Today we are re-sharing our Invest Like the Best episode with Chris Dixon from April 2021. Chris is one of the leading minds in Web3 and a must-follow for anyone in the space.   Chris is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and a prolific investor and thinker, having been both an entrepreneur and angel investor. He is now focused on investing in the crypto and blockchain space for Andreessen. Our conversation focuses on Chris's overall thesis for investing in the cryptocurrency space, the opportunities and limitations of blockchain applications, and why this is the most interesting area for investing and building over the next ten years. What's exciting to me is blockchain technology's ability to help us re-imagine old business models and catapult them into the 21st century – and we cover a lot of them. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Chris Dixon.   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.   ------   This episode is brought to you by Canalyst. Canalyst is the leading destination for public company data and analysis. If you've been scrambling to keep up with the deluge of IPOs and SPACs these days, Canalyst has models on Coinbase, Roblox, Qualtrics and everything in between. Learn more and try Canalyst for yourself at canalyst.com/patrick.   ------   This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus has built the most extensive primary information platform available for investors.   With Tegus, you can learn everything you’d want to know about a company in an on-demand digital platform. Investors share their expert calls, allowing others to instantly access more than 20,000 calls on Affirm, Teladoc, Roblox, or almost any company of interest. All you have to do is log in. Visit tegus.co/patrick to learn more.   ------   Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus     Show Notes [00:03:56] - [First question] - His overall crypto investing philosophy [00:06:37] - New opportunities presented by blockchain technology [00:15:31] - Permanent limitations and shortcomings of blockchains [00:18:32] - Evolution of DeFi and crypto currencies [00:21:11] - Whitepapers: Bitcoin, Ethereum, MakerDAO  [00:22:08] - How to take out a loan using the Maker protocol [00:23:22] - Utility of Dai and stablecoins [00:29:14] - How the DeFi network will reinvent the future [00:39:53] - Uniswap, tokens, and fundamentally redefining leverage [00:36:29] - The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea [00:38:00] - Developer and entrepreneurial incentives for building blockchain technology [00:39:46] - BitClout, Rally and the early days of social tokens [00:46:38] - Demand curve and value creation efficiency in a digital creator economy [00:47:24] - NFTs and a Thousand True Fans [00:54:49] - Polkadot, Solana, Cosmos and programmable blockchains [00:58:03] - The most exciting moment for him in the last year [01:00:19] - Decentralized autonomous organizations [01:02:46] - The single thing that has him most excited about the future of this space [01:05:18] - The Next Big Thing Will Start Out Looking Like a Toy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we’re breaking down Bitwise. Founded in 2017, Bitwise is known for managing the world’s largest crypto index funds with over $1.2bn in assets under management. In this breakdown, we cover the value proposition of Bitwise, how the business compares to traditional asset managers, and why there is a lack of competition today for crypto indexing.    To help break down Bitwise, I am joined by co-founder Hunter Horsley. Hunter shares his journey with the business, key lessons launching a business within the crypto space, and some interesting data points around investor adoption of crypto. I hope you enjoy this breakdown of Bitwise.   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.   -----   Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus   Show Notes [00:02:14] - [First question] - The history of Bitwise and what they do  [00:04:29] - Some of the structures of their available funds [00:05:47] - Why use a fund oriented structure compared to something like Coinbase [00:07:09] - The governing investment and management philosophy of Bitwise [00:09:07] - Are the yields distributed back to the customer? [00:10:33] - Keys steps in a transaction chain of $1 invested in the Bitwise 10 fund [00:12:43] - Overview of the OTC system and their trading volume currently [00:14:12] - Cold storage, security, and his thoughts on self-custody [00:16:12] - His thoughts on valuation and what makes a particular project worth holding [00:19:13] - Managing the business below the topline and whether it’s similar to other asset management companies [00:20:52] - Their sales, core customers, and go-to-market strategy [00:22:43] - Ways advisors are using crypto and working in exposure for their clients [00:25:25] - Lessons learned about selling to and acquiring RIAs [00:28:40] - Being an educational company with index funds attached [00:29:54] - Why are there seemingly no Bitwise competitors [00:31:59] - Some crypto assets that might become index worthy in the future [00:35:19] - Driving forces behind who will win and lose in this space [00:36:54] - A major lesson learned while being an operator in the crypto market   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are re-sharing our Hash Power documentary. This series was originally released in September 2017 when 1 Bitcoin hovered around $4000 US Dollars. While so much has changed in the years since - these episodes are a great introduction into the technology, the power of decentralization, Bitcoin, Ethereum, ICO's, cryptography, and hashing. You will hear from a variety of industry experts throughout these episodes - please enjoy.   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.    ----   Original Intro (10.10.17)   In episodes one and two of Hash Power, we explored blockchain technology and cryptocurrency investing. In this episode, we discuss the current and potential future states of the crypto world. We cover new forms of cooperation, regulation, security and storage, and why blockchains allow systems to evolve at such a rapid pace.    Be sure to listen until the end, where we close with some advice about conducting ourselves in a new world where creativity reigns and repetitive jobs disappear—a trend that may only accelerate thanks to blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.   -----   Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus   Show Notes: [00:00:05] – Intro to episode 3 and what to expect [00:04:00] – Olaf Carlson-Wee, founder of Polychain, on how the funding and investing in cryptocurrencies could easily get out of hand [00:05:00] – How people are creating holding companies to fund cryptocurrencies protocols [00:06:45] – Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) and how they will replace the aforementioned holding companies [00:08:32] – Could fully decentralized organizations replace other more traditional organizational structures, even outside of cryptocurrency [00:09:59] – How can DAO’s impact everyday lives [00:12:39] – Why your skills and accomplishments will become more important than who you are or where you are from [00:16:09] – Naval Ravikant, CEO of Angellist, on the way humans cooperate and build new entities [00:17:51] – When people will demand oversight and regulation over cryptocurrency [00:20:42] – Peter Van Valkenburg, Director of Research at Coincenter on the current state of regulation [00:26:06] – Jameson Lopp on security needed to protect your cryptocurrency [00:27:51] – Ari Paul, co-founder of Blocktower, on how nail polish is used to protect their crypto wallet [00:30:03] – Juan Benet explains the Filecoin Protocol [00:35:52] – Muneeb Ali, co-founder of Blockstack, on how his team is planning to provide basic tools that will allow the broader developer community to build apps that the cryptocurrency population will use [00:38:01] – Comparing blockstack to the analogy of creating a city [00:40:17] – How the blockstack token fits into everything [00:43:15] – Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase, on forking in blockchains [00:47:52] – Naval Ravikant on how the idea of work will change in the future, and how that change helped to produce the idea of a blockchain in the first place [00:49:31] – Why curiosity should govern what you do in life [00:53:22] – Naval’s framework for making money Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are re-sharing our Hash Power documentary. This series was originally released in September 2017 when 1 Bitcoin hovered around $4000 US Dollars. While so much has changed in the years since - these episodes are a great introduction to the technology, the power of decentralization, Bitcoin, Ethereum, ICO's, cryptography, and hashing. You will hear from a variety of industry experts throughout these episodes - please enjoy. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.    ---- Original Intro (10.03.17)   In episode 1 of Hash Power, we explored blockchains as a technology—how they work, why tokens (also known as cryptocurrencies) are an integral part of any blockchain, and how these new networks might change the world. In episode two, we spend time with the leading investors in the field. Like any frenzied asset class, there are countless cryptocurrency hedge funds popping up everywhere. But founders from three of the original firms—Polychain, Metastable, and Blocktower Capital—are our primary guides this week. As I speak, the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies is $136B. There are hundreds of tokens currently available, but bitcoin and Ethereum represent 75% of the total market cap. $136B sounds like a big number, but its tiny relative to any other asset class—and I use that term with hesitation. To put it in perspective, that’s exactly the same size as the market cap of IBM. But IBM had more than $10B of earnings in 2016. Tokens have none. As you will hear, valuing tokens is a very hard exercise. In such a nascent world, we are seeing investing strategies take hold. Olaf Carlson-Wee, Josh Seims, and Ari Paul walk us through different takes on cryptocurrency investing, be it early stage, long term buy and hold, or more hedge fund style strategies.   -----   Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus   Show Notes: [00:00:05] – Recap of part 1 and introduction to part 2 of Hash Power [00:02:58] – Ari Paul, CIO of Blocktower explains how he got involved in cryptocurrencies [00:05:23] – Why do we need bitcoin [00:07:23] – Polychain Capital founder Olaf Carlson-Wee on why the value of tokens accrue [00:09:23] – How mainstream money is getting into this space [00:12:26] – Useful comparisons when talking about ICOs when compared to IPOs [00:15:01] – Naval Ravikant, CEO of Angellist, is asked to explain the protocols of cryptocurrencies to platform businesses like Uber or Airbnb [00:20:25] – What are the most compelling counter-arguments to using cryptocurrencies [00:23:07] – Olaf Carlson Wee on the lifecycle of a token [00:25:31] – What is the earliest stage that edge is most present for investors in cryptocurrency protocols [00:28:12] – How do you mitigate the volatility that is present in blockchain [00:31:18] – Jeremiah Lowin, a risk and statistics expert, who runs risk management for a large private family office, talks about why he no longer owns cryptocurrencies [00:34:19] – Jordan Cooper, a venture capital investor, is optimistic about blockchains in general, but thinks there may be some overvaluations in current currencies [00:43:52] – Josh Seims, of Metastable, the value investor in blockchain? [00:51:15] – Ari Paul on the equivalent of listed stocks in the cryptocurrency world [00:55:07] – The fairground analogy to understand cryptocurrencies [01:02:48] – Where do family offices stand when it comes to jumping into this space [01:06:51] – Ari is asked to discuss some of the alternative cryptocurrencies Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices