This World Moves Fast and Breaks A Lot of Things
Plus, a one-on-one with the developer of Tech Folk, and a podcast you can't miss
As many predicted for 2022, news, partnerships, and innovation in cryptocurrency are moving at a furious, fast, and frantic pace.
Here are a few headlines you don’t want to miss:
Dequency, a Web3 music licensing program, has raised millions in seed money for a launch using Algorand’s blockchain. Investors include four members of Elon Musk’s family, along with several others in his close circle, and folks involved with Borderless Capital.
Peter Schiff is back, and this time with a Bitcoin price drop prediction to $10,000.
F1 racing team Red Bull signed a huge deal with Bybit, a move that will make that exchange a “principle team partner”.
India’s central bank isn’t thrilled about crypto.
JP Morgan Chase has officially entered the metaverse, opening a lounge in Decentraland.
The NYSE is dipping its toe into NFTs.
Charlie Munger hates crypto. As in, HATES it.
Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan (Razzlekhan) are already the subjects of three planned Hollywood projects.
I also share all these links to say—there’s serious money and attention headed towards crypto right now. Serious. Companies, venture capitalists, countries, charities, and the like are all focused on it as a huge opportunity for growth, creativity, and more.
Stay tuned. Momentum is brewing.
Meanwhile…
I recently had the pleasure of catching up with Lance Weisser, one of the developers behind Tech Folk, an NFT and gaming project that launched on Solana this winter. Tech Folk sold out in minutes, and has a devoted fan base of collectors. He’s excited about the future of the project, and his face lights up when he talks about it.
Read on for our quick Q and A:
Q: What made NFTs interesting to you?
Lance: I loved the idea of giving artists a broad distribution model for their art, and empowering them to continue to create with the support of royalties
Q: Will you please describe the concept behind Tech Folk?
Lance: Tech Folk is a Web3 Startup Simulation game that uses NFTs as player cards.
Q: Blockchain gaming is a hot sector right now, with many games being built on various platforms. What does it look like from your vantage point?
Lance: It looks like a super compelling emerging economy that allows people to play, learn, and earn all at the same time.
Q: For many NFT investors, the community that comes with the purchase is part of the appeal. What do you think of this?
Lance: I think this is generally a valid observation. That said, if you take a closer look, while almost all NFT projects claim that their community is the best, some projects don't have or even need a community. It depends on the project.
Q: You're a believer in a multi-chain future. What do you believe is the greatest opportunity in this?
Lance: I see multi-chain as both a larger distribution model and a sort of neural network that will allow more folks from other chains to interact with other communities.
Q: What attracted you to cryptocurrency?
Lance: I liked the idea of being able to both maintain the anonymity of identity and transparency of transaction history is very interesting to me. Also the concepts of proof of stake and proof of work and validation of transactions by nodes is compelling to me.
Q: Will you share a little bit about your background?
Lance: I am a Product Designer specializing in UI/UX and Design Philosophy for the last 10 years or so. Studied at UMSI where I took all the coursework for a Masters degree in HCI and never finished my capstone!
Q: Are you working on any other projects?
Lance: Between my full time day job and Tech Folk I think my head would explode if I took on another project!
Want to know more about Tech Folk? Visit the official website here.
Finally…
I’ve written in past newsletters about why I like Strike, a Bitcoin investing and payment startup that uses the Lightning Network to make purchase of the currency more accessible.
Recently, I came across this podcast episode with Jack Mallers, the CEO. It’s not a short episode, but Jack gives a great explanation of his vision, and his hopes for Bitcoin.
His words might make you see all this differently.
Check it out:
The Crypto Connection is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to be financial advice. Please do your own research before investing in any asset class. Sara Celi is not a financial advisor, and holds several cryptocurrencies. To purchase her books on Amazon, please click here.