8.7 KiB
Introduction
What This Is
This initiative is an exploration of the ideations of crypto and "web3" and its constituent technologies, aspirations and economics. The concept of web3 is a fuzzy term often accused of being a buzzword that can be hard to make sense of, this initiative aims to address the misunderstandings and shed a light on basic macroeconomics and technology for those tasked with doing sense-making for the public. Our methodology aims to create a balanced and moderate perspective that incorporates ideas from conventional macroeconomics, political economy and computer science.
This page serves as a root from which all other topics branch and can be explored.
Key Concepts
Understand the terminology used to describe crypto and web3.
- Web3
- Crypto asset
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Blockchain
- Bubble
- Money
- NFT
- Private money
- Sound money
- Ponzi scheme
- Deflationary asset
- Crypto exchanges
- Assets
- Speculative asset
- DAO
- Stablecoin
- Regulatory arbitrage
- Central bank digital currency
Claims
Explore crypto and "web3" in terms of the claims made about it. These subclaims fall into six categories about different aspects of either technical, financial or political reconfiguration projects.
Better Economy
- Is bitcoin a currency?
- Are crypto assets a risk to the dollar?
- What type of asset is a crypto token?
- How do we value a crypto token?
- Are crypto assets a systemic risk to the economy?
- Is bitcoin the basis for a new gold standard?
- Are crypto assets a bubble?
- Are crypto assets a form of gambling?
- Are crypto tokens an inflation hedge?
- Is private money a desirable system?
Better Society / Financial Inclusion
- Is crypto a solution for the unbanked?
- What consumer protections exist for crypto tokens?
- Is crypto investing a form of predatory inclusion?
- Is crypto providing faster payment rails or better remittance services?
- What is the narrative economics of crypto assets?
- Are crypto assets legal?
- Are crypto tokens a predatory investment?
- Are crypto tokens a negative-sum investment?
- Why do people invest in crypto tokens?
- Why does crypto have such a weird subculture?
Financial Liberty
- Is a unregulated transnational payment rail even desirable?
- Are crypto tokens a hedge against the "debasement" of the dollar?
- Are crypto tokens a means to counter authoritarianism?
- I want to raise money for my non-profit or public goods project?
- Can I do a crowdfunded equity raise for my company?
Solving Public Goods Problems
- Is crypto a means to fund public goods projects?
- Is bitcoin mining harmful to the environment?
- Is crypto bringing about the "financialization of everything"?
- Is crypto a giant misallocation of resources with an enormous opportunity cost?
Financial Innovation
- Is the underlying technology of "blockchain" useful for non-monetary purposes?
- Is web3 even a well-defined term?
- Is web3 green?
- Is web3 decentralized?
- Is web3 the next generation of the internet?
Creative Destruction
- Is web3 a means to dismantle the American tech hegemony?
- Is web3 a means to rebuild the global financial system?
- Are crypto tokens a means to accelerate the collapse of capitalism?
Contextual
Understand crypto and "web3" in terms of recent news events and interviews and external resources.
- Video Interviews
- Episode #1: Neo-Metallism
- Episode #2: Market Fundamentalism
- Episode #3: Securities Regulation
- Episode #4: Post-state Technocracy
- Episode #5: Fintech Incrementalism
- Recent News Stories
- Commentary on 'Line Goes Up'
Ideologies
Explore crypto and "web3" in terms of different perspectives on politics and economics.
- Market Fundamentalism
- Financial Nihilism
- Austrian Economics
- Post State Technocracy
- Libertarianism
- Technolibertarianism
- Technosolutionism
- Technocollectivism
- Keynsian Economics
- Accelerationism
- Cryptoanarchism
Supporting Concepts
Understand the deeper theoretical concepts behind the technical and economic claims.
Economics
- Artificial scarcity
- Asymmetric information
- Central banks
- Currency
- Currency peg
- Free rider problem
- Gold standard
- Market manipulation
- Moral hazard
- Public goods
- Zero-sum game
- Liquidity
- Pump and dump scheme
- Multilevel marketing scheme
- Pyramid scheme
- Ponzi scheme
- Meme stocks
- Reserve currency
- Bretton Woods system
- Wash trading
Technology
- Blockchain
- Cryptoasset
- Immutability
- Crypto Wallet
- Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
- Decentralization
- Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
- Non-fungible token (NFT)
- Ransomware
- Smart contracts
- Stablecoin
- Mining
- Permissioned blockchain
- Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
- Automated Market Maker (AMM)
- Decentralized Exchange (DEX)
- Yield Farming
Regulation
- Securities framework
- Anti-money laundering law
- Know Your Customer Law
- Money laundering
- Regulatory capture
- Money services business
- Deposit Insurance
- Counter-terrorism financing
- Illicit financing
- Broker-dealer
Sociology