Crypto / Economics / Finance

Cluster: Blockchain & Cryptocurrency: a wiki on all things crypto

Shelling Out: The Origins of Money : foundational context for everyone.

Why Decentralization Matters: why the world needs decentralized systems

Crowds, Power, and Bitcoin: the need for crowd mentality in consensus, and the weakness of POS

The Meaning of Decentralization: making decentralization concrete, contrasting to other tangential building blocks like distributed systems

The Long Game in Crypto: Why Decentralization Matters: an argument for where decentralization cannot be compromised.

Why Decentralization Matters: A Response: a thoughtful, pragmatic response to a strong decentralization thesis (see above)

Quantifying Decentralization: Identifies the components of a decentralized system and introduces a novel way to quantify each.

Crypto Tokens: A Breakthrough in Open Network Design: a thoughtful look at the impact in consumer tech.

Smart Contracts: Building Blocks for Digital Markets: some of the earliest work on smart contracts

The Idea of Smart Contracts: more early work on smart contracts.

Past, Present, Future: cryptonetworks and cooperatives

State Channels for Dummies: five part series on state channels

On Radical Markets: Vitalik’s take on the book Radical Markets (also featured in the book section)

Some Simple Economics of the Blockchain: a thoughtful and clear articulation of the unique economic properties of a crypto-economy

Liberation Through Radical Decentralization: thoughtful piece on the upending of established systems.

Cryptocurrency 101: long read but touches on all the basics.

Making Sense of Web 3: a succinct overview of the components and impact of Web 3.0

Understanding Web 3 — A User Controlled Internet: a good primer on Web 3.0

The Web3 Stack: a good visual on the Web 3.0 ecosystem

Making Sense of Ethereum’s Layer 2 Scaling Solutions: systematic view of the layer 2 design space

Understanding Blockchain Fundamentals, Part 1: Byzantine Fault Tolerance: quick primer on the game theory that underpins Nakamoto Consensus.

Understanding Blockchain Fundamentals, Part 2: Proof of Work & Proof of Stake: unpacking PoW and PoS

Understanding Blockchain Fundamentals, Part 3: Delegated Proof of Stake: unpacking more pragmatic consensus mechanisms.

Framework for Securities Regulation of Cryptocurrencies: a good view of the legal components that need to be considered, as well as a practical recommendation.

Fat Protocols: a seminal post about the value accretion in crypto networks

Blockchain Moats: a thoughtful piece on how open protocols create defensibility

Fat protocols are not an investment thesis: a response to the market taking Fat Protocols and broadly applying it, without internalizing it.

Aggregation Theory, Thin Protocols, and Recentralization: Augur Edition: an argument for thin protocols

On Medium-of-Exchange Token Valuations: economic vulnerabilities for the assets sitting on top of base level protocols.

New models for utility tokens: unpacking the design for distribution in different token economies

On Labels: A Critical Look at Blockchain Discourse: a sober view of the tribalism in the blockchain ecosystem

Thoughts on tokens: applications of tokens in existing paradigms.

100 Trillion: a strong thesis on why crypto can (and may) dominate the global financial system

Crypto Commons: crypto’s role in democratizing innovation and the shared value creation.

Blockchains and the Opportunity of the Commons: how blockchains and crypto-networks are unlocking the opportunity for everyone to create and capture value

Introduction to Blockchain through Cryptoeconomics — Part 1: Bitcoin: the economics that underpin crypto networks

Introduction to Blockchain through Cryptoeconomics, Part 2: Proof of Work and Nakamoto Consensus: how tokens incentivize the base level of networks

Economics back into Cryptoeconomics: a thoughtful dissection of the key economic pillars in token economies

Making Sense of Cryptoeconomics: a good overview on the economic drivers in crypto

The Network Effects of Store of Value: how scaling networks is the precursor to where value will accrue

Token Network Effects: how shared incentives in token economies create leverage for network effects

Notes on Blockchain Governance: base level considerations for the governance structures in crypto ecosystems

Governance, Part 2: Plutocracy Is Still Bad: identifying risk vectors in governance structures

Blockchain Governance: Programming Our Future: thoughts on how to program scalable governance in to decentralized systems

Cryptoasset Valuations: a thesis on valuing tokens

How Does Ethereum Work, Anyways?: unpacking Ethereum

Fundamental Challenges with Public Blockchains: identifying the roadblocks and tradeoffs inherent in network design

Scalability Tradeoffs: Why “The Ethereum Killer” Hasn’t Arrived Yet: a summary of the tradeoffs in decentralized networks

Good artists copy. Great artists steal.: open source creates innovation but also breads new forms of competition. Why tradeoffs is where we are competing.

Decentralized Identity Trilemma: a succinct overview of the tradeoffs in self sovereign identity

UniqueID: Decentralized Proof-of-Unique-Human: a deep look at a novel implementation of decentralized identity

Minimum viable decentralization: some thoughts on what is the requisite level of decentralization, and where that can be achieved/compromised

What is Money Transmission and Why Does it Matter?: important reading for anyone building in or around token networks

The Bank Secrecy Act, Cryptocurrencies, and New Tokens: What is Known and What Remains Ambiguous: how existing regulation may apply to future innovation

A Note on Metcalfe’s Law, Externalities and Ecosystem Splits: things to consider as networks scale

Why Decentralized Exchange Protocols Matter: an important take on the importance of DEXs

A Primer on Mining 2.0: a good summary of the form and function of mining

Edward Snowden Explains Blockchain: a good dialogue to give a foundational overview of blockchain

Fabric VC: State of the token market – 2017: good overview of what happened in 2017 (worth reading at any time as 2017 is the year everything took off)

Fabric VC: State of the token market – 2018: a follow-up to 2017, things are *starting* to mature.

Startups

Invisible Asymptotes: how the biggest winners face systemic challenges

Status as a Service: an excellent thesis on status as currency

Divine Disconnect: Disruption’s Antidote:  good supplement to the above

Better Meetings: simple, intuitive notes on meetings

Suhail Doshi: raising money

What’s the FIRST thing you need to do before fund raising? — “Measure Twice, Cut Once”: how to approach a fundraise

Building VC Relationships: how to cultivate the right relationships with the right investors

How to Improve Your Odds of Getting to Yes with a VC — “Land and Expand”: how to leverage momentum in the fundraising stage

There are no Shortcuts: Why Showing up In Person is Everything: how to keep tension in the fundraising process

Why Confidence is So Important in Fund Raising: there’s more to a fundraise than data and demos

How Much Should You Raise in Your VC Round? And What is a VC Looking at in Your Model?: how to get the numbers right and know what you’re talking about

How to Talk About Valuation When a VC Asks: important notes on how to approach any discussion on valuation

Investor Update Emails: the best way to keep investors in the loop without inundating them

Memos: An index of impactful internal memos from historic brands

The Heartbeat: the importance of consistent momentum in any company

Bad Advice: there’s more bad advice than good advice, it’s important to know which is which

What Are Network Effects: a simple summary of network effects

The Network Effects Bible: a very actionable set of principles for evaluating businesses with network effect

The Network Effects Manual: 13 network effects and how to leverage them

Two Powerful Mental Models: Network Effects and Critical Mass: how we should be thinking about applying network effects

Three Types of Platform Businesses: a taxonomy of the platform business models

Platform-Mediated Networks: Definitions and Core Concepts: how platforms and distribution impact the scale of a network

How to Win as a Second Mover: older post but always relevant

Personal Growth

Feeling Good: Justin’s Program: simple guide to living well

Why Everyone Should Write: thoughtful insights on the process of writing

How to be Successful: its not a silver bullet (as the title suggests) but its pretty darn good

Productivity: super useful playbook on productivity from Sam Altman

Guide to Personal Productivity: Marc Andreessen sharing wisdom

How to Plan Your Ideal Year: a simple guide to personal goal setting.

Personal Dashboard: a simple productivity tool