The title this week is a line from the book, “Station Eleven.”
It’s about how, years after a society-crumbling pandemic, a troupe called the Traveling Symphony makes art . . . because survival is insufficient. The book is about more than that, too, but the line resonates with so much that people express about what drew them to web3.
Because whether it’s opportunity, or financial success, or inspiration, or art, people see the potential for more.
People with lives, and dreams, and memories, and fears that sometimes keep us awake in the darkest parts of the night. It’s important to remember: there’s a full person on the other end of each PFP. It’s part of the magic and the fragility of what brings us together.
And we seek it out, because survival is insufficient.
On the topics of humanity and survival, below are three links if you’d like to support humanitarian efforts in Turkey following last weekend’s devastating earthquake.
Pak:
What Did We Learn?
Centralization v. Decentralization - food for thought in Monday’s show. There are times when decentralization clashes with the web3 (really web2.5) world we’re in. Examples include:
Should OpenSea flag stolen assets and block them?
Russia’s largest bank will launch a DeFi platform in May, raising the question how the platform would be truly decentralized.
Yuga disqualified a Dookey Dash player who bought 4 sewer passes and had 4 of the top 15 scores. They did not share why they took this action, which was a centralized move.
Deep dive Nerd Alert on Thursday into the new Bitcoin NFT collection, Ordinals. Thanks to Flame for this thread with information you’ll need:
Thanks also to Axu.eth for coming on stage to explain that while Ordinals have been categorized as historically relevant for being first, NFTs have existed on or around BTC for almost 10 years. Take care if you’re buying: there is no formal marketplace, which creates opportunity for bad actors.
Nerd Alert, February 10th: The Howey test. The Howey test is a set of questions developed in the United States in the 1930’s (a time of financial turmoil) to determine whether or not a transaction is an investment contract:
Is there an investment of money?
Is the investment of money in a common enterprise?
Was the investment made in expectation of a profit?
Was the profit to be expected as a result of effort from others?
If these questions are a “yes,” then the transaction is an investment contract, and therefore a security, and subject to regulation by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
There are legitimate questions about the relevance and fit of a test from nearly a century ago. The world is much changed since the 1930’s.
Interesting discussion on Friday around whether or not the U.S.—which is lagging other countries in terms of specific crypto and NFT policy—will classify cryptocurrency as a security. VoiceofDeFi referred to the “dangerous game” he sees the U.S. playing, and most respondents to this poll may feel the same:
What Did We Love?
Words from the heart on Monday, from Clemente:
On Thursday, Somi.eth took the stage to share that everyone who holds a Daily Dose POAP has been dropped a free access pass to InPeak!
InPeak’s goal is to connect web3 creators and communities through network effects powers by smart contracts.
“If LinkedIn and Masterclass had a web3 baby, it would be InPeak”
Check out their website to get into discord, and upcoming learning sessions are listed here: https://www.inpeak.xyz/events
As ever, the intelligence shining through from the community on questions like this one: “What excites you most about the future of web3?”
Around the Community
Some heartwarming responses to Thursday’s question, “What was a favorite childhood memory?”