Chris Burniske on The Ethics of Investing in Tokens

Mr Obnoxious - Podcast autorstwa Peter McCormack

Kategorie:

Interview location: New York
Interview date: Monday 25th March, 2019
Company: Placeholder
Role: Partner

One of the most interesting debates in the cryptocurrency industry is whether there is a valid use for a blockchain outside of Bitcoin and whether there is a market for a broad range of crypto assets. Despite the many scams, there are projects with honest intentions of building new business models and economies.

Are the maximalists right? Should all focus and attention be on Bitcoin, or in a free market should we embrace entrepreneurs who wish to innovate? It is indeed a topic which splits people.

While I sympathise with the views of maximalists who time and time again have seen projects come and go, attempting to use blockchain like some magical component for a new industry. I also maintain a healthy curiosity.

Will any of these projects exist with meaningful use in ten years? Will Bitcoin be the only successful use of a blockchain? I struggle to find a binary answer, but I do not support the berating of anyone open to new ideas.

In this interview I discuss these issues with Chris Burniske, the author of Cryptoassets - An Innovate Investors Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond. Chris is a Bitcoiner, but he is also an investor in, and his view is that we are at the start of a new industry for programmable money and crypto assets. We discuss why Chris is bullish on Bitcoin, why he believes in a market for tokens, the ethics of value extraction and dealing with the pressure of maximalists.

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Timestamps:

00:04:23: Introductions
00:05:35: Background to Placeholder and their investment strategy
00:08:21: How he came to write his book, “Cryptoassets”
00:12:36: Reflections on the book and whether he would now re-write parts
00:14:34: The split between equity and token based investments at Placeholder
00:15:55: Chris’ views on Bitcoin
00:19:12: Is Chris more bullish on Bitcoin or on his investments in tokens?
00:23:49: Why do we think crypto assets have value?
00:29:42: Debating whether stable coins would be preferable to tokens in the utility space
00:32:54: What tokens are fixing in the current equity model
00:39:10: Why have tokens failed to crack any form of successful product market fit yet?
00:45:12: Exploring the successes and limitations of Maker Dao
00:49:10: Discussing the ethics of token investing and the difference to equity markets
00:55:09: Placeholders ethical stance on token investment
00:57:32: Delving into the long term strategy for Placeholder’s tokens
01:00:20: Debating the merits of Bitcoin maximalism and whether it protects or harms Bitcoin
01:10:43: Is Coinbase actually a threat to Bitcoin?
01:15:45: Chris’ views on the community and how crypto is governed by defection
01:19:08: Where the market is trending and what Chris sees the market like in 10 years
01:27:05: Final comments and how to stay in touch with Chris

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Helpful Links:

Connect with Chris:
- On Twitter @cburniske
- On Medium
- On LinkedIn
- On CrunchBase
- At Placeholder

Chris’ work:
- Book: Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond
- Whitepapers:
Bitcoin Ringing a New Bell for an Asset Class
Bitcoin a Disruptive Currency
Securing the Bitcoin Network
- Blog posts:
Bitcoin & Ethereum: Prices are Down More than the Fundamentals
The Best Time to Buy & Build Tokens
Cryptonetworks are not Companies

Mentioned in the interview:
- Book: Understanding Bitcoin
- Book: Digital Gold
- Book: The Bitcoin Standard
- M=PQ
- The Myth of The Infrastructure Phase
- Maker Dao

Other relevant WBD podcasts:
- WBD087: Erik Voorhees on Maximalism, KYC & Shoddy Reporting
- WBD065: Tone Vays on Why Altcoins Are a Bad Investment
- WBD033: Will Bitcoin or Ethereum Become a Global Digital Reserve Asset with Multicoin's Kyle Samani
- WBD031: Ari Paul on the Fat Protocol Thesis and Product/Market Fit in Crypto
- WBD029: Token Economies and The Fat Protocol Thesis with Jamie Burke from Outlier Ventures
- WBD008: Why Bitcoin is Failing with Kyle Samani from Multicoin Capital
- WBD005: Crypto Asset Valuations with Jamie Burke from Outlier Ventures

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