 *This is Part 3 in a three-part series. Find [Part 1 here](https://annika.mirror.xyz/9yxmN8Sh3_i43zgFWxQjNVMaL3vqNHGJ_JERr_sgEmk) and [Part 2 here](https://annika.mirror.xyz/RSS779e5d6PoW1y4x2KDYwnoZSnDnJm_rgIoyga5dcY).*
 
 As a result of my rapidly-accelerating crypto obsession, in the past couple months I’ve gone from a near-never Discord user to waking up every morning to an overwhelming left-hand sidebar with logos and notifications galore.

These are, of course, the logos of DAOs I’m following.

Since I’m teetering on the brink of being mostly a quiet DAO lurker to becoming a contributing member of these communities, I’d like to document my experience and learnings about DAOs as they are today in 2021.

I think it’s important I do this before I get much deeper and become ‘one of them’ (“one of us… one of us…”), so that I can provide my best layman’s take for the 99% of the planet that isn’t DAO-native. I decided I’d write about my three main learnings from my involvement with DAOs to date, but as usual with my writing, this got real long real quick – so I’m splitting it into three parts to really dig into each and discuss its implications. The three things I’ve learned are:

1. DAO is an ethos ([Part 1](https://annika.mirror.xyz/9yxmN8Sh3_i43zgFWxQjNVMaL3vqNHGJ_JERr_sgEmk))
2. The transparency is wild ([Part 2](https://annika.mirror.xyz/RSS779e5d6PoW1y4x2KDYwnoZSnDnJm_rgIoyga5dcY))
3. You gotta hustle

Let’s dig into #3.

## Part 3: You gotta hustle

Let’s call it like it is: generally speaking, today, most DAOs are kind of a shitshow.

This is to be expected, given how early things are in crypto and in DAOs generally speaking. There’s also the fact that decentralization, by definition, just straight up requires more coordination.

![Source: Nirolution](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/qXTkpoWGGGhFU_dHUZd3N.png?height=400&width=713)

And, to further pile onto the reasons for messiness, DAOs run on Discord which was built for synchronous gaming, not asynchronous knowledge work ([h/t @divine_economy](https://twitter.com/divine_economy/status/1441538284362997769?s=20)) and can be super overwhelming to jump into… but, I digress.

![Source: Business Insider](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/ocY-K51N0mU20nCAOTUxd.png?height=327&width=1137)

Overall, the fact that they’re kind of a shitshow is not discouraging to me, but exciting – it’s indicative of how much opportunity lies ahead.

What this means today in 2021, though, is that joining a DAO can be pretty daunting.

Stepping into a Discord group of faceless strangers, trying to make sense of everything from channels, to org structure, to group norms and who’s who – it’s a lot. It’s sort of like being invited into a mid-sized startup’s Slack group where you only kind of know what the company does, there’s nobody you know, and there is very little semblance of org structure.

Most protocols don’t have clear roles that people can just self-guide into - [The Graph](https://thegraph.com/en/) is the notable exception I can think of here. In general, nobody is going to reach out and tell you what to do – so if you want to get involved in a DAO, you gotta hustle a bit.

Here, I’ll share three tactics that I’ve noticed work well for first-time DAO joiners.

### 1. Do whatever onboarding process they have – and give feedback on it

Most established DAOs have at least *some* sort of onboarding process – whether it’s as basic as a one-page Google form, or as thorough as a multi-step stage gated process. Most DAOs these days lie closer to the former on the spectrum of thoroughness.

This process, which is typically outlined in a Discord channel labeled “#start-here” or something to that effect, should be your first stop.

![BanklessDAO #start-here](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/TLbb3cFMRoYASOIHeSuDt.png?height=931&width=1424)

One way you can immediately add value as a newbie to a DAO is to give feedback on that process – what’s clear? What isn’t? What ideas do you have to improve it? Very often, the people designing and iterating on these processes are so deep into DAO life that it isn’t easy for them to pull back and see it with fresh eyes – so yours are valuable. Use that as a way to contribute.

### 2. Reach out 1:1 to people involved

Joining a 40-person call as the one new person in the room can be intimidating.

Look at DAOs you’re interested in and search them on Twitter – see who in your Twitter follows are involved with that you jive with, check that they’re active in the Discord, and reach out to learn about their involvement.

[https://twitter.com/j_asminewang/status/1445395425255694345?s=20](https://twitter.com/j_asminewang/status/1445395425255694345?s=20)

1:1s with people who are already in DAOs can give you *so much context* that you won’t get just by lurking. A familiar face on these calls is always nice, plus these people can help plug you in if they have some existing context on what you’re interested in and what you’re good at. Some DAOs, like Index Coop, are starting to stand up ‘first friend’ or ‘mentor’ programs to do just this.

I’ll note that this approach is generally accepted and pretty doable now, in 2021, while the DAO space is still small and the community is tight-knit – but in the future, at scale, onboarding processes will need to be more streamlined and adhoc 1:1s might not make sense.

### 3. Just start doing

In DAOs, you don’t need permission to do – you can jump right in and add value wherever you creatively see fit.

* *Good at writing?* Summarize a meeting with notes, and share them in the Discord.
* *Have a big Twitter following?* Write about the DAO, tag them, make content.
* *Creatively inclined?* Make a new slide template. An emoji. A meme. Whatever inspires you.

Again, all of this is often easier with context – so I’d suggest doing #1 and #2 above and joining at least one or two DAO calls so you have a sense of what’s going on – but over-indexing on doing early is an effective way to get started.

### The Confidence Gap

This brings me to the confidence gap, which [@chaserchapman](https://twitter.com/chaserchapman) has been incredible at amplifying. “Just start doing” sounds easy in theory, but there’s a big unspoken barrier here – there are many folks who are *completely* capable but might lack the confidence to step up to the plate, and they risk being left behind.

[https://twitter.com/chaserchapman/status/1411010567142350850?s=20](https://twitter.com/chaserchapman/status/1411010567142350850?s=20)

I’ve been there - starting off as a newcomer in a group of insiders is intimidating, no matter the context.

Proactive initiatives like the Women in Index DEI initiative, which launched in the past month, are needed to help bridge that gap and empower people to hustle who might not otherwise do so on their own. This doesn’t just apply to women – but initiatives like this will undoubtedly help increase diversity and bring voices into the space that might not otherwise contribute.

![Source: Index Coop Forum](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/MIslFXBX9uxv00aNQTY5Q.png?height=399&width=1217)

In DAOs, as with anything, you get out what you put in – and, in today’s environment while it’s still early days, the hustle is necessary.

Prospective DAO members should take note, and those running DAOs should make sure they’re doing whatever they can to grab onto those who aspire to hustle and empowering them to do so.

A peek into DAOs: Part 3 of 3

*This is Part 2 in a three-part series. [Find Part 1 here](https://annika.mirror.xyz/9yxmN8Sh3_i43zgFWxQjNVMaL3vqNHGJ_JERr_sgEmk).*

As a result of my rapidly-accelerating crypto obsession, in the past couple months I’ve gone from a near-never Discord user to waking up every morning to an overwhelming left-hand sidebar with logos and notifications galore.

These are, of course, the logos of DAOs I’m following. 

Since I’m teetering on the brink of being mostly a quiet DAO lurker to becoming a contributing member of these communities, I’d like to document my experience and learnings about DAOs as they are today in 2021. 

I think it’s important I do this before I get much deeper and become ‘one of them’ (“one of us… one of us…”), so that I can provide my best layman’s take for the 99% of the planet that isn’t DAO-native. I decided I’d write about my three main learnings from my involvement with DAOs to date, but as usual with my writing, this got real long real quick – so I’m splitting it into three parts to really dig into each and discuss its implications. 

The three things I’ve learned are:

1. [DAO is an ethos](https://annika.mirror.xyz/9yxmN8Sh3_i43zgFWxQjNVMaL3vqNHGJ_JERr_sgEmk)
2. The transparency is wild
3. You gotta hustle

Let’s dig into #2.

## Part 2: The transparency is wild 

“Step into my company Slack, will you” – said no one, ever. 

In Part 1 of this piece, [DAO is an ethos](https://annika.mirror.xyz/9yxmN8Sh3_i43zgFWxQjNVMaL3vqNHGJ_JERr_sgEmk), I wrote about ways that DAO norms might manifest themselves when it comes to the future of work. Here in Part 2, I’ll dig into the transparency and openness piece specifically – because I think this sub-ethos underpins one of the biggest shifts we’ll see in companies and how they recruit, organize, and raise capital. 

The shift is that DAOs are, typically, Default Open. 

So, what *is* Default Open?

![](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/ed0cabf5-8132-43d7-865f-63d6989fa8c2.png?height=338&width=600)

Default Open is exactly what it sounds like: it means that access to information within a company is, by default, open to the entire company to view. You can think of this as akin to your sharing settings on iCloud or Google Drive; the default here is that it’s shared with the entire company base, rather than the default being private.

![](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/4dfb6da5-d9e5-4cce-b95e-b38fbd0cf965.png?height=63&width=624)

Only if there is a good reason to restrict access does a file, a piece of info, or a Discord channel become private – rather than the reverse.

DAOs take Web2 Default Open to a new level. If, in Web2, Default Open allows the entire company to access all its information, in Web3, this universe is extended to the entire world. 

If joining a startup is signing up for a seat on a rocketship, joining DAOs is snooping on a bunch of rocketships being built, figuring out which rocket-building team you jive with, and stepping in with a wrench where you see fit.

The openness required to do this constitutes a massive mindset shift - and I was blown away when I first experienced it in practice. 

When looking at joining DAOs, I assumed I’d need to fill out an application, talk to a key organizer, and get some sort of approval before starting to engage. While this is true of some DAOs, this was not my experience at large. In many cases, I gained access to the Discord pretty much right away. 

**What’s notable is that these Discords aren’t just for fans & end-users of the protocol.** In Web2, you’ll often see community Slack groups for open-source software projects who would then also have a separate internal Slack instance for employees only. Not in crypto. **These public Discords are literally where work the gets done, where calls get scheduled, where people get hired, and where governance happens.** It’s incredible. 

[https://twitter.com/rrhoover/status/1433834562182914061?s=20](https://twitter.com/rrhoover/status/1433834562182914061?s=20)

If you have a Discord account, go ahead and try it out right now: visit the website or Twitter page of a given crypto project (I’d start with [Uniswap](https://uniswap.org/)), find the Discord link, and odds are you’ll click into a dark page with a pop-up saying “you’re invited to join”. 

Click accept, read the T&Cs and do the required emoji reaction to confirm you’ll comply with the rules of the forum, and you’re in.

![](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/847a0827-9ea5-45cb-a11b-97267c09b95d.png?height=491&width=624)

IMO, poking around in these Discords is one of the fastest ways to start to understand the DAO landscape and the ethos of the builders at the forefront in crypto, generally speaking.

[https://twitter.com/chaserchapman/status/1429870422401691659](https://twitter.com/chaserchapman/status/1429870422401691659)

If you’re not crypto-native and the thought of doing this yourself is overwhelming, I’ll shed some light on a few examples what I’m seeing within in DAO Discords to really bring this to life.

**Governance**

Discussions that would be happening at the Board of Directors level in Web2, around things like “what does our employee stock options plan look like?” and “where do we want this protocol to be in five years?” are held totally in public.

Voting on key governance matters - which, again, would typically happen at the Board level - is often put forth to the community of token-holders as a whole.

![](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/8f44883c-b752-4631-8919-656a6b33e426.png?height=1037&width=2295)

**Budget decisions**

Conversations around treasury allocation (i.e., how the company plans to manage & spend its money, basically) are also happening in public.

The level of detail here varies, but in many cases, you can even see job offers – yes, all the way down to specific terms of an offer for a specific candidate. And, if you’re a tokenholder, you can vote on whether or not to approve that hire.

![](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/7c8f9149-d077-491a-aa0d-c56b6158610b.png?height=1181&width=1625)

**Fundraising**

Fundraising, too, is happening in public.

Since decisions are made as a collective, even discussions around raising a venture round are not exempt from community participation. VCs are having to join community calls and jumping into Discords to pitch DAOs, answer questions, and articulate their value-add - not just to the CEO, but to the voting community as a whole.

Sushiswap, for one, was recently pursuing a venture fundraise, and the community was opposed to certain terms of the raise. [Collectivizing Finance](https://annika.mirror.xyz/Pj8N16OdD2MW6s8lE_Ex8TC7WLHJSRiLOp3Gz-lHZPg), a piece I recently co-wrote, goes into more depth on the dynamics of this raise. 

From a transparency lens, what’s fascinating here is that the dialogue the VCs had with the community can be publicly viewed. **These are conversations that would normally happen behind closed doors with a select group executives**, let alone in the presence of employees, and are now visible to the public-at-large.

![](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/0693effd-e74c-4088-8572-242020259209.png?height=1175&width=1807)

To close out this section, I want to pause and reflect on all this for a moment. 

It feels *super* weird that all of this information is public, doesn’t it? Uncomfortable, in a way. This shift towards increased transparency is outside of our societal working norms and, at times, it’s an uneasy one. 

To be honest, I’m not sure a 100% Default Open level of transparency is optimal. Yes, I think employees and prospective hires should generally be entitled to *far* more information than they currently are in a typical company and that this swinging of the pendulum in this direction is fantastic - but I do worry a bit about the level of access that bad actor outsiders with zero skin in the game might have.

For each DAO, the level of comfort with openness is likely to vary based on constituents and subject matter, and it’ll take experimentation to get to a balance that feels right for insiders & outsiders alike.

### As always, it’s a spectrum

Just as [Decentralization is not Binary](https://annikalewis.medium.com/decentralization-is-not-binary-45bbb9946fad), nor is openness – and the DAOs I described above are those that are far-to-the-left on the open vs. closed spectrum.

![](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/01454e00-5e71-4451-b6b9-eafb63858761.png?height=623&width=1342)

Beyond these highly open DAOs, we’re also seeing more and more token-gated DAOs popping up (e.g., [The LAO](https://www.thelao.io/), [FWB](https://www.fwb.help/)) – that is to say, an individual needs to be a token-holder (e.g., hold 75 $FWB tokens) to gain access to the Discord and the benefits the DAO has to offer, thereby restricting openness.

And on the Web2 side, while you may not have ‘DAOs’, per se, there are companies out there that are taking openness to a new level and incorporating a lot of the DAO ethos, whether they know it or not. [Gitlab](https://about.gitlab.com/), a Web2 company I very much admire, [provides public access to an absurd amount of its strategy & procedures](https://gitlabfan.com/7-examples-of-extreme-transparency-of-gitlab-e257796c9ef4). People are thinking about transparency well beyond just crypto.

All-in-all, it’s great to see the status quo being challenged in a big way. *But is today’s DAO-level transparency sustainable?*

### The future of transparency

While I think this ‘Default Open’ ethos is here to stay, I expect the approach and the specifics for many DAOs may get re-thought. 

On one hand, it’s great that someone new to crypto has access to the depths of these protocols to poke around and learn.

On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, these protocols may be exposing themselves to unnecessary risk / scrutiny from bad actors.

In particular, I expect we’ll see more DAOs playing with different versions of gating, for example:

* **Earned token-gating**: Rather than needing to *buy* tokens to join a token-gated DAO, the DAO might offer opportunities to earn these tokens via work rather than having a cash outlay. Big fan of experimentation here in an attempt to open up access to those who may not have the capital required to join.
* **Channel-based gating**: DAOs might gate specific channels - and they could do this on different bases. Say, you can only join this governance channel if you’re actively engaged within the community (e.g., say, you’ve posted 10x in the Discord) 
* **Statements of intent**: Perhaps, to gain access to a Discord, as part of the onboarding, the joiner might need to state their intent / motivations in getting involved. 

These types of mechanisms are already starting to gain traction, but it’s very early days and best practices have yet to emerge. 

If DAOs are a leading indicator, I expect that in five years’ time, companies-at-large will be *much* more fluid and open with their information, strategy, and roadmaps. Job seekers will be better informed, employees will have greater context in their day-to-day work, and fundraising will be collectivized and transparent. 

It won’t come without growing pains - but building a Default Open company will become the norm, rather than the exception.

A peek into DAOs: Part 2 of 3

As a result of my rapidly-accelerating crypto obsession, in the past couple months I’ve gone from a near-never Discord user to waking up every morning to an overwhelming left-hand sidebar with logos and notifications galore. 

These are, of course, the logos of DAOs I’m following.

![Source: My Discord notifications screen](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/1357fe27-6c4e-42aa-92a8-a448a619659b.JPG?height=1004&width=1535)

Since I’m teetering on the brink of being mostly a quiet DAO lurker to becoming a contributing member of these communities, I’d like to document my experience and learnings about DAOs as they are today in 2021. I think it’s important I do this before I get much deeper and become ‘one of them’ (“one of us… one of us…”), so that I can provide my best layman’s take for the 99% of the planet that isn’t DAO-native.

I decided I’d write about my three main learnings from my involvement with DAOs to date, but as usual with my writing, this got real long real quick – so I’m splitting it into three parts to really dig into each and discuss its implications.

The three things I’ve learned are:

1. DAO is an ethos
2. The transparency is wild
3. You gotta hustle

Let’s dig into #1.

## Part 1: DAO is an ethos

DAO, as you probably know if you’re reading this, stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization.

This piece assumes baseline knowledge on what DAOs are - so if the term is completely new to you, start with [@ljxie](https://twitter.com/ljxie)’s [‘A beginner’s guide to DAOs’](https://linda.mirror.xyz/Vh8K4leCGEO06_qSGx-vS5lvgUqhqkCz9ut81WwCP2o) & [@Pet3rpan](https://twitter.com/pet3rpan_)’s [‘What is a DAO?’](https://pet3rpan.medium.com/an-introduction-to-daos-782e3817e2cd).

To state the blatantly obvious, the acronym ‘DAO’ clearly conveys two things:

1. DAOs are decentralized
2. DAOs are autonomous

But most DAOs today are not totally decentralized, nor are they totally autonomous. This, in my opinion, is totally fine – but let’s call it like it is: *DAO is an ethos, not a specific construct.*

### Decentralization & autonomy are nebulous

To start, how one defines the terms ‘decentralization’ and ‘autonomy’ in the context of an organization altogether is, well, mildly inconsistent depending who you ask, to put it politely.

As I wrote in [Decentralization is not Binary](https://annikalewis.medium.com/decentralization-is-not-binary-45bbb9946fad), there are many dimensions on which a project may or may not be decentralized – governance, org structure, tech, to name a few – and on each of those dimensions, the level of centralization is a spectrum. 

![Inspo: Will Murphy, Drawing: Me](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/003581ba-071f-4176-939a-6de84ca61f22.png?height=312&width=700)

Certain people will fight to the death for one specific dimension, yet not care about others, but we still talk about decentralization as a catch-all, as a one-dimensional *thing*. I’ve yet to find a project that is 100% decentralized on all dimensions – and, frankly, I’m not sure it would be desirable.

So, I struggle with the term DAO because it *feels* more prescriptive/specific than it actually is. 

DAOs are often framed as the antithesis of traditional ‘centralized’ organizations. And yet, I’d make the case that traditional organizations themselves are typically not fully centralized – your typical pyramid org structure, for example, is a form of decentralization – so, to me, our shared terminology and our framing of these constructs as distinct opposites (and as binary outcomes: DAO vs. traditional organization) feels a little off.

### Articulating the ethos

Most importantly, to me, DAOs reflect a certain ethos. *A* *vibe*, if you will.

There is a shared culture, a shared set of cultural norms amongst DAOs, that holds true regardless of where exactly a specific DAO sits on the decentralization/autonomy spectrums. For this reason, after being in a few DAO Discords, jumping into a new one tends to feel familiar. 

The ethos is, by and large, one of individuals collectivizing to create something bigger, together, absent of a highly prescribed and fixed structure. Of openness & collaboration. Of work that, well, *works* for people. 

[https://twitter.com/agorismlabs/status/1427009765075570696 ](https://twitter.com/agorismlabs/status/1427009765075570696 )

I firmly believe DAOs offer the best peek you can get into how knowledge work will evolve over the coming decade. 

If I’m right, and if DAOs are any indication, here’s a glimpse at that future based on what I see inside of them today:

**On recruiting:**

* Companies will need to open their doors to the general public to compete for talent (a lot more on this coming in Part 2)
* Geographical location will cease to be a constraint
* Employees will be able to ‘try-before-they-buy’ with prospective employers of theirs

[https://twitter.com/chaserchapman/status/1429870422401691659 ](https://twitter.com/chaserchapman/status/1429870422401691659 )

**On operating a company:**

* Top-down governance will undergo a massive shift; employees will have a say in who the Board is (if there is a Board, at all)
* Employees will have a much greater voice in company decision-making; identity-based voting mechanisms will play a formal role in governance
* Broad-based & transparent equity ownership will be the norm, rather than a right reserved for senior employees
* Employees will be evaluated not by just one direct manager, but by the organization at-large

**On having a job:**

* Fans of a specific project will be able to jump right in and not just consume, but contribute to the growth of that project – or multiple projects – themselves and share in the upside
* Full-time, monogamous work at one company may well become the exception, not the rule

It’s the creator economy, for knowledge workers.

[https://twitter.com/divine_economy/status/1423674134685388805 ](https://twitter.com/divine_economy/status/1423674134685388805 )

All of this is what it’s worth focusing on when it comes to the promise of DAOs. This ethos is still in its infancy, and the execution is happening on such a small relative scale today.

And while I’m definitely excited by the tangible revenue traction and real dollars we’re seeing flow into areas like DeFi and NFTs, frankly it’s the early glimmers of what I’m seeing inside these collectives today that get me super jazzed about the future of people’s lives as it pertains crypto, as a whole. 

While there are many kinks to sort out and growing pains to be experienced, this first principles approach to re-thinking how groups self-organize and build together is likely to define the next era of work. 

Creators & employers, keep watch. 👀

A peek into DAOs: Part 1 of 3

Collectivizing Finance: Why The Future of VC is Multiplayer

In crypto, everything moves so fast. With all the Tweets, Discords, and buzz to keep up with, it's hard to force oneself to take a step back and reflect. 

So, this Friday afternoon - with my first post on Mirror (👋) - that's what I'm giving myself space to do.
 
I've only been deep into crypto for a little over a year now, but I can confidently say that nothing in my professional life has captivated me more than crypto has. What started as a light curiosity gradually became a proper hobby, and now I’d say I’m teetering the brink of obsession. 

**What pulls me in?**

There’s a new world being created: a distributed, user-owned, community-led world. After a decade of dreamers dreaming and builders building and abstract 'what-if' use cases being pontificated, the match has caught and the glimmers of fire are obvious to anyone paying attention. Things are happening - and, *fast*. Crypto is quietly beginning to revolutionize how work is sourced and rewarded, how companies are governed, how and to whom ownership is granted. This world is no longer theoretical.

Part of what's particularly interesting to me is that crypto is capitalizing on a lot of things that *could* be done in Web2, but just aren't being prioritized there. 

To that end, a common question I hear - and one I've asked a million times myself - is: "but do you *need* crypto for that?". Fractional ownership, decentralized governance, micro-entrepreneurship: no, you don't need crypto to do them. These are all things that are 100% possible without the blockchain. But, they happen to be first manifesting themselves in a coordinated way in a Web3 context. If you want to explore their possibilities and implementations, there's no better place today than in the crypto community.

Putting my excitement aside for a sec, I want to make it clear that I’m not here to be an all-in crypto bull. I don't want to only tout its benefits; I want to be real and offer measured context and expose my open questions and concerns. And I want to engage in debate & discussion!

**So, just to put it out there...**

I hold views that, in the crypto world, are pretty controversial. After re-entering the crypto space from a lens of macroeconomic curiosity, I actually don’t think Bitcoin or Ether will – or should – completely replace fiat in the near-term; in fact, while it’s the macro piece that initially pulled me back in, it’s the non-macro stuff that has me captivated. 

Other controversial views? I believe there are benefits to centralization on certain levels (and I believe that decentralization is not binary, as I've [written about before](https://annikalewis.medium.com/decentralization-is-not-binary-45bbb9946fad)). I also think that many areas of business & society, today, still remain better-suited to an off-chain world.

I also could be wrong on timing. I *think* crypto will begin to play a non-trivial role as a new computing foundation for mainstream society in the next five years, but there’s a chance I’m still too early. Despite the fact that we’re more than a decade into crypto being a thing, it’s still very much nascent, and there’s a lot to be sorted out on scalability, security, and user experience. And, honestly, there are a non-trivial amount of crypto applications that still feel like hammers looking for nails in this workable non-crypto-led earth in which 99% of humans live.

But despite all of this, I’m here. I can’t not engage. The widespread traction that I see in crypto is at a point where, for me at least, it is becoming very hard to fathom a future in which blockchains don’t play a big role.

Still, the traction is secondary to what really gets me excited.

**It's about the people. It's always about people.**

Honestly, the number one thing pulling me deeper in is the humans. I used to say that it felt like the crypto world was 90% one-sided obnoxiously loud pundits, and 10% brilliant forward-thinking technologists – but that doesn’t ring true anymore. The balance is shifting, and the cast of characters is diversifying beautifully.

I cannot overstate the impact of people in my crypto journey. Countless hours of conversations - largely with people I've met online (!) - have helped push my thinking way beyond the structures of today and drive me to learn at a breakneck pace. The people I'm engaging with in crypto are intellectually rigorous, forward-thinking, measured in their analysis, and – crucially – fun. *You know who you are.*

Crypto sits at the intersection of my passions: data, capital markets, and macroeconomics. It’s a beautiful manifestation of those fields in one crazy world. It is so early in its journey, and I am so early in mine. 

I'm going to use Mirror to unpack what I'm thinking about as I go - so if you enjoyed this, follow me here. 

Happy Friday! ✌