Jake Brukhman
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Decentralized social media is peer-to-peering into the future
Social media proofs of concept on the blockchain demonstrate important value propositions of decentralized apps. In 2016, Steemit pioneered the world’s first blockchain-based decentralized social network and in my view remains one of the most important blockchain projects today. Boiled down to its simplest form, Steemit is a kind of reddit with the property that creating interesting content, or curating it effectively, will earn users real money on the platform in the form of a cryptocurrency called Steem. There is no barrier to entry. Just create an account and start earning.
Blockchain investments and the new problem asset for conventional VCs
As of Q1 2016, in excess of $1.1 billion in private capital has been invested in blockchain and Bitcoin startups by traditional venture capital firms and seed investors. But as decentralized applications and marketplaces continue on the road to maturity, there is a problem. VCs might be asking themselves — are we investing in the correct asset class?
Toward more equitable token sale structures
At an accelerating pace, blockchain projects have been raising money to impressive levels by offering their digital assets to a global market of token sale investors. Earlier this year, DFINITY sold $3.9M worth of pre-seed assets in just 24 hours. A few days later, Melonport’s “contribution period” sold out over $2.9M worth of MLN tokens in just under 3 minutes. In 2017, many more companies and projects are gearing up to raise capital through this new methodology of decentralized crowdfunding.
