Web3
East Coast Crypto
Joined August 2017
- Tweets275
- Following756
- Followers44
- Likes2.3K
Blocklingo retweeted
When I read this NYT article on the SEC's approach to crypto yesterday, I was outraged and submitted a comment on the article that has not been approved. I suspect it may not ever be approved. I happened to save the text since I was on my phone and paranoid about losing the comment. Here is it:
This article is seriously lacking in context.
Biden’s SEC did not stop any of the many frauds in crypto. They were buddy-buddy with Sam Bankman-Fried, one of the biggest fraudsters in HISTORY, and missed FTX, Terra/Luna, Three Arrows Capital, Celsius, Voyager, etc.
Instead, they went after upstanding companies for registration infractions, which aren't anywhere near as important for its goal of investor protection.
It makes perfect sense that the Atkins SEC should now drop a number of these frivolous, wasteful lawsuits.
The Gensler SEC’s refusal to create guidance as to how existing laws from the 1930s/1940s applied to crypto is partly responsible for the fact that FTX was offshore, giving investors less protection.
If the Gensler SEC had been clear about how the rules applied, then companies (and consumers) could know ahead of time what was/wasn’t kosher. Instead the SEC kept secret exactly how the laws from the 1930s and 1940s applied to crypto and would surprise crypto companies with lawsuits.
This is not a fair or normal way to run a government agency. It was also supremely stupid since the companies they went after were largely good actors.
Lastly, more than half of crypto people are/were Dems who voted for Trump because of Gensler’s antics. They don’t love Trump’s business conflicts with crypto either.
I advise you to never learn a lot about a subject, because once you see how much the NYT gets wrong, it will make you question EVERYTHING they report on.
i really want to believe that NYT is trustworthy but that has become nearly impossible
the whole framing of this new crypto story (yet again) relies on the (false) premise that the prior admin’s attack on crypto totally normal
it wasn’t
the attack was widely rebuked for years — by bipartisan members of congress, by federal courts, by basically anyone that wasn’t part of a small cabal of elizabeth warren-aligned officials. mainstream democrats never took up her cause. one time the dem senate voted overwhelmingly to overturn an insane SEC policy and biden was forced to VETO it
these partisans, who often owed their jobs to a deal struck between biden and warren during the 2020 campaign (widely reported) included consequential appointees in the biden admin who previously worked directly for her, or those who she personally approved.
these partisans included staffers for regulators who immediately went to warren-aligned non-profits like better markets and the consumer federation of america. these included entrenched officials inside banking regulators, who have now been exposed for inappropriately targeting legal industries
so the idea that the regulatory pivot on crypto over the last year is somehow because of the president’s personal interest, and not because the prior regulatory posture was absolutely INSANE, is dishonest framing that ignores 4 years of direct attacks by the actual partisans
this type of reporting relies on the readership being uninformed, which unfortunately too many are. this relies on Gell-Mann Amnesia and the “paper of record” is actively promoting crypto dementia
Blocklingo retweeted
A 50-year mortgage doesn’t make housing more affordable; it just stretches the pain over a longer timeline.
Lower payments, higher lifetime interest, and a deeper dependence on debt.
When policy solves price by extending terms, it’s a sign the real issue isn’t being fixed.
Blocklingo retweeted
If you’re a gene editing scientist or comp bio/ML engineer interested in the topic of embryo editing, I’m hosting a dinner in the bay area soon with a few folks.
I think the time is right for the defining company in the US to be built in this area, approaching it in a scientifically rigorous way, solving an unmet need. About 400m people live with a genetic disease today, and this technology can have a huge impact on human health if done correctly.
I'm looking to invest in the right founding team if it comes together. Please reach out if you’re a scientist or engineer with an interest in this space. It should be a good discussion. (Application form in follow on post. Will pay for flight/hotel if needed.)
Blocklingo retweeted
I received hundreds of messages through Reachme.io, which I find incredibly helpful. However, many don't know how to communicate effectively with busy, impatient people like me. Here are some tips.
1. State your ask in the first sentence.
Start by clearly stating your request, like seeking investment, so I know what to focus on immediately. Don’t start with an intro, background, description, and only make an ask in the end. I won’t know what to read for.
2. Make your ask explicit.
Many add vague asks like “would like your support” or “collaboration.” I wouldn’t know what you want. But if you say, “we are raising $500k at a $5m valuation,” it’s clear.
3. Make it concise.
Long messages are easy but show an unorganized mind. Short, concise writing is harder but easier for the reader.
4. Ask precise questions.
Avoid broad questions like "What do you think about the crypto industry?" I address those in media interviews, so searching online for answers is better. Open-ended questions are tough to answer repeatedly.
5. Don’t waste money.
I won’t tell you which coin to buy.
I won’t evaluate a project for you.
I won’t interact with your meme coin just because you asked.
I won’t jump on a call.
I won’t give you crypto. I donate in bulk, but I can’t verify that you aren't a scammer individually.
I won’t follow you just because you asked. It may come naturally.
...
6. If you want to recommend a project to me, you can write concisely why it is good, I will read it.
7. I would greatly appreciate any valuable feedback you may give me, and I will even pay you back.
8. I am looking for builders who can build. I am looking for talent.
Blocklingo retweeted
Hey guys, a few weeks ago, I took a week off from X to spend some time on healing, and ever since then, I have noticed my engagement is down. Can you engage with this episode (which is a really good one)?
📈 As DeFi matures, it’s experiencing some serious growing pains…
Our guest @kain, founder of @infinex_app, joined the show to talk about how the industry needs to evolve, explaining:
😬 “All-out crime” by past crypto market makers
#️⃣ How token issuers play chart games
😬 Tradeoffs Hyperliquid faces to prevent another $JELLY-style attack
👉 How Infinex aims to attack DeFi’s problems head-on
Timestamps:
💭 01:50 Thoughts on crypto market makers
🙊 04:24 ICO-era market makers engaging in ‘all-out crime’
🦹 08:19 Extracting value in an inefficient market
💸 10:21 How crypto market making has evolved in recent years
😨 16:09 The low float meta problem
📊 19:18 Why Kain evaluates tokens on FDV rather than market cap
⁉️ 24:46 What happened with MOVE on Binance
😱 31:10 Citadel as a market maker?
🥷 34:53 The $JELLY attack on Hyperliquid and the problem of centralization
🔧 44:36 The problems Kain is trying to solve with Infinex
🌎 54:36 Building a web vs. mobile app
👂 56:49 Echo group integration with Infinex
Thank you to our sponsor, @bitwise!
Blocklingo retweeted
Who is building YCombinator for politicians?
We need a supply chain of techno-optimist candidates developing their skills to win elections, across both parties.
Blocklingo retweeted
You can read Rand without becoming an objectivist, Marx without becoming a socialist, Yarvin without becoming a monarchist, Singer without becoming an effective altruist, Che Guevara without becoming a terrorist, and Bronze Age Pervert without becoming a nude bodybuilder. 📖📚📘
Blocklingo retweeted
Trumpcoin is stupid and embarrassing
Trumpcoin is a signal of sea change in US fintech policy towards much more permissive innovation
Both are true
Blocklingo retweeted
Is anybody else feeling this way?
I’ll admit it:
I have severe PTSD from round tripping my 7-figure crypto bags back to low 6 figures last cycle. And my PTSD has only INCREASED from this bull run, which hasn’t been easy to navigate by ANY stretch of the imagination.
Every rally feels like a fake out to me. Every time my portfolio starts ripping, I’m not believing it and waiting for the next show to fall that sends my bags down 25%-40% in a heartbeat.
It takes weeks for tokens to move 100% higher and 1-2 days to completely erase those gains and send them lower than where they started at the 100% move.
Feels very much like 1 step forward, 2 steps back kind of situation.
I’m praying with every fiber of my being that this bull run isn’t finished. That BTC hasn’t topped yet. That alts still have one massive euphoric multi-month run left in them. That the FED doesn’t shit on our parade with their actions or their tone towards the economy and rates.
I’m having flashbacks of late 2021 when the fed came out and said they would start raising rates in 2022, and every dipshit “expert” crypto analyst I followed disregarded that and claimed that there would be an elongated crypto bull cycle bc “iNsTiTutIoNs & eL sAlvAdOrE aRe bUyIng nOw” so “tHis tiMe iT’s diFfEReNt!”
I keep telling myself this is Jan 2025, which is analogous to Jan 2021, and there SHOULD be a lot of bull run to go before it all goes to shit. The fed is still cutting rates at least for now. Trump comes in Jan 20th which should provide a huge boost for all risk on assets including crypto as he pushes for low rates and a weaker dollar again. And that BTC hasn’t shown much confluence of topping indicators to make the case that its topped out for this cycle.
But I don’t know if I’m telling myself a story that fits what I want to believe, or if I’m being logical. Or both. 🤷
I’ve said this to my friends and family before and I’ll say it again:
I HATE crypto bull runs. While I don’t LOVE bear markets, they are EASY to navigate once you know you’re in one. And they present incredible opportunities to research and buy projects that no one is looking at and no one cares about bc the whole world believes crypto is dead except the biggest degens like myself. Bear markets are just research, buy, hold, stake and chill.
Bull markets on the other hand are chaotic, vicious, and they make you second guess and doubt yourself at every turn.
“Am I in the right projects?”
“Shit! I missed that one and it’s up 10,000% in a month! How the fuck did I miss that?”
“Every token is ripping higher but mine. I don’t want to chase green candles but I also don’t want to miss the opportunity to be in a project that can retire me in a year”.
And then throw on top of that the tens of thousands of new projects popping up, most of which are rug pulls and scams.
Throw in crazy crashes, black swan events like Israel/iran, Covid, etc.
Throw in 8 month long dips and accumulation zones that tire you out and make you question whether you’re still in a bull run or not.
Content creators pumping this token and that token. And there’s simply not enough $ to buy them all and most of these KOLs are pieces of shit that want to dump their bags on you as exit liquidity anyway.
Bull markets are insane and so draining.
I can’t fucking wait to GTFO of this. Hopefully with life changing profits this time around. That way when I get back in during the next bear, it will just be with an amount of money that is negligible to me rather than my life savings.
This shit has aged me 10 years since the start of 2024.
Is anybody else feeling this way?
Blocklingo retweeted
pro tip: the correct way to respond to one of the top security minds telling you she’d like to give you her time because of extreme concerns that north korea is deep inside your $30B platform is not to tell her that you don’t like her tone
Blocklingo retweeted
They threw the most powerful political system in the world at us, kicking the industry again & again while it was down, and they still couldn’t break us. If that doesn’t prove crypto’s staying power to you, I don’t know what will.
Blocklingo retweeted
Someone should do a rigorous (Jim Collins, Good To Great, level) study on how @elonmusk gets so much done.
Lots of theories on this, I suspect most of them incomplete or totally inaccurate.
Important question for civilizational progress.
Blocklingo retweeted
The way to fix this problem is to make borrowing an amount in excess of your basis in a stock taxable. In other words, if you have $10 billion of stock in a company you founded with zero basis, loans secured by the stock should be taxable as if you sold a like amount of stock. So, for example, if you borrowed $1 billion you would have a capital gain of $1 billion. This would be both fair and practical to implement.
Blocklingo retweeted
Steve Jobs email he sent himself 13 months before he died.
Whenever I re-read this, I regret waiting so long to have read it again.
Blocklingo retweeted
The Democratic party forced sitting President Joe Biden to drop out and USSS director Kimberly Cheatle to resign within the span of 48hrs. There is absolutely no reason they can't force Gary Gensler to resign too. If they want to haul him in front of Congress on Monday to set the stage before doing so, great, but resignation papers in hand no later than Tuesday. If they don't do this, the crypto industry has its answer.
