Slow Burn by Slow Burn Team — The Information Subscriptions

The Everything Exchange

By Slow Burn · June 2, 2023 8:11 AM PDT

Crypto’s most compelling mass-market use case can be summarized as follows: “The Everything Exchange.” As tokenization becomes more common and accessible, the world's value will increasingly trade on smart contract platforms. To help contextualize the impending global shift away from centralized exchanges, we’d like to explore their history in... Crypto’s most compelling mass-market use case can be summarized as follows: “The Everything...

A Brief Return To RWAs

By Slow Burn · May 26, 2023 9:13 AM PDT

As many of you know, we have invested a great deal of time and effort in exploring and supporting the real world asset ecosystem. When we launched Slow Burn earlier this year—with the aim of sharing and investigating themes that excite us—RWAs were a natural first topic for discussion. Since then, we have only delved further into the space;... As many of you know, we have invested a great deal of time and effort in exploring and supporting...

Metrics & Memes

By Slow Burn · May 19, 2023 10:01 AM PDT

In today’s “risk-off” environment, investors are increasingly advocating "fundamentals-driven" underwriting…unless, of course, they’re talking about AI. For crypto companies, a genuine first-principles approach to pricing includes an assessment of their associated token networks. To date, protocol valuation has generally been informed by a... In today’s “risk-off” environment, investors are increasingly advocating "fundamentals-driven"...

By Slow Burn · May 12, 2023 7:00 AM PDT

Tokens of Wisdom

By Slow Burn · May 12, 2023 7:00 AM PDT

Token frameworks have evolved dramatically since the ICO era, but founders and investors have not yet arrived at an unimpeachable standard(s) for implementation. Reflecting on our own crypto investments, we’d like to share a few observations:Deal StructuresRemember the T: When used in concert with a SAFE, a token warrant (which entitles... Token frameworks have evolved dramatically since the ICO era, but founders and investors have not...

SAFE-T First

By Slow Burn · May 5, 2023 6:45 AM PDT

Ethereum’s 2015 launch introduced truly permissionless capital formation, and token issuance gained popularity as a facile, frictionless alternative to traditional venture financing. Since then, founders and investors have experimented with various frameworks to support modern fundraising preferences; different projects have contributed... Ethereum’s 2015 launch introduced truly permissionless capital formation, and token issuance...

The Original Token Mechanics

By Slow Burn · April 28, 2023 6:33 AM PDT

When it launched in January 2009, Bitcoin introduced tokens—representations of value that now undergird the entire blockchain industry—and hard-coded rules (token mechanics) to govern them. Since then, crypto projects have experimented with many different token implementations, including economic incentive alignment, social coordination, network... When it launched in January 2009, Bitcoin introduced tokens—representations of value that now...

Mapping The Bitcoin Ecosystem

By Slow Burn · April 21, 2023 6:14 AM PDT

As we’ve discussed earlier this month, Bitcoin has made consistent, if slow, progress while remaining committed to decentralization and security. Major upgrades to the protocol, like SegWit and Taproot, have introduced the possibility of feature parity with smart-contract chains. As we consider Bitcoin’s remarkable evolution, we can imagine 1)... As we’ve discussed earlier this month, Bitcoin has made consistent, if slow, progress while...

By Slow Burn · April 14, 2023 6:46 AM PDT

Accidental Ordinals

By Slow Burn · April 14, 2023 6:46 AM PDT

As the old saying goes, the best-laid plans…often result in NFTs. Or, at least they did for Bitcoin.In November 2021, one of Bitcoin’s carefully-designed upgrades—Taproot—was activated. Intended to improve the chain’s scalability (by loosening restrictions on “witness data”) and privacy/security (through Schnorr signatures), Taproot introduced a... As the old saying goes, the best-laid plans…often result in NFTs. Or, at least they did for...

L is for Lightning

By Slow Burn · April 7, 2023 7:16 AM PDT

Balancing scalability, decentralization, and security is the perennial challenge for Layer-1 blockchains. In its commitment to decentralization and network security, Bitcoin sacrificed (at least initial) scalability—a deficiency that became particularly apparent when Ethereum and other higher-throughput L1s launched. In 2017, Bitcoin implemented... Balancing scalability, decentralization, and security is the perennial challenge for Layer-1...

Re-Examining Bitcoin

By Slow Burn · March 31, 2023 6:12 AM PDT

The last several months have been turbulent—even by crypto’s generous standards. The spectacular collapse of FTX, a centralized custodial exchange, was unexpectedly followed by a regional banking crisis that challenged the resiliency of traditional financial institutions at large. In an effort to increase control over and visibility into... The last several months have been turbulent—even by crypto’s generous standards. The spectacular...

Mapping the DID Ecosystem

By Slow Burn · March 24, 2023 6:10 AM PDT

Many teams are working towards enabling secure and private on-chain identity. Currently, they are collectively developing foundational infrastructure to support credential attestation. We believe that as the ecosystem matures, however, DID projects will specialize in either 1) a vertical, or 2) a part of the tech stack.Ceramic develops protocols... Many teams are working towards enabling secure and private on-chain identity. Currently, they are...

By Slow Burn · March 17, 2023 6:14 AM PDT

AI vs. A Eye

By Slow Burn · March 17, 2023 6:14 AM PDT

Proving you’re a human on the internet has never been harder. With the rise of financial fraud and AI spoofing, user impersonation has become progressively more convincing. And, unfortunately, the consequences—both social and financial—are increasingly dire as most interactions migrate online. Establishing a canonical baseline of personhood is... Proving you’re a human on the internet has never been harder. With the rise of financial fraud...

Piecing Together The DID Mosaic

By Slow Burn · March 10, 2023 6:43 AM PST

Today, the passport is the most globally-accepted token of identity, allowing holders to easily traverse geographic borders. And just as passports function internationally, so too must decentralized identities (DIDs) be interoperable across on-chain environments. Otherwise, fragmentation will prohibit the formation of a truly unified, digital... Today, the passport is the most globally-accepted token of identity, allowing holders to easily...

Who Are You?

By Slow Burn · March 3, 2023 6:21 AM PST

We’re experiencing an identity crisis – and it’s not metaphysical.Our education, employment, primary IDs, financial activity, asset ownership, interpersonal relationships, and online pursuits are all separately recorded, but inherently in conversation. We squander hours manually corroborating our qualifications to access financial products and... We’re experiencing an identity crisis – and it’s not metaphysical.Our education, employment,...

Mapping The ZK Ecosystem

By Slow Burn · Feb. 24, 2023 6:32 AM PST

A note to our readers: Along with this week’s Slow Burn newsletter, we are excited to release our first podcast episode, featuring Goldfinch’s Mike Sall. We had a chance to discuss his experience launching one of the first RWA products, and the current and future state of the RWA ecosystem. For those interested in listening, you... A note to our readers: Along with this week’s Slow Burn newsletter, we are excited to...

By Slow Burn · Feb. 17, 2023 6:01 AM PST

ZKs & The Regulatory Tinderbox

By Slow Burn · Feb. 17, 2023 6:01 AM PST

Crypto has proved a foreign and complex challenge for regulators. Without the experience or instruments to intervene in an on-chain financial system, governments are concerned about the proliferation of illicit activity they cannot identify or curtail.Regulatory bodies such as the SEC, CFTC, FinCEN, and OFAC are incipient crypto watchdogs. Among... Crypto has proved a foreign and complex challenge for regulators. Without the experience or...

Is The Data Available?

By Slow Burn · Feb. 10, 2023 7:01 AM PST

“Trustlessness” is an attribute often ascribed to blockchains, but the reality is more nuanced: they exist on a spectrum of trust, with specific points of compromise. For scalability-focused implementations of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKs), tradeoffs are made when navigating the “data availability problem.”The other stuff (transaction data)... “Trustlessness” is an attribute often ascribed to blockchains, but the reality is more nuanced:...

The ZK Antidote To Yolo OpSec

By Slow Burn · Feb. 3, 2023 6:11 AM PST

Privacy has long been a central, if controversial, consideration as we stride toward a more mature crypto ecosystem. Today, understanding its potential and current limitations is more relevant than ever, as several privacy-focused projects plan to launch on mainnet this year.The zero-knowledge (ZK) technology that underpins on-chain privacy was... Privacy has long been a central, if controversial, consideration as we stride toward a more...

Mapping The RWA Ecosystem

By Slow Burn · Jan. 27, 2023 6:06 AM PST

To conclude our month-long dive into RWAs, we are excited to feature some of the exceptional teams already building around the ecosystem. We understand the taxonomy of RWA companies as follows:Issuance: The applications, standards, and asset managers providing interfaces and templates for trust-minimized RWA issuance. The scope of teams in this... To conclude our month-long dive into RWAs, we are excited to feature some of the exceptional...

By Slow Burn · Jan. 20, 2023 6:06 AM PST

The RWA Trust Rodeo

By Slow Burn · Jan. 20, 2023 6:06 AM PST

The importance of data availability and accessibility was perhaps most obviously illustrated by the 2008 financial crisis. Had credit default positions been visible, market participants and/or regulators would have detected leverage building and taken preventative action.Now, crypto inherently promises transparency; however, accurately and... The importance of data availability and accessibility was perhaps most obviously illustrated by...