I used to think optionality (the ability to keep as many options available as possible) was a unique strength of mine.
This made me aloof and evasive on my position on many topics. The fear of offending somebody (and burning bridges) was real, and to some extent made sense when I was the least knowledgeable person in the room.
Once I had knowledge, however, an optionality preference meant that I was never convicted in my beliefs or actions. This made it easy to change my mind, but also eroded trust with people (professionally and personally) looking for decisiveness and reassurance.
The ability to change your mind is sacrosanct. The inability to make up your mind is cancerous.
Once I recognized this pattern in myself, I started seeing it everywhere. In leaders who hedge every decision through endless internal debate. In people (myself included) who stay quiet about their personal goals for fear of commitment or judgment. Preserving optionality feels safe, but it’s a slow leak of momentum and trust.
These days, I strive to lead with conviction and have confidence in my beliefs and actions until such time as new evidence presents itself.
This has created a snowball effect with my career, personal interests (focus on Bitcoin-led projects) and fitness goals (shredding and lifting my own body weight) where conviction builds on conviction and accelerates growth.
Being convicted also means saying no a lot of the time. A quick no – with a rational explanation – is way more effective most of the time than a long deliberation to preserve optionality.
Less time making decisions means more time working and building on what matters most.
Still a work in progress. I will change my mind a lot!
Bitcoin gave us a unique opportunity to think about things on a truly global, decentralized scale.
Most humans have some form of bias based on their geography and direct use case. Americans and Europeans (on the whole) are not bothered enough about debasement and payment frictions to care about crypto.
Bitcoin has found a more captive audience as a store of value and medium of exchange in countries with rampant inflation and capital controls. Think Venezuela, Turkey, etc. It is the ultimate form of currency that is independent of governments and institutions.
Emerging markets set the trend and developed markets follow. This is the reverse adoption curve for almost all existing products. As someone with experience developing global products it is still counterintuitive to establish PMF in small developing markets.
Stablecoins (I hope running on Bitcoin rails) are the first large (yet boring) use case that could be truly global in adoption. Most users care about being 24/7, fast and inexpensive more than they do about immutability, decentralization and security.
The more developed a market the more this is true.
Product builders need to make the case for the real benefits of blockchain technology (or not).
Personally, I care about the philosophy of Bitcoin, but there will be periods where getting a product into as many hands as possible is more important 📈
Current quantum tech can’t even crack factor-15 problems, let alone SHA-256. We’re talking orders of magnitude away.
The “secret quantum computer” theory doesn’t hold up. Given the public $Bs in quantum R&D, a similar shadow program would be nearly impossible to hide.
Here’s the kicker: Bitcoin devs aren’t quantum experts. BIPs are in progress, but nobody knows the real timeline or threat level.
Game theory matters too: even IF quantum breaks crypto, why target Bitcoin first? There are bigger fish (banking, military, etc). You’d get one shot before defenses mobilize.
The takeaway: Quantum concerns are real but years away. Bitdevs are moving deliberately, not panicking. Most current “quantum will kill Bitcoin” takes are FUD.
Nobody knows for certain. Stay informed, not anxious.
The title may be clickbait – tax isn’t a sexy topic – but nearly every BitcoinFi company building for institutions that I have spoken to sees it as a major barrier to entry. Tax obligations for Bitcoin and cryptoassets (since they are treated as property rather than currency in most jurisdictions) touch everything from payments to staking and lending. The elephant in the room is tax, and it remains a stubborn barrier to widespread adoption.
For individuals, it’s confusing and annoying. For institutions, the time dedication and compliance risks are several magnitudes higher. Internal tax teams worry about derivatives accounting, GAAP vs. IFRS treatment and quarterly mark-to-market requirements. I nearly had a major partnership deal unwind for exactly this reason! If the tax burden is not minimized, a tentative “Yes” can quickly become a hard “No” to the adoption of Bitcoin-led products.
The issue boils down to this: every movement of Bitcoin is a taxable event. While some countries have carved out narrow exemptions, the US and most OECD members have not. For BitcoinFi builders the table stakes are not just transparency (after all, this is an easy win for blockchain tech!), but robust infrastructure. This means reliable transaction data, technical attestations, audit rails and cost basis reconciliation, as well as API-led reporting that institutions can mold into their own views. These systems need to run 24/7/365 and feature excellent SDKs and templates with integrations directly into enterprise backbones like SAP and Oracle.
The crypto tax software market, worth $4.2B in 2024 and projected to exceed $10B by 2029, with a CAGR of 20%1, is mostly retail-driven today. Institutional needs are far greater, and the compliance burden in both time and money is likely to be 5-10X greater.
While it’s tempting to think stablecoins (fiat-denominated cryptocurrencies that effectively skip the tax issue because they are fiat pegged) are the solution2, I would argue these are inferior solutions that simply paper over the inconvenient tax treatment that Bitcoin suffers today.
Stablecoins appear to solve this by sidestepping capital gains calculations – and current adoption reflects that. Visa Onchain Analytics reported $8.5T in stablecoin transaction volume over the past 12 months3, compared with Bitcoin payments via Lightning which remain a tiny fraction of global settlement flows (optimistically estimated at 5%). But this is only a workaround. Stablecoins are inferior long-term and true adoption of Bitcoin is worth fighting for. The holy grail for BitcoinFi companies is simple: Bitcoin transactions should be recognized as currency movements, not taxable events.
Until then, progress will occur incrementally. A de minimis exemption for small payments (in current US proposals, under $2004) would remove friction for small day-to-day transactions. Global coordination of regulatory and legal requirements is also advancing, with the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) set to standardize disclosure requirements across borders.
Meanwhile, staking (and/or wrapping) and lending of Bitcoin is more complicated. If a holder maintains custody of their Bitcoin it is generally not considered a taxable event, but wrapping it into another token often is (at least under US rules). Non-custodial staking is unlikely to be appealing to yield providers and lenders. Here lies a genuine design challenge for BitcoinFi companies.
The way forward is clear. Let’s be proactive while embracing the tax reality we currently have, build products that make compliance seamless, and keep lobbying for policy change. Best-in-class solutions will mean real-time cost basis reporting, the ability to export directly into tax forms, architecture that is ISO27001 and SOC2 compliant, and above all, integrations that make tax issues invisible to partners and auditors alike.
If Bitcoin is to power global settlement, we don’t just need 24/7 and cheaper rails. We need clarity and compliance – and the companies that deliver both will be the ones that succeed.
I want to talk about something potentially controversial – but timely – after spending a few days immersed in conversations at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas.
We’re all Bitcoiners. I don’t need to convince you of bitcoin’s soundness or the uniqueness of the Bitcoin network. But I do want to explore how we can do more with our BTC. How to extract more utility from bitcoin beyond simply HODLing it as a store of value.
Many of us feel we’ve escaped fiat decay and taken control of our financial destiny. But in practice, we’re often left cash flow neutral (or worse) with assets we don’t want to sell, and limited ways to tap into their value.
So let’s talk about four approaches to increasing bitcoin’s utility:
Spending it
Buying bitcoin-adjacent instruments
Staking it to earn yield
Borrowing against it
The case for spending
Bitcoin’s store-of-value status is well earned, but its original purpose was as money. It says so in the very title of Satoshi’s infamous white paper: “A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” Ignoring Bitcoin’s payment function risks weakening its potential as the future financial system.
The Lightning Network is the best (current) way to bring bitcoin’s payments vision to life. It enables instant, low-cost global transactions and is growing more robust by the day. I’ve been running a Lightning node for a while now, and while it’s taught me a ton, you don’t need to be a technical wizard to participate.
Even without running a node, you can use Lightning to send and receive bitcoin instantly, with better UX than many banking apps. (And, if you do venture into running your own Lightning node – and I highly recommend it – you can earn modest but real yield through routing fees if you manage channels efficiently.)
Look out for:
Cash Apphttps://cash.app/ | Possibly the slickest UX and on/off ramp for making payments with bitcoin.
Lightning Labshttps://lightning.engineering/ | Early mover offering a Layer 2 protocol for building Lightning-powered applications.
Lightsparkhttps://www.lightspark.com/ | Brainpower from the team behind Libra now focused on enabling institutions to scale Lightning payments.
Umbrelhttps://umbrel.com/ | An approachable way to run a Bitcoin+Lightning node with an active and helpful community.
The case for investing
If you’re bullish on BTC’s long-term trajectory, you can express that view through exposure to bitcoin treasury companies or structured funds that track bitcoin performance – often with easier access and tax benefits if you invest in a pension or other efficient wrapper (DYOR, not financial advice).
Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy ($MSTR) is the original Bitcoin proxy. But new contenders are now vying for the crown of the purest and most transparent bitcoin treasury company. Furthermore, products like $MSTY and $IMST have emerged to offer leveraged or derivative exposure, and $STRK or $STRF are pushing the idea of stable, income-oriented bitcoin-backed instruments even further.
I’m personally using MSTR options to speculate with limited capital at risk, but structured funds might be appealing for those seeking passive exposure or looking to diversify their existing portfolio.
Look out for:
Bitwisehttps://bitwiseinvestments.com/ | Leading crypto asset manager with thoughtfully designed products, bleeding-edge quants and a commitment to funding open-source development.
Strategyhttps://www.strategy.com/ | The OG Bitcoin treasury company. “There is no second best” – Michael Saylor.
Twenty Onehttps://xxi.money/ | Backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and Softbank, aiming to build the most transparent bitcoin fund yet.
The case for staking
This was the hot (over-hyped?) topic at Bitcoin 2025 – and also the most misunderstood.
Let’s be clear: staking bitcoin is not the same as staking in proof-of-stake systems like Ethereum. Bitcoin doesn’t have a native staking mechanism. So when a provider offers “bitcoin staking” what they really mean is: your bitcoin is being deployed in a strategy that generates yield, and they’ll share a portion with you.
This raises critical questions:
What is my BTC being used for?
Is it being lent out, wrapped, or used as collateral?
Who controls custody?
Is the yield sustainable – or subsidized?
One standout company building in this space is Acre. You deposit BTC and earn BTC, without needing to convert it into tokens or move off-platform. Behind the scenes, Acre uses secure and decentralized infrastructure to put your BTC to work, with yield coming from demand to rent liquidity for leverage – akin to an on-chain money market. It’s early days, but the design aligns incentives well and emphasizes transparency and user control.
TL;DR If you’re going to stake your BTC, make sure you understand the mechanics and the risks.
Look out for:
Acrehttps://acre.fi/ | Backed by Thesis. An on-Bitcoin yield protocol offering native BTC compounding to consumers and institutions.
The case for borrowing
This one almost needs no introduction. If you need cash but don’t want to sell your BTC, borrow against it. The idea is as old as finance itself – securing a loan with collateral – but Bitcoin makes it programmable.
The big concern here is rehypothecation: are your coins actually held 1:1, or are they being reused behind the scenes? Trust and transparency are key. There’s also market risk: you’re using leverage (true, even if it doesn’t feel like it!). If BTC drops, your loan may be liquidated unless you top up your collateral.
Ask yourself:
Can I support interest payments if my income drops?
What are the margin requirements and what happens if bitcoin’s value declines?
Who are the underlying capital providers, and in what circumstances can they exercise rights to my bitcoin?
Still, when done responsibly, this can be a tax-efficient way to fund fiat expenses – or buy more bitcoin – without selling your stack.
Look out for:
Mezohttps://mezo.org/ | Built by Thesis. Bitcoin-backed lending with a promised competitive borrowing rate. Mainnet was launched during Bitcoin 2025.
Strikehttps://strike.me/ | The Bitcoin financial products company that never fails to amaze with its ability to ship fast and delight users.
From HODL to Action
Bitcoin is pristine collateral. It’s hard money. It’s digital gold. But for Bitcoin to become the backbone of a new financial system, we need to use it, not just stack it.
Consider how spending, staking and borrowing and experimenting with bitcoin-adjacent products fit within your risk appetite. And let’s help the buidlers out there create a world where Bitcoin powers real economic activity – without compromising what makes it special.
A thought piece reflecting on a side degen project I ran in 2023 and a potential opportunity for a leading crypto fund manager. Just for fun. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
NFTs [Non-Fungible Tokens] have served as a gateway into crypto for millions. Unlike many digital assets, NFTs don’t require deep technical knowledge to spark curiosity. The appeal of a Pudgy Penguin or an XCOPY 1:1 speaks for itself. Communities have formed around top collections, often delivering outsized returns to those fortunate enough to mint a genesis NFT.
Yet institutional-grade access remains limited. Bitwise was an early mover, launching its Blue-Chip NFT Index Fund in 2021, but there’s still no pathway for deeper, more dynamic exposure aligned with the true nature of this market.
A Strategic Fit for Bitwise
Bitwise was founded to provide clean, compliant and understandable access to digital assets. Applying a fund manager’s mindset to a tech-native domain, they’ve simplified access, reduced friction and built investor trust.
A managed NFT fund would be a natural extension of this approach. NFTs remain daunting even for established crypto investors, facing barriers around custody, pricing and trust. Bitwise has the brand, infrastructure and qualified distribution network to overcome these challenges once again – this time in the rapidly evolving world of Web3 culture and digital collectibles.
Such a fund would differentiate Bitwise strategically. Most institutional managers remain on the sidelines of NFTs, constrained by traditional valuation frameworks and benchmarking fears. Bitwise could step boldly into this space, reinforcing its innovative edge and potentially delivering outsized returns.
The Opportunity: Big, Underserved and Ripe for Structure
At its peak in 2022, NFT sales volume reached $23.7B (Cointelegraph). Although the market cooled in 2023-24, recovery is well underway. Projections estimate the NFT market will reach $35.7B in 2025 and expand to $211.7B by 2030 (Grand View Research), representing a CAGR of over 41%.
Recent high-profile sales illustrate renewed interest: CryptoPunk #3100 sold for $16M (4,500 ETH) and “Fidenza #313” by Tyler Hobbs went for over $3.3M. While these could be considered exceptional, these sales highlight the broader appeal and potential of digital collectibles.
Yet there’s no agreed definition of a “blue-chip” NFT. Even among crypto veterans, passionate disagreements persist. Factors like emotional resonance, historical significance and collector sentiment complicate traditional valuation frameworks.
In January 2025, respected NFT researcher/collector ‘Jediwolf’ attempted to rank the top 100,000 NFTs. Initial consensus quickly dissolved into debate, leading Jediwolf to conclude “some people will inevitably be dissatisfied and there’s little that can be done to appease everyone” (tweet). This highlights the complexity and emotional depth of NFT investing – a domain ripe for a structured, data-driven approach.
Bitwise could lead by developing a sophisticated model that blends cultural signals with on-chain data, offering investors diversified, real-time exposure to this opaque asset class.
A Personal Experiment: Building a Model
During summer 2023, I attempted to create such a model-driven fund. Friends frequently asked how to invest in NFTs, and I realized I lacked a definitive answer. I began developing a model focused on investing in top NFT collections and exiting based on multiples or market indicators.
Working with Dune Analytics, I analyzed NFT trading pairs – items with observable buy/sell history – organized by collection, rarity traits and historical performance. However, extensive wash trading and bot activity obscured meaningful data, and the rapid emergence of NFTs on new chains (Bitcoin Ordinals, Solana’s Mad Lads, to name only two) quickly outdated my initial models. Continuous updates were clearly necessary, though the concept itself remained sound.
Beyond investor returns, such analytics could also benefit custodians, insurers, and digital and physical auction houses. These stakeholders could contribute to model insights, offsetting operational costs and amplifying industry interest.
Additionally, NFTs often offer utility such as event access, pre-mints, or airdrops – benefits that fund investors could directly enjoy, providing tangible value beyond price appreciation.
Challenges (and Why Bitwise Is Better Equipped)
Despite initial enthusiasm, my project stalled due to the required upfront capital, regulatory uncertainty and limited short-term returns. Investors showed intrigue, but hesitated without institutional backing. I shelved the idea, until a chance encounter at a recent crypto event brought it back to mind.
Bitwise – unlike individual entrepreneurs – possesses the infrastructure, trust and regulatory expertise needed. Still, risks remain significant. NFTs carry reputational and emotional weight – one controversy can rapidly depress floor prices.
Practical questions also persist: What regulatory jurisdiction will the fund choose, and how will it affect investor eligibility? What rights will investors have over the NFTs? Issues around intellectual property, usage, airdrops, and perks must be addressed transparently.
Liquidity also poses a challenge. Unlike most Bitwise products, NFTs from top collections often lack immediate market liquidity. Clear communication regarding lockups, redemption terms and valuation will be essential, though liquidity should naturally evolve as the market matures.
Time to Go Beyond the Basics
Bitwise’s existing Blue-Chip NFT Index Fund, based on quarterly rebalancing, was appropriate in the market’s early days. Today’s NFT ecosystem demands more sophisticated, data-informed models capable of capturing real-time nuances. Get this right and the potential is enormous!
A Next Frontier
Launching a managed NFT fund aligns perfectly with Bitwise’s mission of democratizing crypto investing. Leveraging its strengths – education, compliance, trust – Bitwise could confidently pioneer this next frontier in digital assets.
In earlier posts, I shared my career arc, motivations and the systemic issues plaguing our global financial system.
👋 I quit a cushy ‘TradFi’ career to go back to school and bone up on nascent technologies (big data, ML, AI), aiming to leverage them in a more socially impactful career. That path is still evolving, but I know I thrive in collaborative environments with a growth mindset and a mission to disrupt financial services.
⛓️ The most promising tech I have explored over the last decade is blockchain, specifically the Bitcoin protocol. It is the perfect intersection of math, economics and psychology, to keep me fully engaged.
🧠 For those without the time – or, candidly, the brainpower – to dig into the Bitcoin White Paper, here is a summary of blockchain’s key benefits for reimagining financial services.
Transparency – Bitcoin lets anyone with a basic computer download and verify the entire transaction history since Block 0 (January 3, 2009). Every transaction (or block) is scrutinized and validated by (node or miner) participants, reducing fraud and boosting trust.
Security – Bitcoin’s cryptographic foundation ensures transactions are secure and tamper-resistant, safeguarding against hacking. Once recorded, transactions cannot be altered (immutability), ensuring data integrity.
Inclusion – Blockchain offers decentralized alternatives for unbanked populations, bypassing TradFi’s infrastructure. Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21M bitcoin with ~93% already mined. Supply is controlled by code, not governments. 1 bitcoin == 1 bitcoin, the most robust unit of currency ever.
Efficiency – Bitcoin is not tied to any nation or profit-driven company. It is fully decentralized, and everyone in the network has a voice. By eliminating intermediaries and automating with code, on-chain transactions are faster and cheaper.
⚡️ There are several top notch applications on the Bitcoin protocol that enable users to transact at lightning speed with close to zero cost – it is literally called “Lightning.” Check out Strike (https://strike.me/), Lightning Labs (https://lightning.engineering/) and Lightspark (https://www.lightspark.com/).
Available – Bitcoin is online 24/7/365. It is virtually impossible to stop or attack the network due to the immense computing power required. China banned Bitcoin mining in 2021 (for the third time!) but new mining capacity seamlessly emerged elsewhere. Even a global superpower cannot disrupt availability.
📈 We are still in the early days of Bitcoin and blockchain tech. It is an uphill battle to educate and convince friends and colleagues, especially with bad actors making it easy to dismiss its potential.
🌐 Yet, I cannot imagine a future where blockchain does not power the digital economy, real world asset tokenization, and digital identity verification. Blockchain is fueling Web3 – a decentralized internet where users control their data, identity and digital assets. There are 400M+ wallets active crypto wallets today. How the UX feels at 1B+ users will be vastly different.
💪 The possibilities are immense and complex. We have never seen such a global technology expand in a completely decentralized way. It is complicated, we will make mistakes, but the upside of a decentralized future is worth fighting for!
🤙 I am excited to keep experimenting and applying my product, business development and growth skills to drive blockchain adoption in financial services, Web3 and beyond. If you are building – or just curious about building – with blockchain technology, reach out!
In my last post, I touched on the inequities I’ve witnessed in life, and I’d like to explore this further and explain why it motivates me.
🌎 Globally, 1.4B people, including 6M Americans, lack access to a bank account. This exclusion means no access to savings, credit, or other financial tools many of us take for granted.
🤡 Even for those with access, many (I’d argue the vast majority) are still getting poorer. At its core, the financial system is a government-controlled game that perpetuates inequality. Banks and financial institutions, heavily influenced by the government, contribute to an economy that is swiftly descending into a “clown-world”.
💸 The US national debt stands at $32.7T, projected to reach $40T by 2030. In 2023, the US paid $659B in interest on this debt, surpassing the budgets of the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Education combined. By 2030, interest payments could hit $1.4T. This problem isn’t unique to the US; in fact, many other developed countries are in even worse situations.
📈 The fragility of the system became clear to me after the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC). It was evident that the US, UK and EU governments would not allow a bank failure to crash their economies, leading to skyrocketing asset valuations. The money printers whirred into action, driving inflation and the devaluation of the Dollar, Pound and Euro. People with assets got richer, while those without struggled even more.
🏦 Since 1971, when the US abandoned the Gold standard, our currencies have been fiat-based, meaning their value isn’t backed by physical commodities but by government decree. This shift enabled central banks to inflate the currency at will, with governments ensuring asset prices wouldn’t collapse.
💔 Regulations intended to “protect” consumers often restrict access to wealth-building products, making it hard for average people to build wealth. It’s much easier to make $1M when you already have $1M, but getting there from zero is a lifetime’s challenge. Baby Boomers had the ride of their lives, while Millennials and Gen Z are disillusioned with the whole circus. Our broken financial system has led to a broken society.
👋 As a ‘Xennial,’ I grew up with the capitalist dream and saw the benefits of past government policies. My career began during the dot-com boom as an investment banker. I was fortunate with timing and circumstances, but I left that life behind to be part of the solution.
💡 My vision is to develop products that make financial services easier to access and simpler to understand – leveraging new technologies – so that everyone has the tools to build the life they want using the building blocks of a new global financial system.
💪 Since the GFC, I’ve developed new financing solutions for small and medium-sized ecommerce businesses, including region-specific programs for Amazon and simplifying and expanding a global product at Storfund. There’s still much work to do, and I encourage anyone in or considering the tradfi system to explore alternative options. Now is the time to be bold!
Stay tuned for more on a solution that could rewrite our financial system!
👋 Hi! I’ve had the privilege of making many connections, so I figured it was time to “reset” and share a bit about who I am and what I’m up to.
🌏 I began my career during the tail end of the dotcom crash, landing a job as an investment banking analyst. I spent 12 years in the City of London, covering debt and equity markets across Asia, Europe and the US. The last four years of my banking career were spent as a country lead managing a portfolio of maritime companies in Greece.
💵 During that time, I started to think about what I truly wanted to do in life. While I helped clients raise billions of dollars to grow their businesses, I also witnessed the harsh realities faced by many migrants escaping war, political suppression and poverty. It was difficult to reconcile my work lifestyle with the struggles of those who lived in fear and economic hardship.
💻 I’ve always been a curious tech kid. Growing up, I loved dismantling electronics, building simple computers, and running side hustles – so banking soon felt too archaic for me. I craved new skills, entrepreneurial challenges and opportunities to pursue my passions: economics, mathematics, and community-building through political and charitable work.
💡 Over the past decade, I’ve pivoted from banking to an MBA at MIT to big tech. Eventually, big tech lost its “coolness” and became just as bureaucratic and rules-based as the City and Wall Street. Emboldened by my tradfi background and seeking freedom from rigid structures, I found my niche in fintech, where I’ve been leading product development since 2021.
🐶 Throughout my career, I’ve worn many hats – working in business development, marketing, finance, operations, product and technical roles. This makes me a bit of an all-rounder, or more accurately, a bit of a mutt! I’m still deeply motivated by socioeconomics and driven to build products and communities that tackle flaws in our financial system.
I spent the past week at ETHDenver, “a community owned innovation festival” aka the largest Ethereum-led crypto meetup in the world. Summarising my findings in a few bulletpoints is a challenge, but I will try my best – hit me up if you want to chat in more detail.
💪 Energy was high! From the second I arrived in the Mile High City there was a buzz of activity: a few folks wearing their event lanyards; excited voices as people checked their bags (Bitcoin approaching all time high as I type); and tired founders trying to crank out a couple hours of work before the daily event tsunami hit.
Bitcoin was represented! I kicked off events at Bitcoin Renaissance where I rubbed shoulders with stalwarts like Nic Carter and Dan Held, and many buidlers. Yes, there were usual PoW [proof-of-work] and PoS [proof-of-stake] debates, but mainly the talk was about bridging to other protocols and being EVM compatible. Bitcoin Startup Lab shared that their next cohort is 50% non-bitcoin native developers. It might be early to declare, but the tension between bitcoin and Ethereum communities felt like it was easing into a collaborative mindset.
😎 Solana is definitely the cool kid in town (with honorable mentions for Arbitrum, Optimism and EigenLayer). I talked to a lot of folks about DeFi and RWA [Real World Assets] – my main areas of expertise – and pretty much every one asked ‘have you thought about doing that on Solana?’.
💸 Speaking of RWAs, the domain is advancing rapidly – bridging TradFi and DeFi worlds – but with the many TradFi challenges being tough to solve within DeFi. One example is that we must follow ‘real world’ timing, as loans are not being originated on-chain (yet!) hence we have to follow Wall St working hours.
🐝 If I had to choose a few buzzwords, it would be ‘interoperability’ and ‘bridging’. I heard these words on many stages, pitches, and side conversations, “we work on XX+ blockchains”, etc. It was difficult to tell how many projects are customised vs. plug-and-play, but there was near universal consensus that we need a standardised UX (one use case is staking and restaking, for example).
🧐 One of the funniest asides I heard was from a founder debriefing after their time on stage. The most interesting question they got: ‘Should an L2 become an L1?’. In the founder’s words, “If I build the Facebook of L2, why would I pay rent to Ethereum?”. If we are indeed in the opening throes of the next bull cycle, then this question for sure will come up more and more often.
🤔 Finally, it is important to add that most of Denver’s population had no idea what crypto is. We are still so early! From my unscientific measure of rideshare app drivers, none really had a clue what was going on, but more than a few mentioned how crypto folk seemed to think they were smarter than anyone else.
If we are going to lead the evolution of Web3 (and the revolution of the global financial system, my closet Bitcoin maxi self is compelled to add) we need to carry everyone with us and buidl solutions that everyone can understand and get behind.
Bitcoin was represented! I kicked off events at 
MatadorFin 