This Week on Unchained: Jupiter Airdrop, Chris Dixon, and More!
Don't miss this week's interviews with Jupiter's Meow and a16z's Chris Dixon. Plus, new episode of The Chopping Block released today!
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The Chopping Block: Points or Airdrops, Which Is the Better Engagement Model for Crypto Projects?
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest news and with special guest Aevo's Co-Founder - Julian Koh. This episode zeroes in on the latest buzz around the Jupiter ($JUP) airdrop: What's the real story behind Jupiter’s valuation and controversy? We peel back the layers of Jupiter's token strategy and its impact on market dynamics. The dialogue then shifts to the innovative approaches of Aevo (formerly Ribbon Finance) in pre-launch derivatives and the burgeoning trend of airdrop farming: How are Airdrop strategies altering the landscape of token valuation and investor behavior? The debate intensifies as we tackle the contentious battle between points systems and traditional airdrops: Are points a revolutionary engagement tool or a complex web of incentives? With the resurgence of ICOs and the strategic pivot of Ribbon Finance, we explore the implications of rebrands on the crypto ecosystem. Join us for an in-depth exploration of these critical topics and their profound impact on the world of cryptocurrency.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
While Solana DeFi protocol Jupiter staged what was by most measures a very successful airdrop launch on Wednesday, achieving a market cap of close to $800 million, the company’s critics pointed out numerous ways the company seemed to unfairly enrich itself in the process. While Jupiter’s founder, who goes by the pseudonym Meow, acknowledges he might have done some things differently, he finds the criticisms of the launch mostly based on “bad faith” and misinformation.
Meow joined Unchained to discuss the thinking behind the launch mechanics of JUP, how the prior launch of memecoin WEN served as a dry run for JUP, whether the aggressive pricing strategy of JUP was a mistake, and what he hopes to achieve with Jupiter next, including the possibility of enabling companies of all kinds to list themselves publicly onchain.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
Chris Dixon, founder and managing partner of a16z crypto, believes the internet’s early ideals of democratization and community ownership have been subverted by the consolidation of power into just a few small companies such as Facebook and Google. He’s written a new book called Read Write Own in which he writes about this phenomenon, and argues that blockchain technology can help reverse the trend by providing an environment in which developers and entrepreneurs can once again build direct relationships with their audiences.
Dixon joins Unchained to discuss criticisms of crypto venture capital firms, how he feels now about a16z’s previous investment in Facebook, how crypto has become overly politicized in the US, why Facebook’s Libra project was ultimately shut down, the significant promise of restaking and EigenLayer in particular, and why he believes that creator royalties are essential for the NFT market.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
Opinion: A16z’s Chris Dixon Makes the Definitive Case for Why Blockchain Networks — and Tokens — Really Matter
by David Z. Morris
Well-known venture capitalist Chris Dixon’s new book, “Read Write Own”, is probably the best guide for savvy, but non crypto-native, observers who want to follow (or invest in) blockchains, argues our columnist.
In Case You Missed It 👀
Here are some of the most important news of this week:
Pro-Ethereum Crowd Slams Solana-based Jupiter Airdrop as ‘Absolute Trash’
Rival blockchain communities spar over how Solana-based decentralized exchange aggregator Jupiter allocated JUP tokens for its airdrop earlier this week.
‘Crypto: The Game’ Is Ruthless. But So Far, I’m a Survivor
For 41 ETH, or $94,000, hundreds of players like me are enduring 10 daily challenges, tribalism and “Survivor”-style elimination voting.
As Crypto Drops Out of the Political Discussion for Now, Lobbyists Key In on 3 Key Areas
Crypto is taking a backseat to concerns about social media and AI, and the crypto lobby is using the opportunity to focus on pending legislation around market structure, stablecoins, and illicit finance.
3AC Founders’ New Crypto Exchange OPNX to Shut Down
OPNX, the crypto exchange and claims trading platform set up by the founders of Three Arrows Capital (3AC), will cease operations and shut down this month.
FTX Hackers Revealed? $400 Million Stolen From Crypto Exchange By Three SIM-Swap Scammers
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged three co-conspirators with orchestrating a SIM-swap attack to drain $400 million from what appears to be crypto exchange FTX as it collapsed into bankruptcy.
Celsius Starts Distributing Over $3 Billion in Crypto and Fiat to Creditors
Crypto lender Celsius emerges from bankruptcy and has started distributing more than $3 billion worth of crypto and fiat to its creditors under its reorganization plan.
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