Opinion | A Crypto Optimist Meets a Crypto Skeptic (Published 2021)

Katie: It's a great question. We're seeing that the middle class suffers in traditional institutional settings. Crypto democratizes participation. Investigative reporting is an area where crypto can help - we've seen crypto crowdfunds take off.

A conversation about what crypto can do vs. what crypto is.

-Indra Nooyi - My life in Full.

Ezra: Bitcoin is an energy disaster. If Bitcoin were a startup and you go to their board meeting, they would probably say we have to work on this energy problem. But given it's decentralized nature, nobody is giong to change it. It makes me wonder if there are downsides to smart contracts being hard to alter.

Katie: Sometimes the middleman can be important. Let's address the environmental disaster: there re blockchains that are carbon negative. Many have adapted proof of stake. The problem of electricity usage is in proof of work consensus mechanisms. Right now 76% of Bitcoin miners are incorporating renewables into their mix. I have confidence in the B... See more

Katie: Arweave is a blockchain for permanent information. People want permanence when they buy NFTs, so you do own the representation of something that sits on the blockchain.

Eza: My concern is that as these new companies get created, it will create the next layer of intermediaries. We're seeing this with OpenSea for example. - they have the power. New giants will emerge - what in the technology will stop this from happening?

Katie: Excited about people building on decentralized virtual land. There are virtual real estate agents doing this as a full time job. If you think about the metaverse, it is a generational moment. There's a generation more comfortable spending time and money in the digital world than in the physical world. Roblox has bags that will sell for more ... See more

-The Company, about the creation of the LLC, which at the time was about a controversial idea.

Katie: Right now you have janky consumer experiences. People say they value their privacy but when push comes to shove people go where it's convenient. But we can't judge the current state of innovation with the end state of innovation. We don't have the end state. People will say centralized companies are winning right now but you have these socio... See more