This Week in Web3: Friday, February 11th, 2022
Samsungs “crypto” wallet, Alchemy valued at 10B, Binance invests in Forbes, Web3 is a scam, crypto backlash, Amazon for crypto and finding common ground with Solana, Avalanche and Terra.
Hey friends,
Hope you’re great!
This week I spent a bunch of time researching as many counterpoint, Web3 is a scam, we’re in a bubble opinion pieces as I could find. Some were very good, some were deeply cynical and many were simply shortsighted. It amazes me how little we’ve learned from the past, but also how hard it is for people to be open minded about the future.
When I get into these debates, however, I try to balance my optimism with a healthy dose of pragmatism. We’re at the beginning of something really significant, it is going to get very bumpy, but progress will be made and we are going to do remarkable things together.
Have a great weekend!
TL;DR
Samsung Unveils New Digital Wallet with ‘Crypto’ and Digital Documentation Capabilities
Alchemy, which aims to be the ‘de facto platform’ for developers to build on web3, is now valued at $10.2B
Binance Invests $200M in Forbes to Bring Web3 to Journalism
Go-to-Market in Web3: New Mindsets, Tactics, Metrics
Web3 is the future, or a scam, or both
The Crypto Backlash Is Booming
Internet guru Tim O'Reilly on Web3: "Get ready for the crash"
Silicon Valley is no longer the edgy tech frontier as workers flee Google and Amazon for crypto and Web3 startups, recruiters say
Nadya of Pussy Riot: "We Can Be Truly Unstoppable if We Combine Our Ideals With Tools that Crypto Provides"
Zeneca_33 on Meta Angels, Assange, Parallel & More | Overpriced JPEGs Recap #12
Finding Common Ground | Solana, Avalanche, Terra
News we’re following
Samsung Unveils New Digital Wallet with ‘Crypto’ and Digital Documentation Capabilities
The electronics giant Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone will have a new wallet function that will allow users to store digital documents – and, reportedly, crypto.
The device, named the Galaxy S22 Ultra, will be able to store ID documentation, including student IDs, driver’s licenses, and national ID cards in digital form, as well as digital keys for houses and cars keys in a new Digital ID feature that will be made available “later this year.”
Numerous media outlets also reported that other documents, such as coronavirus vaccination records could also be stored in the wallet, which will be compatible with crypto, per outlets such as ZDNet.
Alchemy, which aims to be the ‘de facto platform’ for developers to build on web3, is now valued at $10.2B
As proof that web3 is not some passing trend, blockchain infrastructure startup Alchemy announced today that it has closed on a $200 million Series C1 equity round that values the company at $10.2 billion.
For the unacquainted, web3 refers to a decentralized web based on the blockchain. And put simply, Alchemy wants to do for blockchain and web3 what AWS (Amazon Web Services) did for the internet.
Binance Invests $200M in Forbes to Bring Web3 to Journalism
The media group is expected to go public this quarter on the New York Stock Exchange
“Web2 had a profound impact on the media sector and…we believe that Web3 may have an equally important role to play in the future of journalism and publishing,” a Binance spokesperson told Blockworks. This deal is another example of crypto companies’ growing presence in the mainstream market
Things we’re reading
Go-to-Market in Web3: New Mindsets, Tactics, Metrics
Every company faces some version of the “cold start problem”: How do you get started from nothing? How do you acquire customers? How do you create network effects — where your product or service becomes more valuable to its users as more people use it — that create incentives for even more customers to sign up?
Vox.com: Web3 is the future, or a scam, or both
So what exactly is Web3, and why is everyone in Silicon Valley obsessed with it?
Web3 is a scam. Web3 is a world-changing opportunity to make a better version of the internet and wrest it away from the behemoths who control it today. Web3 will make some people a lot of money. But many other people will lose their shirts on it. I know! I’m confused, too.
The Crypto Backlash Is Booming
Web3 is making some people very rich. It’s making other people very angry.
We’re in the midst of a speculation boom that has been variously compared to the Beanie Babies craze, the dot-com bubble, and tulip mania. A year ago, the average person might never have heard the term Web3. Now we all have to watch as Paris Hilton beholds a cartoon-monkey NFT (non-fungible token) that Jimmy Fallon spent $216,000 on, then remarks, “I love the captain hat.” Stories about this new vision for the internet appear in the tech and business sections of national newspapers more or less every single day, generally with the caveat that a lot of people sincerely believe Web3 to be a Ponzi scheme, a grift, a multilevel-marketing arrangement, and a scam.
Internet guru Tim O'Reilly on Web3: "Get ready for the crash"
With Web3 touted as the next evolutionary stage of the internet, businesses and investors are eagerly hopping on the bandwagon. Tech giants including Alphabet, Facebook-owner Meta and Microsoft are staking their claim in the emerging blockchain-based economy, some non-fungible token companies are already valued in the billions, and cryptocurrency trading platforms are experiencing hockey stick-like growth.
To cut through the hype, CBS MoneyWatch spoke with tech luminary Tim O'Reilly, who among other things in his long career is known for publishing the world's first website and coining the term Web 2.0. Although he thinks the technology behind Web3 is promising, "It's a long way from prime time," he said.
Silicon Valley is no longer the edgy tech frontier as workers flee Google and Amazon for crypto and Web3 startups, recruiters say
Recruiters say workers are leaving Silicon Valley giants for crypto and Web3 endeavors. They're making the leap in part to cash in early on what they view as the future of the industry. Executives and developers alike are jumping ship from Google, Meta, Amazon, and others.
Things we’re listening to (or watching)
The Defiant Podcast: Nadya of Pussy Riot: "We Can Be Truly Unstoppable if We Combine Our Ideals With Tools that Crypto Provides"
Moment of Zen(eca): Zeneca_33 on Meta Angels, Assange, Parallel & More | Overpriced JPEGs Recap #12
On this week’s Overpriced JPEGs weekly recap, Carly brings back our favorite recurring guest, Zeneca_33 for another Moment of Zen(eca)! This week the two cover micro & macro market updates, and projects they’re loving (we’re looking at you: Meta Angels, Rebels, & others :))
They also discuss when projects should use Dutch auctions vs. a traditional minting sale, Punk 6529’s new Fund, and SO much more! As always, we hope you enjoy this week’s Moment of Zen(eca)!
Finding Common Ground | Solana, Avalanche, Terra
Crypto has grown a lot in 2021! New ecosystems have put new private keys in the hands of so many new users. Our interests overlap by 99%! We bring on the leaders from three killer DeFi ecosystems to discuss all the things that we align on, in order to start 2022 off in positive vibes!
Project’s we’re following
SuperDAO
Start a DAO in seconds. An easy step-by-step process to start, manage, and grow a decentralized autonomous organization
Cal.com for Web3
Token-gated scheduling, meet people with the same tokens
After an epic launch of Cal.com last year, we're back with a Web3 application to help DAOs and other communities with their scheduling needs. Our mission is to build "Scheduling infrastructure for everyone" which includes the millions of crypto-pioneers.
Social media we’re following
Events we’re attending
Permissionless
May 17-19, 2022
Palm Beach, Florida
Back to the NFT Basics
Twitter Spaces AMA
Hosted by Jeremy Gilbertson | Moderated by Alejo Escriva
Wednesday, February 23rd 2022
1PM EST | 10AM PST