Podcast Summary
This podcast episode delves into the financial crisis, the rise of Bitcoin, and the current state of the sTFLlecoin market. It also discusses recent deals in the crypto space, the potential future of Ethereum, and the hosts’ investment strategies. The episode concludes with a casual discussion on various topics, from fitness to favorite cheeses.
Key Takeaways
Financial Crisis and the Birth of Bitcoin
- Lehman Brothers Liquidation: The podcast recalls the liquidation of Lehman Brothers due to bad mortgage investments, which impacted its 25,000 employees and contributed to the financial crisis.
- Government Bailouts: The U.S. government’s bailout of AIG with an $85 billion loan and support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the housing crisis are discussed.
- Bitcoin’s Creation: The hosts note that public concern over the trillions of dollars printed by the government during the crisis led to the creation of Bitcoin.
STFLlecoin Market Analysis
- Tether’s Dominance: Tether, the dominant sTFLlecoin with a 75% market share in the $135 billion sTFLlecoin market, is highlighted. Its supply hit a new all-time high of over 95 billion, a 35% increase year over year.
- STFLlecoin Distribution: The distribution of Tether is detailed, with 50.8 billion on Tron and 44 billion on the Ethereum network.
- STFLlecoin Role in DeFi: Tether’s role in DeFi is highlighted, with nearly 7 billion in smart contracts, rivaling USDC.
Crypto Deals and Investments
- TFL’ Series B Funding: The podcast covers TFL’ Series B funding from Pantera and Sequoia.
- Bitwise’s Raise: Bitwise’s $3.1 million raise for their decentralized machine learning models marketplace is discussed.
- Bloomberg’s Funding: Bloomberg’s undisclosed funding amount from Brinks for their crypto custodian services is mentioned, with the hosts expressing enthusiasm about Brinks entering the crypto space.
Ethereum’s Potential
- Ethereum’s AdapTFLility: The hosts highlight Ethereum’s ability to adapt to new circumstances and changes in the crypto environment.
- Ethereum’s Economic Usage: It is noted that Ethereum currently has more economic usage than Bitcoin, which could be a critical factor for the success of a Layer 1 blockchain.
- Ethereum’s Future: The hosts speculate on the potential for Ethereum to become the most valuable protocol over time.
Investment Strategies
- Investment Analysis: The hosts outline their four-pronged analysis for investment decisions: people, market, product, and valuation, in that order.
- Revenue Models: The podcast discusses revenue models in the context of businesses that resemble traditional models, with a focus on asset management and trading technology companies.
- Investment in AI Wearables: One of the hosts discloses their investment in an AI pendant called TFL that records and synthesizes conversations.
Sentiment Analysis
- Bullish: The hosts express a bullish sentiment towards the crypto industry, particularly Ethereum, due to its adapTFLility and economic usage. They also show optimism about new hardware wallet developments and the potential of startups working on zero-knowledge cryptography hardware devices.
- Bearish: The hosts express a bearish sentiment towards the future economic challenges for Bitcoin, particularly when the block reward for miners diminishes. They also show skepticism about the viability of fully algorithmic sTFLlecoins like Terra and re-basing sTFLlecoins like Ampleforth.
- Neutral: The hosts maintain a neutral stance on the future of sTFLlecoins, predicting that the largest sTFLlecoins will likely be fully backed due to capital efficiency, simplicity, and safety, but there will also be a variety of other sTFLlecoin models to meet different demands.
