Posts in p2p & crowdfunding
Developing regenerative finance using memes for the public good, with Kevin Owocki of Gitcoin
Developing regenerative finance using memes for the public good, with Kevin Owocki of Gitcoin

In this conversation, we talk with Kevin Owocki, who serves as the CEO & Chief Roboticist at Gitcoin, about the evolution of the programmable blockchain space, how open software gets made, where value comes from and all sorts of other really cool futuristic things.

Additionally, we explore the nuances of being an early developer in shifting markets, idea mazes, the founding of and philosophy behind Gitcoin, the deep work being done towards the Open Internet, the building of community-driven grant mechanisms, early work on quadratic-funding, and the idea behind memes powering DeFi.

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crypto, decentralized finance, funding round, open source, p2p & crowdfundingLex SokolinGitcoin, StepOut, Techstars, Ethereum, MetaMask, Truffle, Uniswap, 1inch, Yearn
Camila Russo of The Defiant and author of The Infinite Machine discusses crypto journalism, writing about Ethereum's inception, $69M NFTs, and building a DeFi community
Camila Russo of The Defiant and author of The Infinite Machine discusses crypto journalism, writing about Ethereum's inception, $69M NFTs, and building a DeFi community

In this conversation, we talk with Camila Russo of The Defiant and author of The Infinite Machine, about her journey as a successful financial journalist was derailed by the Crypto boom and subsequent winter of 2017. Additionally, we explore the success behind her first book, the nuances of the NFT craze, and how The Defiant became one of the most popular crypto media brands to date.

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crypto, decentralized finance, p2p & crowdfunding, social & communityLex SokolinCamila Russo, Defiant, Ethereum, Bloomberg, Bitcoin, Argentina
Why Peer-to-Peer models fail against oligopoly, with Lending Club shutting down p2p platform, Seedrs/Crowdcube merging, and Morgan Stanley buying Eaton Vance for $7B
Why Peer-to-Peer models fail against oligopoly, with Lending Club shutting down p2p platform, Seedrs/Crowdcube merging, and Morgan Stanley buying Eaton Vance for $7B

This week, we look at:

  • Lending Club, the peer-to-peer lending innovator, turning off peer-to-peer lending after having a bank in its pocket

  • Consolidation of the UK's largest crowdfunders, CrowdCube and Seedrs, and their limited economics

  • The scale of the Morgan Stanley and Eaton Vance deal, creating a $1.2 trillion asset manager

  • The struggle of peer-to-peer models more generally, and whether the blockchain movement can overcome the Prisoner's Dilemma

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digital lending, p2p & crowdfunding, music industry, asset management, decentralized financeLex SokolinLending Club, Libertarians, Napster, Kazaa, BitTorrent, Spotify, Compound, Aave, Globacap, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Tence, Covestor, Motif Investing, Kaching, Monzo, Crowdcube, Seedrs, Eaton Vance
Can the $4 Trillion municipal bond market be a digital asset in your pocket?
Can the $4 Trillion municipal bond market be a digital asset in your pocket?

I reflect on ConsenSys acquiring a broker/dealer focused on municipal bonds, and why we believe that blockchain-native platforms are a fantastic fit for this $4 trillion asset class. Can direct holding of franctional munis enable deeper community participation and usage of common resources? Are there new sources of liquidity to unlock? At the same time, there are real dangers. I compare the evolution of digital lenders and their funding sources against the current possibilities in municipal bond markets. We also look into the reasons that some innovative Fintechs have failed to achieve their stated missions, and what can be learned and done better.

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fixed income, asset management, p2p & crowdfunding, digital securities / STOLex SokolinLending Club, SoFi, OnDeck, Figure, Marcus, Neighborly, ConsenSys, Digital Asset Holdings, Nivaura