Bitcoin
Bitcoin is special. It was the first, and it’s still the most decentralized, credibly neutral, predictable, and reliable network. No other network can match its story, and perhaps no other will match these features.
Also, unlike most of its peers here, BTC makes no attempt to be a productive capital asset. Now, that may sound like a weakness at firs... See more
Also, unlike most of its peers here, BTC makes no attempt to be a productive capital asset. Now, that may sound like a weakness at firs... See more
Jon Charbonneau • L1 & L2 Token Value Capture - DBA
There exists no meaningful technical barrier between BTC vs. the field. Most other networks are obviously even technically more advanced. But we’re focused on the dollars and cents outcome here. Will any of these other assets be used in a similar manner over time as BTC, justifying valuations far in excess of their intrinsic value from producing in... See more
Jon Charbonneau • L1 & L2 Token Value Capture - DBA
Aside from being productive capital assets, you have likely heard some variation of these two other buckets for assets (neither of which are necessarily mutually exclusive with each other or capital assets):
- Consumable / Transformable Asset – Sometimes also classified as commodity or utility value. Cryptoassets offer infinitely programmable, fast,
Jon Charbonneau • L1 & L2 Token Value Capture - DBA
It seems obvious that applications, not general-purpose networks, will capture the majority of cash flows generated in these systems over the long-run. This is already playing out. Apps have all of the leverage and pricing power with the end-customer. There’s still a big question though – how much MEV leakage will these apps leave around for the ch... See more
Jon Charbonneau • L1 & L2 Token Value Capture - DBA
So far, this post has focused almost exclusively on tokens’ ability to capture value by generating income streams for their holders. They are productive capital assets. This may very well be sufficient to value most tokens in the long-run. Equity-like analysis will do the trick here. Think DCF and DDM.
However, valuing tokens based on cash flows rem... See more
However, valuing tokens based on cash flows rem... See more
Jon Charbonneau • L1 & L2 Token Value Capture - DBA
- PoW – If Bitcoin issuance went away tomorrow, Bitcoin would continue to operate. Users pay REV, and miners would mine blocks to receive those fees. If issuance disappeared, they would reduce their hash rate proportionally. You may argue that this makes the network not secure enough for your own standards, which is a valid point to debate.
Jon Charbonneau • L1 & L2 Token Value Capture - DBA
Bitcoin is the clearest example – BTC holders are willing to accept inflation as a pure expense with no expectation of future income rights. You could also easily imagine Bitcoin having a 1% inflation tail programmed from the start, and perhaps BTC holders would happily hold it. That would happen because BTC holders derive sufficient utility from h... See more
Jon Charbonneau • L1 & L2 Token Value Capture - DBA
In PoW, this isn’t too complex. Miners directly receive all TEV, of which issaunce is a real non-cash expense to token holders, similar to stock-based compensation in traditional finance. Miners are incentivized to expend an amount of energy (and money) which is roughly equivalent to the TEV available.
L1 & L2 Token Value Capture - DBA
PoW Token Holders’ Net Income = – Issuance