This Week in Web3: Friday, June 3, 2022
Coinbase freezes hiring, Solana tops Ethereum in NFT sales, Web3 & the rise of the early Internet, Paris Hilton is the Queen of the Metaverse, and is Geneva the Discord killer we’ve been waiting for?
Hi Friends,
Hanging in there? Hope so.
This week I’m attempting to sprinkle some optimism on the smoldering ashes of the past few weeks. We’re in a bear market, the recession is here, and yet, there’s still so much to feel hopeful about.
I started my last company in Q1 2009, and we were deep into a recession. Other, far more successful businesses were also started around the same time, Uber, AirBnB, Mailchimp, Slack, WhatsApp, Pinterest, Instagram, and Groupon…ok, maybe we’ll take a pass on that last one.
Regardless, for builders, this is the most important time to start something new and according to Marc Andreesen, the increasing adoption and a flurry of development in Web3 appears to be remarkably similar to the rush of activity that marked his early years in tech and the subsequent rise of the Unicorns following the 2009 recession.
“This is the only time I’ve ever said this [Web3] is like the internet. If you go back through all my historical statements, one could imagine that with my experience I could have said this like 48 times. I’ve never made the comparison before.” - Marc Andreesen
So, let’s tighten our belts, pull up our socks, and get our heads in the game. The next few years will be hard, but they will be the most creatively interesting and productive we’ve seen in over a decade.
Let’s go!
TL;DR
Blockworks: Binance Launches $500M Fund To Drive Web3 Adoption
Decrypt: Coinbase Freezes Hiring and Will Rescind Accepted Job Offers
Motley Fool: Solana Just Topped Ethereum in Daily NFT Sales Volume for the First Time
Cointelegraph: Netscape creator says Web3 really is like the rise of the early internet
Forbes: Paris Hilton Used To Be The Queen Of The Clubs, Now She’s The Queen Of The Metaverse
Decrypt: Why ‘Hunger Games’ Co-Producer Bryan Unkeless Is Making His Next Sci-Fi Project in Web3
Cointelegraph: NFT 2.0: The next generation of NFTs will be streamlined and trustworthy
Bankless Podcast: Marc Andreessen & Chris Dixon of a16z | Reinventing the Internet
Seed Club DAO Podcast: Why We Need Web3 Social - Stani Kulechov
Web3 Breakdowns: Commissioner Hester Peirce: A Regulator’s View of Crypto
Blockchain Toolkit Alchemy Launches Solana Developer Platform
Geneva: Is this the alternative to Discord we’ve been waiting for?
News we’re following
Blockworks: Binance Launches $500M Fund To Drive Web3 Adoption
Binance Labs, the investment arm of the world’s largest crypto exchange by total volume, is betting big on the development Web3.
Binance Labs’ latest fund joins the likes of venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz in pouring dollars into Web3 startups. Binance said it intends to allocate the $500 million to projects across three stages of a startup’s lifecycle: Incubation, early-stage venture, and late-stage growth
Decrypt: Coinbase Freezes Hiring and Will Rescind Accepted Job Offers
The crypto crash and fears of a Crypto Winter have prompted Coinbase to get even more aggressive in cutting costs.
On the same day that rival crypto exchange Gemini confirmed layoffs, Coinbase announced today that it will continue its hiring freeze amid a tumultuous recent market for both cryptocurrency and tech stocks. Furthermore, the firm will rescind some job offers for employees who had accepted positions but had not yet started working.
Motley Fool: Solana Just Topped Ethereum in Daily NFT Sales Volume for the First Time
On the heels of a popular new collection, Solana beat out Ethereum for total daily NFT sales for the first time. Solana NFTs appear to be gaining momentum with projects like Trippin' Ape Tribe and Okay Bears topping daily sales charts over the past month. Solana NFTs are now more accessible to a wider pool of investors and collectors.
Things we’re reading
Cointelegraph: Netscape creator says Web3 really is like the rise of the early internet
Billionaire tech entrepreneur Marc Andreessen says that the current proliferation of Web3 and blockchain technology looks just like the internet in the late 1990s.
Billionaire tech entrepreneur turned venture capitalist Marc Andreessen says that Web3 and its underlying blockchain technology reminds him of the rise of the early internet.
Andreessen, better known today as the co-founder of the blockchain-focused venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), originally found success by developing the first widely used web browser called Mosaic and then founded Netscape Navigator, which dominated the browser market throughout much of the 1990s.
Forbes: Paris Hilton Used To Be The Queen Of The Clubs, Now She’s The Queen Of The Metaverse
Paris Hilton broke onto the scene in 2013, after the premier of The Simple Life. It was the first reality show of its kind. After a successful, five-year run she needed to figure out what to do next.
Remember, this is 2017. There weren’t other influencers to follow. Actually there weren’t any influencers at all. She had to figure it out all by herself. Hilton said, “Even before there was social media, I was an influencer before there was a name for it. I’m the O.G. and the creator of all this.
Decrypt: Why ‘Hunger Games’ Co-Producer Bryan Unkeless Is Making His Next Sci-Fi Project in Web3
On the planet Omega, speed is power, and whoever wins its racing competition rules the world.
That’s the premise behind the Web3 multimedia sci-fi project Runner, co-created with Metaversal by Bryan Unkeless, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Bryce Anderson, and Blaise Hemingway.
Runner will exist as a comic book, an NFT profile picture (PFP) project, possibly a video game, and eventually a TV show under Unkeless’ production company Clubhouse Pictures. Unkeless, Hemingway, and Anderson spoke with Decrypt about building the world of Runner in Web3.
BONUS:
Cointelegraph: NFT 2.0: The next generation of NFTs will be streamlined and trustworthy
NFTs are moving into the mainstream, but this requires a streamlined and trustworthy experience for the general public’s mass adoption.
Things we’re listening to
Bankless Podcast: Marc Andreessen & Chris Dixon of a16z | Reinventing the Internet
Marc Andreessen was a key player at the genesis of the internet. Chris Dixon is the master of Web3 mental models.
The journey of a16z is the history of the internet—from Web1 builders to Web2 disruptors. And now they stand as core capital infrastructure of Web3.
Having just announced the $4.5B raise of their Crypto Fund IV, as well as their new web3 Podcast, this episode will break the internet... or fix it.
Seed Club DAO Podcast: Why We Need Web3 Social - Stani Kulechov
Today we are joined by Stani Kulechov. Who is the founder of Aave and the Lens protocol. Stani has been a builder for years in the Ethereum ecosystem and today we explore the value of constraints when building products.
How to create open permissive contribution opportunities in DAOs. The role narratives play when building products. Why we need web3 social and the economic business models that could sustain web3 social. And the Lens protocol.
Web3 Breakdowns: Commissioner Hester Peirce: A Regulator’s View of Crypto
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. Commissioner Peirce was sworn into the SEC in 2018. During her tenure, she has been a vocal advocate of free markets and a supporter of the crypto industry, to the point where she is often referred to as “Crypto Mom”.
Regulation is a huge issue for our industry and I hope you’ll walk away from this discussion with a better appreciation for the nuance around protecting investors while letting innovation flourish. Please enjoy my conversation with Commissioner Hester Peirce.
Project’s we’re following
Blockchain Toolkit Alchemy Launches Solana Developer Platform
Solana developers can now use Alchemy, the popular "pick and shovel" service that supplies tools to accelerate Web3 building.
Alchemy, a company that styles itself as the Amazon Web Services of Web3, announced on Thursday that it is launching a suite of development tools for Solana—a move that could spur further growth on the upstart blockchain.
Geneva: Is this the alternative to Discord we’ve been waiting for?
“Geneva is the best way to stay connected with all your favorite groups and clubs — it’s more organized than GroupMe, more private than Facebook, and more fun than Slack.”
This week I got a demo from the Geneva team and a sneak peek at their roadmap and forthcoming features, which, in my opinion, positions them as a potential Discord killer.
We all know Discord has its problems, from fraud, scams, illicit bots and spam, and the Web3 community is ready for a change. Based on what I’ve seen, I’m fairly confident Geneva is one of the best alternatives out there.