Hallo!
It's Super Bowl Sunday in the United States, which always reminds me of a funny question I asked my dad when I was about five or six years old. He had some people over to watch the game and I asked them why they were watching a bunch of men run into each other and fall down.
I believe he replied, it's a metaphor for life. But not for us!
What does this have to do with crypto?
Nothing. Make sure you caught my market update from February 8, 2023.
Also, read my airdrop report, a two-part report with seven projects that may give you potential airdrops and the steps you can take to put yourself in the best position to qualify.
Some of the past airdrops have been worth thousands of dollars. These projects might have that potential. Even if you don’t get an airdrop, you get to learn about new projects that could do amazing in the next bull run. Get the airdrop report now.
Scroll down for a poll, some commentary on the US crypto crackdown, a meme, some crypto job listings, and other content you may enjoy.
Poll
US Legislative and Regulatory Outlook
This is not a newsletter about policy and regulation, but sometimes something happens that captures people’s attention across the cryptosphere.
After Kraken’s staking program got zapped, Nic Carter said the US government is trying a sophisticated, widespread crackdown against the crypto industry. Read his post about what he dubs “Operation Choke Point 2.0.”
As a former Congressional aide and current civil servant, I can assure you that the US government is not very good at sophisticated, widespread crackdowns on anything. They can do modestly effective crackdowns, at best, though sometimes that’s enough (usually not).
More likely, they’re trying to clear the way for Wall Street to launch “safe, regulated” crypto products that “follow the law.”
Those laws make no sense for crypto, but they exist. That’s all we have, for now.
Bitcoiners, relax. Bitcoin has broad support among all branches of government. Many members of Congress and public officials already hold bitcoin and advocate on its behalf. Regulators already accept it, businesses experiment with it, and some local jurisdictions embrace it.
Everything else in crypto? That’s hit-or-miss. Apparently, Americans are OK with an experimental non-governmental money system. Just don’t go creating a technology that takes profits from big banks and Wall Street.
Let’s see what Congress passes this year before we get too panicked. Kraken needs crypto, but crypto doesn’t need Kraken.
In fact, if crypto does what we want it to do, it will make Kraken’s core business model obsolete.
Speaking of Congress, listen to an interview with Kristin Smith, lead lobbyist for the Blockchain Association. In this interview, she gives you the inside scoop on where Congress’s head’s at and what you can expect for 2023.
She doesn’t expect crypto legislation this year but I suspect Congress will have to do something. Either crypto has an “echo bubble” / “disbelief rally” that forces everybody’s hands or some other crypto entity blows up and creates real urgency for Congress to do something.
For the “how will prices go up?” crowd, let’s not forget that US money has gone into crypto for a long time and hasn’t necessarily done as much good as people think. Also, US users can still move money in and out of crypto, stake and participate on their own—just not through exchanges.
And what about people in 200+ other countries who have money and ways to get that money into crypto? Developers and entrepreneurs launching new projects outside of the US and geo-blocking US users?
The US’s loss, everybody else’s gain.
Digital Dogma
With the recent drama about NFTs on bitcoin, I’ve been thinking about digital dogma, the rejection of ideas that you don’t already believe.
Read this article from Daniel McGlynn, About Digital Dogma.
The challenge, as he puts it:
[Crypto asks you to be] open to alternatives and to envision a new financial system based on encrypted ledgers and alternative currencies. But at the same time, it demands that [you] immediately make decisions about which alternatives are best.
It’s a short post but not necessarily light reading. I’d love to hear your thoughts after you read it.
Learn Metamask
One more reminder to take custody of your crypto. Get it off of the exchanges!
But learn how to do that first. Google and YouTube have so many useful guides for all of the many wallets you can use.
There are plenty of great wallets but Metamask is the most widely used. Make it easier to learn with the “Metamask Learn” tutorials.
Nobody told me to say that. I just stumbled across the website and thought you might appreciate it.
For reference, I also use Trezor, Electrum, Linen,* Atomic Wallet, Core, Martian, Keplr, Yoroi, Anchor (EOS/WAX), and Nami.
If you ever want to consult about self-custody, I’m happy to share my knowledge and experience (though I can’t offer technical support). Schedule time with me on Superpeer.
*I have a very small claim on future equity in Linen (the company that makes the Linen wallet).
Jobs Corner
Uniswap | PhD Research Fellow | Link to position
Coinshift | Data Engineer | Link to position
Phantom Wallet | QA Engineer | Link to position
ConsenSys | Brand Marketing Lead | Link to position
Coinbase | Senior Payroll Analyst | Link to position
The Block | Senior Financial Analyst | Link to position
Messari | Senior ML Engineer | Link to position
Aptos Labs | Product Designer | Link to position
Chainlink | Fullstack Engineer | Link to position
Paxos | Customer Success Manager | Link to position
Flipside Crypto | Account Manager | Link to position
These jobs come from the ToolsForCrypto newsletter. If you’d like to post a vacancy here (for free), email mark@markhelfman.com.
Relax and enjoy the ride!
Weekly Rundown - February 12, 2023