Sup, nerds!

Here’s what you’re getting in today’s edition:

• 💅 This is cool: AI Chatbots are coming to the blockchain

• 🔎 This seems important: How web2 will eat web3

• 🤝 Partner: Your AI-powered investment compass​

• 🔪 Let's dissect this: Why reduce the supply of tokens?

• 💡 Bellwethers in Web3: Cooper Scanlon, Movement Labs

Terms used in this edition (click for an explanation, or ask Web(GPT)3!):
Decentralized, protocol, blockchain, web2/3, wallet, decentralized exchange, fiat currency, tokenomics.

💅 This is cool:

AI Chatbots Are Coming to the Blockchain

In one sentence: Arweave is taking its established decentralized file storage system and applying it to AI-compute (where, instead of buying storage, users can buy access to computing power).

In the early 2000’s Amazon had a major revelation…

They’d built a giant server farm which managed all of their data and compute power — which is famously hard to do from scratch.

This gave Amazon an edge.

If anyone wanted to compete with them, they had to figure out how to scale their compute systems.

But Amazon’s revelation inspired them to give their edge up completely.

They took what they’d created → then shifted its access from private, to public, in order to capture a new market.

The new system was called Amazon Web Services (AWS) — and it allowed anyone/everyone to buy access to Amazon’s compute power and data storage systems.

Today we’re seeing a similar transition from the Arweave protocol.

Arweave is a decentralized, permanent file sharing system (think: Dropbox, but you only ever pay for storage once, instead of month-to-month).

And with their new ‘AO’ protocol, they’re taking their established systems and applying them to AI-compute.

(Where, instead of buying storage, users can buy access to computing power).

Here’s why this is cool:

This opens the door for public, immutable AI models to live/grow on the blockchain, where they are immune to regulatory manipulation and certain vectors of attack.

(Cause without central server farm, bad actors lack a reliable target).

Helluva concept!

🥇 Want the news before anyone else?

🔎 This seems important:

How Web2 Will Eat Web3

In one sentence: Web2 companies have the largest opportunities in web3, because they have established distribution beyond any web3-native apps/platforms.

We’ve seen a bit of saltiness online about Telegram’s TON coin breaking into the coveted ‘Crypto Top 10.’

Mostly because Telegram isn’t wholly crypto native (it’s a web2 app that’s now integrating web3 features), and is all of a sudden out-performing a bunch of entrenched crypto projects — but its rise makes total sense to us.

Now, this is going to sound weird at first — but hear us out…

It’s established web2 companies that have largest opportunities in web3.

Here’s an over simplified, left curve framework that we’ve concocted to explain it all…

When companies accrue value, it’s typically thanks to an advantage in one or all of these four interrelated ‘edge’ factors:

1. Time (It’s going to take other companies a hot minute to build/compete with them)

2. Talent (They’ve collected and retained the smartest folks)

3. Network (They have all the users)

4. Distribution (E.g. Why do so many small beverage companies sell to Coke? In order to tap their tightly held global distribution deals)

AI and crypto pose a threat to a good 3 out of 4 of these key factors.

AI is already increasing efficiencies for tech-focused businesses, lowering the time and talent required to build/grow/maintain a product.

While crypto networks are open, which means…

Damn, how do we explain this?

Remember when Instagram created Threads (the Twitter/X clone), and allowed anyone with an IG account to automatically port their IG followings over to Threads?

Instagram could do that because they owned both networks. But no single entity ‘owns’ any one crypto network. So if you build a popular web3 social app — competitors could come along and say:

“Hey, come use our app instead/as well. And don’t worry — all of your followers and content will come along with you to our new platform.”

Which makes distribution a bit of a super power in this new era of the internet.

And Telegram has distribution up the wazoo!

Anyone that builds games/apps on the TON network then has their creation distributed to Telegram’s 800M monthly active users (via its ‘Mini Apps’ feature).

For context:

The two major wallet apps on Ethereum and Solana are MetaMask and Phantom — which have a combined monthly active user base of 37M.

Which means with this single web3 integration, Telegram was able to outpace the combined distribution of two entrenched crypto-native apps by 20x.

Bonkers!

🤝 Partner:

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🔪 Let's dissect this:

Why Would Anyone Reduce The Supply of Tokens?

In one sentence: The co-founder of Jupiter, Meow, just posted a proposal about changing the tokenomics of JUP by reducing the total supply from 10B to 7B JUP tokens.

The co-founder of Jupiter, Meow, just posted a proposal about changing the tokenomics of JUP.

👆 If you thought that sentence meant something about an interplanetary cat with money, we got you (although it’s not that far from the truth).

Here’s what it means:

JUP is the token that powers the Solana-based decentralized exchange aggregator, Jupiter.

Meow, Jupiter’s co-founder, just proposed that: instead of having a total supply of 10 Billion JUP tokens, the total supply should be reduced by 30%, down to 7 Billion JUP tokens.

(There were a few other ideas in the proposal as well but let’s dig into this one).

Why would anyone want to reduce the total supply of tokens?

You know how the Fed keeps printing money? Making the value of each and every US Dollar worth just a tiny bit less with every dollar that gets printed?

This is like the opposite of that.

JUP already has a fixed supply (which is one step ahead of each and every fiat currency that exists today) but the idea here is to reduce the total fixed supply by 30%, ultimately making each JUP token worth a bit more.

But can you just do that? You can just change the ‘10’ to a ‘7’?

Well the proposal still has to go to a vote - and that vote is happening in July - but if it gets approved by the community (the JUP token holders who vote), then yes, with approval, the Jupiter team can change the total supply from 10B to 7B.

Just another cool concept, only in crypto.

💡 Bellwethers in Web3

"Bellwether's in Web3," is a daily profile series recorded live with Nolcha Shows and Movement Labs in collaboration with Bellwether Culture. Check out the latest video below.

Interview: Cooper Scanlon, Co-Founder Movement Labs

Cooper Scanlon is an early builder in the Move ecosystem and co-founded Movement Labs in 2022 as the first integrated blockchain network, powering the fastest and most secure Layer 2 on Ethereum. They recently raised $38M from Binance Labs.

Cooper dropped out of Vanderbilt after his journey led him to the blockchain space and he realized that formal education wasn’t the key to his success - he enjoyed building a SPACDAO Vehicle more. This decision led to him pioneering the first yield aggregator leveraging Move and eventually he created Movement Labs. Fostering cross-disciplinary collaborations, championing Web3 initiatives, and drawing from his experiences, Cooper brings a unique blend of financial & technical expertise and economic system insights to Movement Labs, steering and leading its strategic and cultural direction.

Follow: @coopsmoves (Twitter), @movementlabsxyz (Twitter)