24
Jesse Walden
@jesse #24
@variant
65289 Follower 268 Following
in emerging tech fields there exists a pendulum between pioneers/innovators and pragmatists/executers
this is a lot to do with how you’re wired, but you can be conscious of that wiring and make a conscious choice of focus
this is a lot to do with how you’re wired, but you can be conscious of that wiring and make a conscious choice of focus
What are the most interesting consumer applications built/building on Bridge?
ok ill take it
when funding new wallets, having to distinguish between L1 ETH and Base ETH is totally unacceptable UX.
let’s get this abstraction pattern over and done with.
let’s get this abstraction pattern over and done with.
Imagine, these types of tokens in a galaxy not far away:
- onchain content is a growing asset class, with the zero-sum memecoin lottery we have today being only a fraction of this total growing market cap
- a new asset class ill call "onchain securities" are bringin silicon valley startups onchain thanks to a lighter compliance framework (open source code, open source cash flows, open governance processes, tokenholder recourse, and accompanying lightweight disclosure requirements) - this asset class enables founders to make true economic ownership a keystone of user experience in products pepople use every day
- sufficiently decentralized protocols enter their prime as clear definition enables more efficient governance -- the best version of this will "DAOs 2.0," or organizations that minimize governance overhead via automation (AI) and with active founders/contributors/humans at the edges who contribute the value that can't be automated.
- onchain content is a growing asset class, with the zero-sum memecoin lottery we have today being only a fraction of this total growing market cap
- a new asset class ill call "onchain securities" are bringin silicon valley startups onchain thanks to a lighter compliance framework (open source code, open source cash flows, open governance processes, tokenholder recourse, and accompanying lightweight disclosure requirements) - this asset class enables founders to make true economic ownership a keystone of user experience in products pepople use every day
- sufficiently decentralized protocols enter their prime as clear definition enables more efficient governance -- the best version of this will "DAOs 2.0," or organizations that minimize governance overhead via automation (AI) and with active founders/contributors/humans at the edges who contribute the value that can't be automated.
NEW PRODUCT / PRE-SEED ANNOUNCEMENT
https://x.com/jessewldn/status/1889369798305608110
If youre launching tokens you must yap to @aja about Doppler
https://x.com/jessewldn/status/1889369798305608110
If youre launching tokens you must yap to @aja about Doppler
haven’t seen anyone try this but would stilllove to see the experiment run
17108
Fio
@fiodar.eth·19:19 10/02/2025
I liked the idea @jesse and @li pitched in one of their blog posts in 2023: 'progressive ownership'
tldr:
1. protocol / app reaches PMF and can show sustained revenues
2. the revenue is being shared with power users
3. at TGE, those users can decide to forego the rev share for token issuance (owning > earning)
here is the post: https://variant.fund/articles/progressive-ownership-model-application-tokens/
tldr:
1. protocol / app reaches PMF and can show sustained revenues
2. the revenue is being shared with power users
3. at TGE, those users can decide to forego the rev share for token issuance (owning > earning)
here is the post: https://variant.fund/articles/progressive-ownership-model-application-tokens/
DAO 2.0 Product Ideas 🧵
24
Jesse Walden
@jesse·14:07 14/12/2024
/extaudio/9/9/c/6/d974-a569-45b1-8d53-116120ac311f)
this issue of the @variant newsletter is a banger
a lot of good stuff rounded up from the last month or so.
https://blog.variant.fund/the-ai-and-daos-edition
a lot of good stuff rounded up from the last month or so.
https://blog.variant.fund/the-ai-and-daos-edition
A lot of hot air out there on Crypto x AI.
This piece is makes the fundamental case for why crypto stands to make AI better on the merits.
This piece is makes the fundamental case for why crypto stands to make AI better on the merits.
249451
Daniel Barabander
@dbarabander·14:47 16/01/2025
New piece: Why (good) AI needs crypto.
TLDR: Closed AI is anti-competitive. Open source AI hits a “resource problem” (huge compute/data costs). Crypto fixes this by incentivizing resource contributions via ownership—unlocking bigger models & faster innovation.
🔗👇
https://variant.fund/articles/why-good-ai-needs-crypto/
TLDR: Closed AI is anti-competitive. Open source AI hits a “resource problem” (huge compute/data costs). Crypto fixes this by incentivizing resource contributions via ownership—unlocking bigger models & faster innovation.
🔗👇
https://variant.fund/articles/why-good-ai-needs-crypto/
/extaudio/3/8/b/0/cbb3-5e4a-4d5c-a777-98d3702cb69a)
thank you to @horsefacts.eth for giving this update on Farcaster at @variant's investor day in November. he discussed why programmable social is a "big idea," product-led protocol development, what drove 30x DAU jan-july, frames, membership-based channels, AI agents and a bunch more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfKqRKkLNW8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfKqRKkLNW8
Good story on the origins of Phantom wallet, and whats been driving their rocket ship growth in 2024. One of the few crypto products with millions of DAU/MAU/MTU
https://x.com/jessewldn/status/1876658341813821944
https://x.com/jessewldn/status/1876658341813821944
at our team meeting yesterday, we were talking about a shared memory layer for agents as an enabler of composability—and therefore, more specialized/simple agents to work together to accomplished more complex tasks, towards "DAOs 2.0"
249451
Daniel Barabander
@dbarabander·16:10 07/01/2025
Some thoughts on agents and "memory."
Squinting at the crypto x AI Agent hype theres a kinda new, kinda old, still fuzzy angle on a "big idea" I've been excited about for over a decade:
all the world's media onchain.
something like... AI agents form the demand side of a market for onchain media. Agents "mint" to own media for training or some other objective. This demand for low-value mints drives onchain as the standard "port of entry" for all internet media
hard part is thinking through which agents/media types to start with, and what that market/standard looks like. if you have thoughts please HMU :)
A few blog posts on this topic below from @fredwilson, @jacob, yours truly.
all the world's media onchain.
something like... AI agents form the demand side of a market for onchain media. Agents "mint" to own media for training or some other objective. This demand for low-value mints drives onchain as the standard "port of entry" for all internet media
hard part is thinking through which agents/media types to start with, and what that market/standard looks like. if you have thoughts please HMU :)
A few blog posts on this topic below from @fredwilson, @jacob, yours truly.
Me and @paulframbot down by the schoolyard
Please watch/share :)
https://x.com/jessewldn/status/1869482665591931109?s=46&t=wQXqvpirzg313128L3-p1A
Please watch/share :)
https://x.com/jessewldn/status/1869482665591931109?s=46&t=wQXqvpirzg313128L3-p1A
Morpho had a non-transferable token onchain for 2+ years. Not points, the actual token. More teams should do this. Self-selects for users who care about ownership and are more long-term.
Media sites blocking LLMs from summarizing full articles
What’s the best hack for this currently?
What’s the best hack for this currently?
Variant had its annual investor meeting on Tuesday. This is the gist of what I told LPs about the last few years and where I hope we're going:
https://jessewalden.com/beyond-speculation-and-stablecoins-cryptos-next-phase/
https://jessewalden.com/beyond-speculation-and-stablecoins-cryptos-next-phase/
who should I dm next?
1460
Alana Levin
@alanadlevin·14:46 22/11/2024
3 years ago today. Cold DMs really can change your life!
Phantom is #5 in the App Store
Rare: engineer, former founder, lawyer, investor
Ask a team in our portfolio and I guarantee they’ll share my experience that working with Dan is energy inducing.
Ask a team in our portfolio and I guarantee they’ll share my experience that working with Dan is energy inducing.
249451
Daniel Barabander
@dbarabander·18:56 18/11/2024
I’m thrilled to share that I’ve been promoted to General Counsel & Investment Partner @variant!
As GC I’ll continue the work I’ve been doing alongside @jchervinsky to help our industry define legal & regulatory strategy, & going deep (code-level) w/ founders on their product ideas.
I'm also excited to continue working closely w/ founders as a member of the investment team. If you’re working on something new, I’d love to hear from you!
As GC I’ll continue the work I’ve been doing alongside @jchervinsky to help our industry define legal & regulatory strategy, & going deep (code-level) w/ founders on their product ideas.
I'm also excited to continue working closely w/ founders as a member of the investment team. If you’re working on something new, I’d love to hear from you!
repost from earlier this week that didnt render the card, worth it i think
https://www.nts.live/shows/guests/episodes/esp-16th-october-2024
https://www.nts.live/shows/guests/episodes/esp-16th-october-2024
Will AI model tokens be one of the dominant, native token types on public blockchains in 5 years?
I think token launchers for agents are super cool; curious if anyone is working on one that’s opinionated about the initial relationship between the token and the agent?
I think token launchers for agents are super cool; curious if anyone is working on one that’s opinionated about the initial relationship between the token and the agent?
24
Jesse Walden
@jesse·20:29 28/10/2024
Startups monetize by selling shares of themselves. Why wouldn't agents do the same?
Startups monetize by selling shares of themselves. Why wouldn't agents do the same?
needed a zone out Saturday
https://www.mixcloud.com/NTSRadio/dust-to-dust-the-nts-guide-to-ambient-americana-vol-2-21st-october-2024/
https://www.mixcloud.com/NTSRadio/dust-to-dust-the-nts-guide-to-ambient-americana-vol-2-21st-october-2024/
/extaudio/0/d/7/b/7195-a049-4f5d-95e6-944b4e5a11f1)
7.1M verified world IDs
we're hosting the first World mini app hackathon in NYC next weekend with
@worldcoin
join us to hack on new mini apps that leverage World's distribution to millions of human wallets
https://lu.ma/fve645lb
we're hosting the first World mini app hackathon in NYC next weekend with
@worldcoin
join us to hack on new mini apps that leverage World's distribution to millions of human wallets
https://lu.ma/fve645lb
Proliferation of generative (AI) media tools is the best ‘why now’ for putting media onchain. Not just for verification, but so value can flow directly to those who create the inputs that get remixed.
For this to take off, a distribution is wedge is everything, and a wedge is much stronger with a closed monetization loop.
Would love to hear ideas on how to wedge the habit of making onchain the port of entry habit/default for creators and their tools.
For this to take off, a distribution is wedge is everything, and a wedge is much stronger with a closed monetization loop.
Would love to hear ideas on how to wedge the habit of making onchain the port of entry habit/default for creators and their tools.
incredibly fun/proud to see friends realize their vision on one of the biggest stages in the world. last night Charli xcx x Troye Sivan sold out MSG; each artist is creative directed by a different old friend and while they loosely knew each other prior, it was the artists’ friendship that brought them together to collaborate on one of the biggest pop productions of the year. great example of how relationships can have a long arc + most overnight successes are anything but.
smoke on the water, summer 2024
231990
Jake Chervinsky
@jchervinsky·16:36 11/09/2024
What do you not understand about crypto law or policy that you wish someone would ELI5?
“In crypto many use the mental model of the tech hype cycle, but the reality is more like the fashion cycle below, with its sheppard’s tone-like dynamics, in which each new thing is supplanted by another new thing, and no linear pattern emerges”
Fun read. The above is mostly true of memecoins and also much of the mercenary/disingenuous category coins.
Zooming out the piece has some interesting provocations for brands+ attention (in crypto and beyond)
h/t @iiterature
https://nemesisglobal.substack.com/p/the-nemesis-guide-to-being-early?utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true
Fun read. The above is mostly true of memecoins and also much of the mercenary/disingenuous category coins.
Zooming out the piece has some interesting provocations for brands+ attention (in crypto and beyond)
h/t @iiterature
https://nemesisglobal.substack.com/p/the-nemesis-guide-to-being-early?utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true
