Opinion | A Crypto Optimist Meets a Crypto Skeptic (Published 2021)

-Indra Nooyi - My life in Full.

Katie: Right now you have janky consumer experiences. People say they value their privacy but when push comes to shove people go where it's convenient. But we can't judge the current state of innovation with the end state of innovation. We don't have the end state. People will say centralized companies are winning right now but you have these socio... See more

Katie: It's a great question. We're seeing that the middle class suffers in traditional institutional settings. Crypto democratizes participation. Investigative reporting is an area where crypto can help - we've seen crypto crowdfunds take off.

Ezra: Even if crypto works, it will have downsides, just like Web2 does. If what this does is allow creators to capture their full value and break down institutions, do you worry about the people left behind?

Ezra: Even if that's true, if Bitcoin were made by someone who had control over it, if the ownership structure were different, they would try to change that sooner.

Katie: Arweave is a blockchain for permanent information. People want permanence when they buy NFTs, so you do own the representation of something that sits on the blockchain.

Katie: Centralized and decentralized models can coexist. There is a big class of consumers who might want to use a marketplace like OpenSea. In exchange for the take rate, you get discovery, reliability, etc... You will see decentralized marketplaces for NFTs as well.

Ezra: I worry about a world where the stars can leave institutions and make their full market value. There is a lot about institutions that is valuable - fund investigative reporting, etc... I wonder about how this works in a decentralized vision as it empowers the individual and creates more winner takes all dynamics. Are we losing some of the str... See more

Katie: Excited about people building on decentralized virtual land. There are virtual real estate agents doing this as a full time job. If you think about the metaverse, it is a generational moment. There's a generation more comfortable spending time and money in the digital world than in the physical world. Roblox has bags that will sell for more ... See more