch their own companies. "You can raise a seed round, pay yourself a salary, try for two years, and if it doesn't work out, go get another job. If you start a startup and it fails, you become even more valuable to your next employer."

Video source: Advice for startups | Brian Armstrong and Lex Fridman

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

This week in crypto

1. Can Polygon’s Chain Aggregation Unify All L2s

2. The Bitcoin L2 Opportunity

Alliance’s ALL13 cohort is open for applications

We're kicking off our next cohort on August 12, with a two-week in-person orientation in NY at the Alliance HQ, followed by 10 weeks remotely. Apply early by Feb 28th at 11:59 PM PST.

Firstly, it's about authenticity. As Dan puts it, "if you're genuinely interested in this field, it won't feel like work." He jokes having "a competing reading list" with A16Z's crypto canon, highlighting that non-technical founders who have genuine curiosity can leverage the internet to discover outstanding crypto content.

Second, and most importantly, since his early days at Coinbase, Dan surrounded himself with technical people who were really passionate about the technology. His strategy was simple, to "just kind of let them talk and ask them questions". He notes that "the beauty of crypto people, is that they love to just talk about crypto, forever", and the outlier non-technical founders are those who can leverage this to their advantage.

Dan emphasizes that crypto's extreme volatility requires both non-technical and technical founders to maintain equanimity and stoicism, qualities he deems "Brian Armstrong's superpower and why Coinbase is so successful". Persevering with a 'cockroach mentality' is challenging. "If you can actually keep burn low, don't get distracted and make week over week progress and get feedback from a limited number of users you have a real chance on getting product market fit and accelerating afterwards."

If you want to jump right to the quotes above go to 24:57

Video source: Founder talk with Dan Romero, Co-founder & CEO of Farcaster by A16Z Crypto [Entire talk].

If this email was forwarded to you, remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below.

This week in crypto

1. Podcast: Can App Rollups Compete with Monolithic Chains?

2. Research: The Bitcoin L2 Opportunity.

Alliance’s ALL13 cohort is open for applications.

We're kicking off our next cohort on August 12, with a two-week in-person orientation in NY at the Alliance HQ, followed by 10 weeks remotely. Apply by Feb 28th at 11:59 PM PST.