Podcasts about variant fund

This is my conversation with Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer at Variant, and previously the Chief Policy Officer at Blockchain Association and General Counsel at Compound Labs.Timestamps:- (00:00:00) intro- (00:01:15) ELI5: how the US government works- (00:10:44) DOGE and the powers of the executive- (00:19:27) DUNAs, DAOs, and decentralized governance- (00:27:55) how the law reacts to new technology- (00:40:19) sponsor: Splits- (00:41:02) incentives and philosophies of regulators- (00:48:10) lobbying and goals for the next administration- (01:01:58) advice for crypto founders- (01:13:39) personal motivations- (01:19:30) outroLinks:- Jake on X: https://x.com/jchervinsky- Variant Fund: https://variant.fund/- DeFi Education Fund: https://www.defieducationfund.org/- Fairshake PAC: https://www.fairshakepac.com/- Blockchain Association: https://theblockchainassociation.org/Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:- Splits: https://splits.orgInto the Bytecode:- Sina Habibian on X: https://twitter.com/sinahab- Sina Habibian on Farcaster - https://warpcast.com/sinahab- Into the Bytecode: https://intothebytecode.comDisclaimer: this podcast is for informational purposes only. It is not financial advice nor a recommendation to buy or sell securities. The host and guests may hold positions in the projects discussed.

Despite legal battles over Coinbase, Uniswap, Ethereum, and others, Jake Chervinsky from Variant Fund believes that crypto still has a future in the United States. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.Jake Chervinsky, chief legal officer of Variant, discusses the current state of crypto regulation, touching on several ongoing legal and regulatory issues in the crypto space, including Uniswap's Wells notice, the Coinbase case, the Tornado Cash case, the Ethereum Foundation investigation and more. Chervinsky argues that the government's approach to these cases is often misguided, particularly in instances where they hold software developers liable for how third parties use their software. He also discusses the potential implications of the government's case against Tornado Cash, suggesting that it could have far-reaching consequences for all open-source software developers. Chervinsky also delves into the SEC's ongoing investigations into the Ethereum Foundation, as well as the recent IRS draft form that lists unhosted wallets as a type of broker. He expressed concern about the potential impact of these investigations on the crypto industry but remained optimistic about the future of DeFi in the US.Show highlights:How the Tornado Cash case could set a critical precedent for open-source softwareHow the government's Tornado indictment reveals a fear of unsurveyed financial systems, according to JakeWhat the implications of the Tornado Cash case could be for the broader DeFi spaceWhat lessons can be learned from the $62 million hack of Munchables on BlastHow to address the challenge of malicious actors like North Korea using a permissionless systemWhether Coinbase's staking services are considered a securities offeringWhether Judge Failla's ruling on Coinbase acting as a broker could be overturnedWhy Jake thinks the SEC will face significant challenges in its potential case against Uniswap LabsHow the Debt Box case order impacts the SEC's reputation, according to JakeHow the industry is pushing back against the SEC's regulation by enforcement with its own lawsuits for Lejilex and BebaThe future of DeFi in the U.S. and its potential for success, according to JakeWhy Jake believes the SEC will deny Ether ETFs and why he disagrees with the latest stablecoin regulation bill by Lummis and GillibrandHow the U.S. Presidential election could impact the future of the crypto industry.Thank you to our sponsors! PolkadotGuest:Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer at VariantPrevious appearances on Unchained:Why the SEC vs. Ripple Order Is Now About 2 Things: Coinbase and CongressThe Chopping Block: Jake Chervinsky on How the SEC Has Lost CredibilityAll Things Crypto Regulation With Jake ChervinskyEverything You Need to Know About the Looming Battle Over Privacy in CryptoCan Crypto Be a Force in the Midterms? Yes, Say Kristin Smith and Jake ChervinskyLinksTornado CashJake's amicus brief with Amanda TuminelliUnchained: Given the Sanctions on Tornado Cash, Is Ethereum Censorship Resistant?Munchables exploitUnchained: Blast-Based NFT Game Munchables Recovers $62.5 Million Lost in ExploitSEC cases:CoinbaseUnchained: Why the SEC's Case Against Coinbase Is So Significant for CryptoCourt Rejects Coinbase's Bid to Dismiss SEC Charges Against ItUniswapUnchained: Gary Gensler's Case Against Uniswap: Does the SEC Even Stand a Chance?SEC Puts DeFi in Its Sights With Potential Uniswap SuitUniswap Blog Post on the Wells noticeMarvin Ammori Thread on Wells noticeEthereum FoundationUnchained:SEC Investigating Ethereum Foundation Regarding Proof-of-Stake Transition: ReportThe Real Reason Why the SEC Might Be Going After EthereumDebt BoxUnchained: SEC Sanctioned for ‘Abuse of Power' in Debt Box LawsuitBebaDeFi Education Fund and Beba sue SEC over airdrop policiesLejilexLawsuit document-Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Li Jin is a prominent figure in the venture capital industry. She is the co-founder and managing partner at Variant Fund, a venture firm that invests in Web3 and the ownership economy. Before founding Variant, Li Jin worked at Andreessen Horowitz, a leading venture capital firm, where she helped to shape the firm's views on the emerging tech landscape, including the gig and passion economies. In today's discussion, we delve into memecoins, Web3 social media, and the evolving landscape of token models, examining how these elements are shaping the future of digital economies and influencing user interaction in decentralized networks. 0:00 Intro 1:11 Variant Fund 3:20 Li Jin 4:55 Benefits of Blockchains at Consumer Level 7:55 Web3 Social Media 12:50 Speculative Media 18:20 Memecoin Products 24:24 Censorship 25:47 Web3 GTM Strategy 34:30 Token Models 47:41 Governance Tokens 52:00 Trends ✨ Check out our new website ✨ https://thedefiant.io/

Li Jin joins Erik Torenberg, Dan Romero, and Antonio Garcia Martinez. Li is the co-founder of Variant Fund and a prolific writer. This episode dives deep into crypto, web3, memecoins, and the attention economy thesis. They cover the direction of techno-capitalism and its impact on politics, decentralization, and the cultural differences between American and European value systems. If you're looking for an ERP platform, check out NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/zen - now through April 15th NetSuite is offering a one-of-a-kind flexible financing program. – SPONSORS: NETSUITE | SQUAD NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and download your own customized KPI checklist.

Take the Unchained 2023 survey! Over the past year, the crypto industry has seen the rise of a new trend: the adoption of points systems.  Li Jin, cofounder of Variant Fund, says that while points systems have long been a staple in the Web2 domain, their integration into the crypto ecosystem could have pitfalls.  She covers how these points are currently being leveraged within crypto applications in the hopes of driving user engagement and retention, why they're taking off now, and why they're off-chain. She also points out that, if implemented poorly, they could engender disloyalty instead of leading to sustainable communities, and urges founders to be thoughtful about the design of these systems, especially about how points translate to economic value. Show highlights: What points are in crypto and their role in rewarding user behavior​​ Examples of popular projects that have successfully implemented points systems​​ Why points mechanisms are gaining traction in crypto, offering benefits of tokens without the downsides​​ Whether points, which are currently off-chain, will eventually move on-chain, and the implications for users and founders​​ How points can incentivize inorganic behavior, drawing from Li Jin's experience in the Web2 sector​​ The potential pitfalls of points systems and how they can sometimes create more disloyalty than loyalty​​ Identifying which crypto projects are best suited for using points, and the importance of product-market fit​​ Why keeping the economic value of points ambiguous can enhance user engagement and loyalty​​ Whether points are being used by projects to navigate around regulatory challenges​​ Future developments in points systems, including the potential of bringing points on-chain for a universal loyalty system​​ Thank you to our sponsors! Arbitrum Foundation Uniswap Popcorn Network Phemex Guest Li Jin, cofounder and General Partner at Variant Fund Previous appearances on Unchained:  Will Every Piece of Media Enter the Internet as an NFT? Variant Fund Says Yes The Chopping Block: Two on Two Debate: NFT Royalty Throwdown! Links Points Li's Newsletter: Lessons on Points Programs for Crypto Apps Li's comments on the topic:  Tweet 1 on points entering “the crypto app zeitgeist” Tweet 2 on points discounting the cost of the product Tweet 3 on points and product-market-fit Tweet 4 on how points can “distort activity” CoinDesk:  Crypto Points: Off-Chain Derivatives That Everyone is Talking About  Web3 Loyalty Programs Are a Trojan Horse for Good Crypto Policy DL News: Why DeFi protocols love to offer ‘points' before airdrops  Projects using points Rainbow wallet Friend.tech Blast Blackbirds Marginfi Parcl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Li Jin of Variant Fund dives into the trend of points in crypto: why projects favor points over tokens, the art of designing such systems, and the potential of on-chain points.Take the Unchained 2023 survey!Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.Over the past year, the crypto industry has seen the rise of a new trend: the adoption of points systems. Li Jin, cofounder of Variant Fund, says that while points systems have long been a staple in the Web2 domain, their integration into the crypto ecosystem could have pitfalls. She covers how these points are currently being leveraged within crypto applications in the hopes of driving user engagement and retention, why they're taking off now, and why they're off-chain. She also points out that, if implemented poorly, they could engender disloyalty instead of leading to sustainable communities, and urges founders to be thoughtful about the design of these systems, especially about how points translate to economic value.Show highlights | What points are in crypto and their role in rewarding user behavior​​Examples of popular projects that have successfully implemented points systems​​Why points mechanisms are gaining traction in crypto, offering benefits of tokens without the downsides​​Whether points, that are currently off-chain, will eventually move on-chain, and the implications for users and founders​​How points can incentivize inorganic behavior, drawing from Li Jin's experience in the Web2 sector​​The potential pitfalls of points systems and how they can sometimes create more disloyalty than loyalty​​Identifying which crypto projects are best suited for using points, and the importance of product-market fit​​Why keeping the economic value of points ambiguous can enhance user engagement and loyalty​​Whether points are being used by projects to navigate around regulatory challenges​​Future developments in points systems, including the potential of bringing points on-chain for a universal loyalty system​​Thank you to our sponsors!Arbitrum Foundation | Uniswap | Popcorn Network | PhemexGuest |Li Jin, cofounder and General Partner at Variant FundPrevious appearances on Unchained: Will Every Piece of Media Enter the Internet as an NFT? Variant Fund Says YesThe Chopping Block: Two on Two Debate: NFT Royalty Throwdown!Links | Points:Li's Newsletter: Lessons on Points Programs for Crypto AppsLi's comments on the topic: Tweet 1 on points entering “the crypto app zeitgeist”Tweet 2 on points discounting the cost of the productTweet 3 on points and product-market-fitTweet 4 on how points can “distort activity”CoinDesk: Crypto Points: Off-Chain Derivatives That Everyone is Talking About Web3 Loyalty Programs Are a Trojan Horse for Good Crypto PolicyDL News: Why DeFi protocols love to offer ‘points' before airdrops Projects using pointsRainbow walletFriend.techBlastBlackbirdsMarginfiParcl-Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Take the Unchained 2023 survey! Over the past year, the crypto industry has seen the rise of a new trend: the adoption of points systems.  Li Jin, cofounder of Variant Fund, says that while points systems have long been a staple in the Web2 domain, their integration into the crypto ecosystem could have pitfalls.  She covers how these points are currently being leveraged within crypto applications in the hopes of driving user engagement and retention, why they're taking off now, and why they're off-chain. She also points out that, if implemented poorly, they could engender disloyalty instead of leading to sustainable communities, and urges founders to be thoughtful about the design of these systems, especially about how points translate to economic value. Show highlights: What points are in crypto and their role in rewarding user behavior​​ Examples of popular projects that have successfully implemented points systems​​ Why points mechanisms are gaining traction in crypto, offering benefits of tokens without the downsides​​ Whether points, which are currently off-chain, will eventually move on-chain, and the implications for users and founders​​ How points can incentivize inorganic behavior, drawing from Li Jin's experience in the Web2 sector​​ The potential pitfalls of points systems and how they can sometimes create more disloyalty than loyalty​​ Identifying which crypto projects are best suited for using points, and the importance of product-market fit​​ Why keeping the economic value of points ambiguous can enhance user engagement and loyalty​​ Whether points are being used by projects to navigate around regulatory challenges​​ Future developments in points systems, including the potential of bringing points on-chain for a universal loyalty system​​ Thank you to our sponsors! Arbitrum Foundation Uniswap Popcorn Network Phemex Guest Li Jin, cofounder and General Partner at Variant Fund Previous appearances on Unchained:  Will Every Piece of Media Enter the Internet as an NFT? Variant Fund Says Yes The Chopping Block: Two on Two Debate: NFT Royalty Throwdown! Links Points Li's Newsletter: Lessons on Points Programs for Crypto Apps Li's comments on the topic:  Tweet 1 on points entering “the crypto app zeitgeist” Tweet 2 on points discounting the cost of the product Tweet 3 on points and product-market-fit Tweet 4 on how points can “distort activity” CoinDesk:  Crypto Points: Off-Chain Derivatives That Everyone is Talking About  Web3 Loyalty Programs Are a Trojan Horse for Good Crypto Policy DL News: Why DeFi protocols love to offer ‘points' before airdrops  Projects using points Rainbow wallet Friend.tech Blast Blackbirds Marginfi Parcl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talked Web3 with Jesse Walden, a true veteran in the crypto and blockchain space. All the conversation revolves around a deep question: why should we build on chain? Join us as Jesse shines a light on the path forward - and on the key outstanding questions for  Web3.  In this episode, we discuss the future of the internet with Jesse Walden - Founder of Variant Fund and Web3 legend. Jesse - is one the most pivotal shapers of the landscape of user-owned internet - and an early-stage crypto funding pioneer - and we are truly honored to have him speak with us. Before spearheading Variant Fund, Jesse had a notable tenure as Program Director at Crypto Startup School—one of the earliest startup accelerators in Crypto and Web3. Before this, he pioneered work at Mediachain Labs, later acquired by Spotify, which underscored his foresight in harnessing blockchain's potential. In this deep discussion, we riff with Jesse around the fundamental elements of the question: “why should we build organizations and products on the blockchain”?  Among the depths discussed, he spoke to us on how crypto isn't merely about currencies but rather about owning a slice of the internet. He helps us revise the structural shifts that this technology affords: from independent digital asset ownership to the idea of complete contracts, and we stretch the surface of what's only possible to build if we embrace this new perspective.  Towards the end of the conversation, we also dive into what's the role of venture capital in a different landscape such as that of web3.  Tune in to this engaging conversation as Jesse navigates the realms of crypto, blockchain, and ownership, unveiling their profound implications for the future of the internet.   Key Highlights

In this episode of Empire, Li Jin from Variant Fund and Ben Leventhal from Blackbird and co-founder of Resy, cover the intersection of the consumer market and crypto. They delve into the history of consumer startups, the limitations of traditional businesses in the dining industry, and the potential of crypto to transform ownership. Ben discusses Blackbird and how it addresses issues in the restaurant industry by establishing better connection and understanding between restaurants and customers. To close out Li touches on her vision for consumer crypto leading into 2024. Thanks for tuning in!  - - Follow Li: https://twitter.com/ljin18 Follow Ben: https://twitter.com/benleventhal Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/  - - Planning to grant token awards for your team? Toku makes implementing global token compensation and incentive awards simple. With Toku, you get unmatched legal and tax support to grant and administer your global team's tokens. Toku navigates it across the lifecycle — from easy to use token grant award templates through tracking vesting to managing tax withholdings. Make it simple today, at https://www.toku.com/empire - - Timestamps: (00:00) End of Times for Consumer Apps (05:58) Consumer Crypto's Advantage (17:22) Identity Rails for Restaurants (21:23) Balancing Blockchain & Consumer Rights (27:45) Complexity of Building On Web3 (30:00) Toku ad (31:16) Variant Fund Approach to Consumer Crypto (36:23) Why Use Crypto? (41:54) FLY Token & Progressive Ownership (46:44) Mitigating Attack Vectors (50:21) Consumer Crypto in 2024 - - Resources Blackbird Docs https://www.blackbird.xyz/flypaper Li Jin Barrier to Mainstream Adoption https://variant.fund/articles/barrier-to-mainstream-crypto-adoption-is-product-market-fit/ - - Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Many of our listeners are familiar with Li Jin, an investor and co-founder of Variant Fund and is one of our favorite thinkers on crypto and the creator economy. Li is also joined by Eugene Wei. He's a web2 product visionary. Listeners may be familiar with some of his incredible blog posts such as, “Status as a Service”, “Invisible Asymptotes”, “Why Information Grows” and more.  In today's episode, these two gigabrains, one from web2 social, one from web3 crypto, talk about the future of status as a service, psychological ownership, and the future ties between social and crypto.  ------ ✨ DEBRIEF | Ryan & David unpacking the episode: https://www.bankless.com/debrief-li-jin-eugene-wei  -----

On this episode of Building at the Edges we sit down with Li Jin and Jesse Walden, Co-founders and General Partners at Variant Fund. Variant Fund is an early stage fund investing in web3 that believes the next generation of the internet will transform users into owners.   We kickoff the episode by diving into that thesis as Li shares her vision for the ownership economy one day leading us to the passion economy. We break down some of the narratives around decentralization and distributed ownership to analyze what is truly driving value in the space - what kind of ownership experiences do users actually want?   Li and Jesse share their bedrock convictions in the ownership economy and Jesse gives his thoughts on token design as well as some frameworks to think about when designing a token. We also discuss tokens as products and token design as a consumer experience.    To close out our conversation, Li and Jesse give us the inside scoop on their recent announcement, the Variant Founder Fellowship, as well as how early stage founders can get involved.    FOLLOW US Jess: https://twitter.com/thattallguy  Li: https://twitter.com/ljin18  Jesse: https://twitter.com/jessewldn  Seed Club: https://twitter.com/seedclubhq  Variant Fund: https://twitter.com/variantfund    LINKS https://www.seedclub.xyz/  https://variant.fund/     TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 1:43 Welcome Li and Jesse 3:16 Ownership economy and passion economy 7:33 Turning users into owners with tokens 11:09 Why aren't more products user-owned? 17:10 Do people actually want ownership? 20:17 The evolving culture of ownership 22:26 Bedrock convictions in the ownership economy 26:53 Tokens are products 32:16 Unpacking Jesse's recent tweet 36:54 The Variant Founder Fellowship 41:12 Closing thoughts 41:52 Outro   DISCLAIMER: The information in this video is the opinion of the speaker(s) only and is for informational purposes only. You should not construe it as investment advice, tax advice, or legal advice, and it does not represent any entity's opinion but those of the speaker(s). For investment or legal advice, please seek a duly licensed professional.  

This conversation with two prominent members of the Blockchain Association covers de-banking in crypto, hostility from regulators and the state of crypto in America. Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) is the Chief Policy Officer at Blockchain Association, the largest advocacy group for the crypto industry in Washington DC. Jake is also one of Variant Fund's strategic advisors and a board member at the DeFi Education Fund. Marisa Tashman Coppel (@mtcoppel) is Policy Counsel at the Blockchain Association where she helps develop and advocate for policy positions on behalf of the crypto industry as well as manages long-term legal projects and strategic litigation. Show highlights: [2:00] De-banking and Freedom of Information Act request [8:20] Operation Chokepoint 1.0 [13:50] Banking crypto [21:00] What's next for the Blockchain Association [29:00] Hostility from regulators & much more. Disclaimer: Jacob Robinson and his guests are not your lawyer. Nothing herein or mentioned on the Law of Code podcast should be construed as legal advice. The material published is intended for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Please seek the advice of counsel, and do not apply any of the generalized material to your individual facts or circumstances without speaking to an attorney.

✨ Subscribe to the Green Pill Podcast ✨ https://availableon.com/greenpill 

Welcome to The Chopping Block! Host Haseeb Qureshi partnered with Zhuoxun Yin, cofounder of Magic Eden, to debate Unchained host Laura Shin and Li Jin, cofounder at Variant Fund, on the topic of NFT Royalties.  Show highlights: What NFT royalties are Why Laura believes zero NFT royalties is a bad business decision prioritizing short-term needs over long-term ones and that it will turn creators off from the industry How charging royalties is not sustainable, according to Haseeb Why royalties are the best mechanism to align incentives between creators and holders, according to Li The technical limitations of NFT royalties on a general-purpose blockchain like Ethereum or Solana How to align incentives between NFT creators and holders Why the prices of NFTs would go up if royalties are not enforced Whether the NFT market will change in the future Whether it is possible to create a standard that enforces royalties in a smart contract The creators' reaction to Magic Eden moving to optional royalties The possibility of a bifurcation of the NFT market Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly  Guests Laura Shin, author, and host of Unchained Zhuoxun Yin, cofounder of Magic Eden Li Jin, cofounder of Variant Episode Links Magic Eden Optional Royalties - Unchained Coverage  Post-debate poll Tool Metashield  The standards innovation paradox by Li Jin X2y2 flexible royalties Previous episodes of The Chopping Block debating NFT Royalties The Chopping Block - Ep. 405 The Chopping Block - Ep. 386 Article: Why NFT Creators and Collectors Can't Stop Talking About Artist Royalties Article: NFT Royalties: Why artists love them, and traders don't

Welcome to The Chopping Block! Host Haseeb Qureshi partnered with Zhuoxun Yin, cofounder of Magic Eden, to debate Unchained host Laura Shin and Li Jin, cofounder at Variant Fund, on the topic of NFT Royalties.    Show highlights: What NFT royalties are Why Laura believes zero NFT royalties is a bad business decision prioritizing short-term needs over long-term ones and that it will turn creators off from the industry How charging no royalties is not sustainable, according to Haseeb Why royalties are the best mechanism to align incentives between creators and holders, according to Li The technical limitations of NFT royalties on a general-purpose blockchain like Ethereum or Solana How to align incentives between NFT creators and holders Why the prices of NFTs would go up if royalties are not enforced Whether the NFT market will change in the future Whether it is possible to create a standard that enforces royalties in a smart contract The creators' reaction to Magic Eden moving to optional royalties The possibility of a bifurcation of the NFT market   Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly    Guests Laura Shin, author, and host of Unchained Zhuoxun Yin, cofounder of Magic Eden Li Jin, cofounder of Variant   Episode Links Magic Eden Optional Royalties - Unchained Coverage  Post-debate poll Tool Metashield  The standards innovation paradox by Li Jin X2y2 flexible royalties Previous episodes of The Chopping Block debating NFT Royalties The Chopping Block - Ep. 405 The Chopping Block - Ep. 386 Article: Why NFT Creators and Collectors Can't Stop Talking About Artist Royalties Article: NFT Royalties: Why artists love them, and traders don't

Welcome to The Chopping Block! Host Haseeb Qureshi partnered with Zhuoxun Yin, cofounder of Magic Eden, to debate Unchained host Laura Shin and Li Jin, cofounder at Variant Fund, on the topic of NFT Royalties.  Show highlights: What NFT royalties are Why Laura believes zero NFT royalties is a bad business decision prioritizing short-term needs over long-term ones and that it will turn creators off from the industry How charging royalties is not sustainable, according to Haseeb Why royalties are the best mechanism to align incentives between creators and holders, according to Li The technical limitations of NFT royalties on a general-purpose blockchain like Ethereum or Solana How to align incentives between NFT creators and holders Why the prices of NFTs would go up if royalties are not enforced Whether the NFT market will change in the future Whether it is possible to create a standard that enforces royalties in a smart contract The creators' reaction to Magic Eden moving to optional royalties The possibility of a bifurcation of the NFT market Hosts Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly  Guests Laura Shin, author, and host of Unchained Zhuoxun Yin, cofounder of Magic Eden Li Jin, cofounder of Variant Episode Links Magic Eden Optional Royalties - Unchained Coverage  Post-debate poll Tool Metashield  The standards innovation paradox by Li Jin X2y2 flexible royalties Previous episodes of The Chopping Block debating NFT Royalties The Chopping Block - Ep. 405 The Chopping Block - Ep. 386 Article: Why NFT Creators and Collectors Can't Stop Talking About Artist Royalties Article: NFT Royalties: Why artists love them, and traders don't Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Circle and FTX US.   On this week's “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads “Ethereum's New ‘Staking' Model Does Not Make ETH A Security.” The piece was authored by: Rodrigo Seira, crypto counsel at Paradigm Amy Aixi Zhang, policy counsel at Paradigm Jake Chervinsky, head of policy at the Blockchain Association, adviser at Variant Fund and board member at DeFi Education Fund   - Nexo Pro allows you to trade on the spot and futures markets with a 50% discount on fees. You always get the best possible prices from all the available liquidity sources and can earn interest or borrow funds as you wait for your next trade. Get started today on pro.nexo.io. - FTX US is the safe, regulated way to buy Bitcoin, ETH, SOL and other digital assets. Trade crypto with up to 85% lower fees than top competitors and trade ETH and SOL NFTs with no gas fees and subsidized gas on withdrawals. Sign up at FTX.US today. - I.D.E.A.S. 2022 by CoinDesk facilitates capital flow and market growth by connecting the digital economy with traditional finance through the presenter's mainstage, capital allocation meeting rooms and sponsor expo floor. Use code BREAKDOWN20 for 20% off the General Pass. Learn more and register at coindesk.com/ideas. - “The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Eleanor Pahl and research by Scott Hill. Jared Schwartz is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. Music behind our sponsors today is “The Now” by Aaron Sprinkle and “The Life We Had” by Moments. Image credit: Jason marz/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk. Join the discussion at discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8.

Staking ether fails to meet at least two prongs of the Howey test, according to the authors.This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, Circle and FTX US.On this week's “Long Reads Sunday,” NLW reads “Ethereum's New ‘Staking' Model Does Not Make ETH A Security.” The piece was authored by:Rodrigo Seira, crypto counsel at ParadigmAmy Aixi Zhang, policy counsel at ParadigmJake Chervinsky, head of policy at the Blockchain Association, adviser at Variant Fund and board member at DeFi Education Fund -Nexo Pro allows you to trade on the spot and futures markets with a 50% discount on fees. You always get the best possible prices from all the available liquidity sources and can earn interest or borrow funds as you wait for your next trade. Get started today on pro.nexo.io.-FTX US is the safe, regulated way to buy Bitcoin, ETH, SOL and other digital assets. Trade crypto with up to 85% lower fees than top competitors and trade ETH and SOL NFTs with no gas fees and subsidized gas on withdrawals. Sign up at FTX.US today.-I.D.E.A.S. 2022 by CoinDesk facilitates capital flow and market growth by connecting the digital economy with traditional finance through the presenter's mainstage, capital allocation meeting rooms and sponsor expo floor. Use code BREAKDOWN20 for 20% off the General Pass. Learn more and register at coindesk.com/ideas.-“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Eleanor Pahl and research by Scott Hill. Jared Schwartz is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. Music behind our sponsors today is “The Now” by Aaron Sprinkle and “The Life We Had” by Moments. Image credit: Jason marz/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk. Join the discussion at discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marc Boiron (@boironattorney) is the Chief Legal Officer of the Polygon companies and a strategic advisor at Variant Fund, an early-stage fund investing in web3. He's also a board member of the DeFi Education Fund. Marc recently published an excellent article, titled “Sufficient Decentralization: A playbook for Web3 builders and lawyers.” In this episode, we dive deep into Marc's article to highlight how builders and lawyers should think about sufficient decentralization. We also touch on Marc's journey and his thoughts on the current state of crypto regulation. Show highlights: [2:03] Marc's introduction to Bitcoin [9:27] Why decentralization is important [17:08] Best practices in decentralization [24:00] The critical point in Marc's paper [37:40] Airdrops & the Howey Test [42:00] Mutation doctrine [53:00] Tools for DAO communities & much more. Resources: Sufficient Decentralization: A Playbook for web3 Builders and Lawyers Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review. You can subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated on the latest episodes. Disclaimer: Jacob Robinson and his guests are not your lawyer. Nothing herein or mentioned on the Law of Code podcast should be construed as legal advice. The material published is intended for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Please seek the advice of counsel, and do not apply any of the generalized material to your individual facts or circumstances without speaking to an attorney.

Li is a co-founder and general partner at Variant Fund. We unpack Li's piece on A Theory of Justice for Web3, democratizing access to investments, and whether web2 and web3 can co-exist. Follow Li on Twitter (@ljin18) Follow Chase on Twitter (@chaserchapman) Read “A Theory of Justice for Web3” (https://li.mirror.xyz/6gEqgWTWROHiZeyhnG23Kt0Oak9bpik3luzCQvIINME) ‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒ On the Other Side is sponsored by RabbitHole. Learn more about RabbitHole at rabbithole.gg Follow RabbitHole on Twitter at @rabbithole_gg

Welcome back, this week Anita and Lucas interviewed Li Jin, cofounder of crypto venture firm Variant, which just raised $450 million for its third fund. Jin, formerly a solo GP at Atelier Ventures, is known for developing an investment thesis around the “passion economy” that eventually led her down the rabbit hole of web3. A backer of companies such as Magic Eden and Mirror, Jin talked about the ethics behind onboarding cash-strapped creators into crypto, why she's no longer a solo investor and how she balances new investments and supporting her existing portfolio companies through a downturn.Subscribe to the Chain Reaction newsletter to dive deeper: https://techcrunch.com/newslettersHelpful links:https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/19/variant-debuts-a-new-110m-fund-for-crypto-startups-announces-li-jin-has-joined-as-a-general-partner/https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/30/khaby-lame-crypto-binance-christiano-ronaldo/

“The next generation of internet protocols and platforms and applications will be owned and operated by their users.” Mason Nystrom is an investment partner at Variant Fund, and he – like Seed Club – firmly believes in this bright version of our collective future. In this episode, Jess and Mason explore emerging trends and challenges in web3, and what they mean for community token networks. Governance makes a cameo, as does the call for more DAO leadership and structure. They touch on the increasingly blurred lines between users, consumers, builders, and owners. Web3 unlocks new types of consumer interactions; creating containers for those novel interactions to emerge will accelerate onboarding the next billion people to crypto.

This week Alli Pope from Variant Fund drops some Dave & Busters alpha and talks about the pros and cons of token-gated communities. Then, Deana and Natasha debrief on the Permissionless conference, talk Zaddy learnings and discuss the agents of chaos on the Boys Club core team. 

This week, Reshma and Nihal talk to Medha Kothari from Variant Fund and she256.

Variant Fund is a venture capital firm that describes itself as “a first-check crypto fund investing in the ownership economy.” Jesse Walden and Li Jin, co-founders and general partners at Variant, join Unchained to discuss the ownership economy, issues with web2 and web3, NFTs, the future of work, and more. Highlights: where Li and Jesse met and how their backgrounds as investors + founders led them to the crypto space how Li's investing niche, which she describes as the passion economy, ended up intersecting with crypto why Li believes that web3 platforms will be better for creators than the current web2 ecosystem why Jesse was so inspired by Bitcoin after working in the music industry for so many years why Jesse believes that NFTs are the “port of entry” for the mainstream adoption of crypto what other use-cases exist for NFTs outside of the JPEG or PNG meme (and why Jesse is so excited about music NFTs) why Li believes that web3 tools can help fix the issues inherent to the “gig economy” Li and Jesse respond to criticisms of web3 coming from Jack Dorsey and Moxie Marlinspike how Variant Fund thinks about investing in crypto projects what token allocation Variant Fund targets when investing in crypto projects why mainstream platforms are experiencing backlash for integrating with NFTs and crypto what trends in NFTs, DAOs, and the ownership economy Jesse and Li think will pop in 2022 Get Access to Premium Content Sign up for a premium Bulletin subscription! For becoming a premium subscriber, you'll get access to: a premium-only Discord group premium-only interviews the opportunity to ask questions the chance to weigh in on guests for Unchained and whatever other future offerings we add to the mix The special launch price until February 14 $2.99/mo or $29.99/year. Starting on February 15, the price increases to $4.99/mo or $49.99/year. Join now! Get a Signed Book Plate! Many of you have asked me how you can get a signed copy of the book. Here's how: Pre-order the book, which you can do at bit.ly/cryptopians. Make a social media post about the book that includes the pre-order link, bit.ly/cryptoptians or to the book on any bookseller of your choice. Send a copy of your receipt to hello@unchainedpodcast.com with the subject line, “signed book plate.” In the email, include a pdf of your receipt + a screenshot of or a link to your social media post + the address to which you'd like me to send the book plate + the name of who you'd like me to dedicate the book plate to. If you show a pre-order receipt that shows you bought more than one format of the book, such as an audiobook and a hardcover, you can get two signed book plates. Finally, if you sign up for the Bulletin premium subscription plus do all the above to get a signed book plate, you'll also receive a POAP. Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021           Beefy Finance: https://beefy.finance   Bosonic: https://bosonic.digital/ Alchemy Pay:  https://alchemypay.org   Episode links   Li Jin Twitter: https://twitter.com/ljin18  Substack: https://li.substack.com/ Li Jin on the creator economy The future of the creator economy https://drive.google.com/file/u/1/d/1C3fBfPgWxf-zqezGlPFr7VXIetlHlnaZ/view  https://twitter.com/ljin18/status/1454096370281943041  What the creator economy is doing wrong https://li.substack.com/p/legitimacy-lost  How to fix the “gig” style economy for creators https://li.substack.com/p/the-creator-economy-is-in-crisis How the creator economy could power universal basic income https://li.substack.com/p/the-case-for-universal-creative-income What labor should look like in Web3 https://li.substack.com/p/a-labor-movement-for-the-platform Building the middle class of the creator economy https://li.substack.com/p/building-the-middle-class-of-the Other Web3 is the “golden age” of content https://every.mirror.xyz/y_WLA-Tk3VF5uPqHi-glDLVVfHxLUbjXakRI7SMISas  Transitioning to Web3 from a non-tech perspective https://twitter.com/ljin18/status/1479111931977867275    Jesse Walden Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessewldn  Website (no blogs since 2020): https://jessewalden.com/  Random Tweets DAOs https://twitter.com/jessewldn/status/1459014962207244290 https://twitter.com/jessewldn/status/1470406564582498315  NFTs https://twitter.com/jessewldn/status/1473641606951669767  Music NFTs x Sound XYZ https://twitter.com/jessewldn/status/1471148257892044812 Commoditizing a compliment https://twitter.com/jessewldn/status/1465713306363117578  Writing NFTs make the internet ownable https://variant.mirror.xyz/T8kdtZRIgy_srXB5B06L8vBqFHYlEBcv6ae2zR6Y_eo Product vs. Protocol https://variant.fund/writing/balance-product-protocol-web3 Leadership in the ownership economy https://variant.fund/writing/leadership-in-the-ownership-economyscaling-decision  How DeFi crosses the chasm https://variant.fund/writing/how-does-defi-cross-the-chasm Crypto's Business Model is Familiar. What Isn't is Who Benefits https://variant.fund/writing/cryptos-business-model-is-familiar.-what-isnt-is  Narrative Economics https://variant.fund/writing/narrative-economics  Progressive decentralization https://variant.fund/writing/progressive-decentralization-a-playbook-for-building Layers of blockchain computing https://variant.fund/writing/layers-not-eras-of-blockchain-computing   Variant Fund Variant Fund Twitter https://twitter.com/variantfund Variant Fund website https://variant.fund/ Writing:  https://variant.fund/writing  Mirror Blog (Feb 2021 article on NFTs) https://variant.mirror.xyz/  Variant Fund + Atelier joining forces https://variant.fund/writing/atelier-ventures-and-variant-fund-are-joining-forces  https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/19/variant-debuts-a-new-110m-fund-for-crypto-startups-announces-li-jin-has-joined-as-a-general-partner/ Variant Fund team https://twitter.com/spencernoon/status/1450500555961507844

Variant Fund is a venture capital firm that describes itself as “a first-check crypto fund investing in the ownership economy.” Jesse Walden and Li Jin, co-founders and general partners at Variant, join Unchained to discuss the ownership economy, issues with web2 and web3, NFTs, the future of work, and more. Highlights: where Li and Jesse met and how their backgrounds as investors + founders led them to the crypto space how Li's investing niche, which she describes as the passion economy, ended up intersecting with crypto why Li believes that web3 platforms will be better for creators than the current web2 ecosystem why Jesse was so inspired by Bitcoin after working in the music industry for so many years why Jesse believes that NFTs are the “port of entry” for the mainstream adoption of crypto what other use-cases exist for NFTs outside of the JPEG or PNG meme (and why Jesse is so excited about music NFTs) why Li believes that web3 tools can help fix the issues inherent to the “gig economy” Li and Jesse respond to criticisms of web3 coming from Jack Dorsey and Moxie Marlinspike how Variant Fund thinks about investing in crypto projects what token allocation Variant Fund targets when investing in crypto projects why mainstream platforms are experiencing backlash for integrating with NFTs and crypto what trends in NFTs, DAOs, and the ownership economy Jesse and Li think will pop in 2022 Get Access to Premium Content Sign up for a premium Bulletin subscription! For becoming a premium subscriber, you'll get access to: a premium-only Discord group premium-only interviews the opportunity to ask questions the chance to weigh in on guests for Unchained and whatever other future offerings we add to the mix The special launch price until February 14 $2.99/mo or $29.99/year. Starting on February 15, the price increases to $4.99/mo or $49.99/year. Join now! Get a Signed Book Plate! Many of you have asked me how you can get a signed copy of the book. Here's how: Pre-order the book, which you can do at bit.ly/cryptopians. Make a social media post about the book that includes the pre-order link, bit.ly/cryptoptians or to the book on any bookseller of your choice. Send a copy of your receipt to hello@unchainedpodcast.com with the subject line, “signed book plate.” In the email, include a pdf of your receipt + a screenshot of or a link to your social media post + the address to which you'd like me to send the book plate + the name of who you'd like me to dedicate the book plate to. If you show a pre-order receipt that shows you bought more than one format of the book, such as an audiobook and a hardcover, you can get two signed book plates. Finally, if you sign up for the Bulletin premium subscription plus do all the above to get a signed book plate, you'll also receive a POAP. Thank you to our sponsors! Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021           Beefy Finance: https://beefy.finance   Bosonic: https://bosonic.digital/ Alchemy Pay:  https://alchemypay.org   Episode links   Li Jin Twitter: https://twitter.com/ljin18  Substack: https://li.substack.com/ Li Jin on the creator economy The future of the creator economy https://drive.google.com/file/u/1/d/1C3fBfPgWxf-zqezGlPFr7VXIetlHlnaZ/view  https://twitter.com/ljin18/status/1454096370281943041  What the creator economy is doing wrong https://li.substack.com/p/legitimacy-lost  How to fix the “gig” style economy for creators https://li.substack.com/p/the-creator-economy-is-in-crisis How the creator economy could power universal basic income https://li.substack.com/p/the-case-for-universal-creative-income What labor should look like in Web3 https://li.substack.com/p/a-labor-movement-for-the-platform Building the middle class of the creator economy https://li.substack.com/p/building-the-middle-class-of-the Other Web3 is the “golden age” of content https://every.mirror.xyz/y_WLA-Tk3VF5uPqHi-glDLVVfHxLUbjXakRI7SMISas  Transitioning to Web3 from a non-tech perspective https://twitter.com/ljin18/status/1479111931977867275    Jesse Walden Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessewldn  Website (no blogs since 2020): https://jessewalden.com/  Random Tweets DAOs https://twitter.com/jessewldn/status/1459014962207244290 https://twitter.com/jessewldn/status/1470406564582498315  NFTs https://twitter.com/jessewldn/status/1473641606951669767  Music NFTs x Sound XYZ https://twitter.com/jessewldn/status/1471148257892044812 Commoditizing a compliment https://twitter.com/jessewldn/status/1465713306363117578  Writing NFTs make the internet ownable https://variant.mirror.xyz/T8kdtZRIgy_srXB5B06L8vBqFHYlEBcv6ae2zR6Y_eo Product vs. Protocol https://variant.fund/writing/balance-product-protocol-web3 Leadership in the ownership economy https://variant.fund/writing/leadership-in-the-ownership-economyscaling-decision  How DeFi crosses the chasm https://variant.fund/writing/how-does-defi-cross-the-chasm Crypto's Business Model is Familiar. What Isn't is Who Benefits https://variant.fund/writing/cryptos-business-model-is-familiar.-what-isnt-is  Narrative Economics https://variant.fund/writing/narrative-economics  Progressive decentralization https://variant.fund/writing/progressive-decentralization-a-playbook-for-building Layers of blockchain computing https://variant.fund/writing/layers-not-eras-of-blockchain-computing   Variant Fund Variant Fund Twitter https://twitter.com/variantfund Variant Fund website https://variant.fund/ Writing:  https://variant.fund/writing  Mirror Blog (Feb 2021 article on NFTs) https://variant.mirror.xyz/  Variant Fund + Atelier joining forces https://variant.fund/writing/atelier-ventures-and-variant-fund-are-joining-forces  https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/19/variant-debuts-a-new-110m-fund-for-crypto-startups-announces-li-jin-has-joined-as-a-general-partner/ Variant Fund team https://twitter.com/spencernoon/status/1450500555961507844

In this episode of DAOn the Rabbit Hole, we're talking to Li Jin, Co-Founder and General Partner at Variant Fund as well as a podcaster, writer, and educator. Li's here to talk about DAOs and the creator economy.Li tells us about her journey into crypto investing from her background in venture capital and defines what is meant by terms like the ownership economy and creator economy. She talks about the “Web 3.0 Renaissance” and how decentralization can reward creators.We talk about 100 True Fans, the idea that the value of attention is more important than the amount of attention. Li talks about how DAOs and community ownership fit into the new creator economy.Can the ownership economy help tackle wealth inequality and reconfigure the relationship between capital and labor? Li dives into this topic. She also shares some examples of communities that are doing a great job of co-creating and co-owning with fans.We discuss some of the potential challenges facing community ownership, and things that could go wrong. Li shares some of the reasons creators might hesitate about joining the Web 3.0 economy. Finally, Li shares her thoughts on what the creator economy could look like ten years from now.To continue this conversation and stay up to date on all things DAOn the Rabbit Hole, you can follow Diana @ddwchen, Anay @anay_sim, and RabbitHole @rabbithole_gg on Twitter. You can also follow our guest, Li Jin, on Twitter @ljin18.—If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, subscribe, and share with your friends and family so we can keep taking you down the rabbit hole with us. 

Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) is involved in all aspects of the crypto ecosystem & has a strong understanding of the regulatory space surrounding crypto. Jake is Head of Policy at the Blockchain Association and Advisor for the Variant Fund, and former General Counsel for Compound Labs. Rebecca Rettig (@RebeccaRettig1) is the General Counsel of the Aave Companies, a group of software development companies in Europe that build open source, blockchain-based software. Rebecca began her legal career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York, litigating complex commercial disputes; prior to joining the Aave Companies, Rebecca was a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP in the financial services group, representing blockchain and crypto clients. Sarah (Hody) Shtylman (@SHodyEsq) is a Partner at Perkins Coie, where she advises innovators in the fintech and blockchain industries, and her clients range from entrepreneurs and startups to big tech and regulated financial institutions. Sarah's background includes serving as in-house regulatory counsel at Coinbase (2nd lawyer hired), Levine & Associates (a litigation boutique), and Hody Esq., as a Sole Proprietor. This episode answers the question: What should I do if I want to become a crypto lawyer? While focused on crypto, the principles can be applied to any legal area. This was such a fun episode to record, as each guest offers incredible insights. Show highlights: - How Rebecca built a practice in crypto [3:30] - What helped Rebecca establish a crypto arbitration practice [7:45] - Sarah's introduction to crypto [9:00] - Being the second lawyer at Coinbase [14:00] - Jake's crypto law journey [16:00] - What law students should get on their resume to get roles in crypto [21:00] - How to determine which area of law to tie crypto into [34:00] - Finding an area of law in which to specialize [37:00] - Dealing with the pressure to specialize [41:00] “Recognizing when you hit diminishing returns in your job, and when it's time to move on” - Jake - Imposter syndrome in the legal industry [44:00] - Do crypto lawyers need to learn to code? [49:00] - One important piece of advice for professionals beginning their careers [63:00] “Come join the revolution with us” - Rebecca Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the podcast, please share and review. You can follow me, Jacob Robinson, on Twitter @jacobrobinsonjd. For the latest updates from Law of Code - subscribe to our newsletter.

Given all the activity and interest recently around crypto and web3, as well as in upcoming holidays and art events, we're re-running our episode all about NFTs (from March 2021) -- where we covered everything you need or want to know about NFTs. You can also find a curated list of resources to learn all about NFTs at future.com/nftcanon. That list, and this episode, has something for everyone -- from artists and creators and other builders to big companies and institutions or just anyone seeking to understand or even explain to others NFTs.Here, we've cut through the noise around NFTs to share the signal, covering everything from: what NFTs are and the underlying crypto big picture, before we dig into specifically what forms they take;common myths and misconceptions -- from confusing overlaps with other concepts to addressing commentary like it's “just a JPG” or that it's just hypeto the question of energy use, also covering briefly how NFTs workproviding a quick overview of the players/ ecosystemand throughout, covering various applications too.Joining host Sonal Chokshi are Jesse Walden, now of Variant Fund, and formerly co-founder of Mediachain Labs, which was acquired by Spotify; and Linda Xie, now of Scalar Capital, and formerly an early product manager at Coinbase. As a reminder, NONE of the following should be taken as investment advice, for more important information please see a16z.com/disclosures.[If you're also interested in DAOs (which we touch on briefly in this episode), we just recently published a list of readings -- in the vein of our famous crypto canon resource, then NFT canon, and now DAO canon -- all about DAOs. It's for anyone seeking to understand, build, and otherwise get involved with these “decentralized autonomous organizations” -- which represent the future of community, coordination, work, and much more… so we've curated resources on this list for people at different levels of interest, from dipping one's toes in to going deep. You can find that at future.com/daocanon.]This episode was originally released in March 2021: https://future.a16z.com/podcasts/nfts-explainer/  

Today we are joined by our dear friend Cooper Turley. Cooper is a co-founder at FWB, a venture partner at Variant Fund, and has his fingers in or around many of the leading DAO & social tokens you probably all heard of. This conversation is interesting. We talk about his initial inspiration for jumping into the social token space and contrast that to where things are today. We talk about the DAO landscape. We talk about the underbelly of token compensation and how Web3 communities and projects might want to develop and structure compensation in their DAOs 

In light of our recent $PRTN Token launch, we're moving into the world of Web3 / and speaking to people who are putting communities first / in order to manifest a more equitable / and decentralised future. Opening our Season 5, we have Cooper Turley who's been actively shaping the Creator Economy since 2019 through DAOs like Friends with Benefits and our very own Protein Community. He's an investor at Variant Fund, advisor at Audius and will probably involved in that supercool project no-one has heard of yet. This was recorded live in the Protein Discord, so excuse the audio quality and make sure you follow our Twitter or Insta so you can be part of the next show.

The hype around crypto-native communities such as Loot and Nouns DAO have taken over all our Twitter feeds. But how do these communities arise and gather momentum? Our guest this week, Patrick Rivera, gives us an inside look into the social and financial motivations driving some of crypto's most prominent communities. Being a part of these communities is so compelling, because according to Patrick, they are “a combination of a social hangout spot, an intellectual challenge, and a way to make money.” Patrick's position has helped him get in early on these trends, and understand the importance of being a part of these communities from day one. He is a Product Engineer at Mirror—a crypto native creative suite, with crowdfunding & publishing tools for creators. Mirror is backed by some prominent investors such as a16z, USV, Variant Fund, and Li herself!  At Mirror, Patrick's role involves working very closely with creators to design and ship new features & launch new crowdfunding campaigns. We spoke about how Mirror is powering the convergence of  crypto and the creator economy, and how crypto-native projects are rewriting the playbook around raising capital and launching products. Patrick believes that more projects will take this decentralized, bottom-up approach in the future—giving everyone the opportunity to invest in projects they care about, right from the get go.  We hope you enjoy this conversation with Patrick as much as we did! 

Jesse Walden is an investor at Variant Fund and previously worked on the crypto team at Andreessen Horowitz. In this conversation, we discuss the ownership economy, NFTs, social money, piracy, Compound, Uniswap, and locked value. ======================= BlockFi provides financial products for crypto investors. Products include high-yield interest accounts, USD loans, and no fee trading. To start earning today visit: http://www.blockfi.com/Pomp ======================= Choice is a new self-directed IRA product that I'm really excited about. If you are listening to this, you are likely part of the 7.1 million bitcoin owners who have retirement accounts with dollars in them, but not bitcoin. I was in that situation too. Now you can actually buy real Bitcoin in your retirement account. I'm talking about owning your private keys and using tax-advantaged dollars to do it too. Absolute game changer. https://www.retirewithchoice.com/pomp =======================

Cooper Turley aka. Coopahtroopa is a full time DAO operator working on projects like Friends with Benefits, Audius, PleasrDAO, Forefront and Seed Club. He's a partner at Variant Fund and works with teams on token launches and governance through Fire Eyes DAO.

❤️ Loved it!👎 Meh…Summary transcript: https://www.listory.com/ll/53f6ff13b1991deddf4934d37be8956282406c88Original story: https://a16z.com/2021/04/03/creator-economy-beyond-nfts-podcast/Description: Chris Dixon of a16z, Kevin Chou of Rally, and Jesse Walden of Variant Fund discuss how old models are being transformed by tokens of all kinds.

Jesse Walden of Variant Fund, and Robert Leshner of Compound explain all of the problems associated with the decentralizing process in terms of governance and compliance, pulling from their own lessons and their commentary on other projects. We cover: Why projects must start with some level centralization How projects can both monetize and not put their code at risk of being forked How they can decentralize while also maintaining security, especially for composable DeFi projects that may become vulnerable as new technology and new protocols are introduced How and when to distribute the token so as not to attract only speculators and also not trip regulatory wires  How Compound's current governance works, how it is decentralizing, why they decided to use a governance token, and what Compound (the company) will do after full decentralization  Why open-sourced projects are still able to extract profits, even after a fork Whether or not teams should have admin keys, such as what was used in response to the bZx attacks Whether or not projects should be upgrade-able What Block.One, which raised $4 billion in an ICO, did right to only pay a $24 million fine to the SEC  Thank you to our sponsors!  Crypto.com: https://crypto.com Kelman Law: https://crypto.law   Stellar: https://www.stellar.org Episode links:  Jesse Walden: https://twitter.com/jessewldn Robert Leshner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rleshner/ A16z Crypto startup school: https://a16z.com/crypto-startup-school/ Compound: https://compound.finance Progressive Decentralization playbook: https://jessewalden.com/progressive-decentralization-a-playbook-for-building-crypto-applications/ What recent moves by the SEC say about mutability when it comes to crypto networks: https://a16z.com/2019/10/22/mutability-sec-recent-cases/ Compound's $COMP token: https://medium.com/compound-finance/compound-governance-5531f524cf68 More on Compound's governance token: https://www.coindesk.com/compound-extends-defi-ethos-to-itself-launches-governance-token Unchained discussion about bZx attacks: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-bzx-attacks-unethical-or-illegal-2-experts-weigh-in/ Eric Wall tweet storm on admin keys: https://twitter.com/ercwl/status/1229198599264907264?s=20 tBTC shutting down: https://twitter.com/keep_project/status/1262483526437556228 More on tBTC: https://www.coindesk.com/bug-forces-shutdown-of-bitcoin-backed-ethereum-token-tbtc Unchained interview about tBTC in which Matt Luongo explains the admin key: https://unchainedpodcast.com/tbtc-what-happens-when-the-most-liquid-crypto-asset-hits-defi/ Is the SEC trying to kill the SAFT? https://www.coindesk.com/with-kik-and-telegram-cases-the-sec-tries-to-kill-the-saft  Block.One settlement with SEC: https://www.coindesk.com/eos-maker-block-one-settles-with-sec-over-unregistered-securities-sale