Happy Wednesday, If you are thinking this week has simultaneously been the longest and shortest week of your life... we are right there with you. But, at least we have been blessed with the welcoming of Spring (weather in some parts of Canada aside)! So happy spring solstice, my friends; I hope you are ready to emerge from your caves! or not; totally up to you. 

Quip of the Week

The Latest 

The Prince of Crypto has some growing concerns for his industry

Vitalik Buterin, the Russian-born Canadian founder of Ethereum, was profiled in a cover story in TIME's first ever full magazine issue as an NFT on the blockchain. Vitalik's career has been wild - from playing with Excel spreadsheets at age 4, reciting 100 digits of pi at age 7, founding Bitcoin Magazine at age 18, and writing the Ethereum white paper at age 19. Now Vitalik is 28 and Ethereum is now valued at $340B. His vision for Ethereum and crypto in general is to launchpad experiments for a better world: fairer voting systems, universal basic income, public-works goods, and more ways to combat authoritative governments and tech monopolies. However, he voiced his (very fair) concerns: the shameless displays of crypto wealth, increased fees leading to usage primarily gambling and finance, and the potential danger to overeager investors. He writes that "ultimately the goal of crypto is not to play games with million-dollar pictures of monkeys, it’s to do things that accomplish meaningful effects in the real world," and that he wants to try to be more risk-taking and less neutral because he "would rather Ethereum offend some people than turn into something that stands for nothing.”

Ashanti becomes the co-founder of a web3 company focused on music and NFT's

Artists live in a world that can be exploitative. They are often taken advantage of before they reach their fame and are then unable to profit from their work. Ashanti has demonstrated time and time again that changing this value chain is important to her, announcing last year that she was re-recording her self-titled debut album to gain control and ownership over her work. And now, along with many other artists, Ashanti is looking to web3 and NFTs as a potential tool to allow a transparent way to retain ownership of their music on which they can set the terms for its use. Nothing Foolish about the Lady of Soul founding a web3 company focused on solving this problem, and that's exactly what Ashanti is doing through a partnership with EQ Exchange.

VC investments in crypto and blockchain have seen 5X growth this past year 

VCs are making big investments in crypto and blockchain. Over the past year, there has been an increase in the size of deals, number of deals, and number of firms investing in this technology. That is both a sign of its growing maturity and a sign of what will likely be continued growth in the sector. 

Demand for Web3 roles and expertise continues to rise

This week, Spotify made a big splash by posting two jobs specifically mentioning a web3 skillset and focusing on web3 innovation. This has led many people in the music industry to believe that Spotify might be interested in launching their own NFTs (a lil friendly competition for Ashanti and friends, maybe?) This highlights the industry demand for people who can strategize and build in web3. As companies continue to solidify their web3 strategies and navigate the landscape, we look forward to keeping a close eye on how they are building and why. 

Policy and Crypto

Last week, in our newsletter, we mentioned President Biden had issued an executive order on Crypto. This week, we wanted to dive into what that Executive Order means, what's in it, and what else is happening in the world of policy and crypto. The lack of regulation in the world of web3 is both a benefit and a downfall. Unlike China, which has banned cryptocurrencies outright, the willingness of the Biden administration to issue an executive order and pay attention means that the White House sees promise in web3 that needs to be evaluated carefully. 

So what is in the executive order? 

The executive order is pretty broad-reaching, although it's broadly been called an executive order on crypto. It's an executive order on "Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Asset. It's focused on six main questions or "objectives," which different direct sectors of government to look at each objective and provide recommendations.  

1. Consumer and investor protection: basically, how do we keep people investing in this sector safely and ensure sufficient oversight? 

2.  Financial stability: How do we mitigate risks posed by digital assets and assess regulatory gaps?

3.  Mitigation of illicit finance and national security risks: How do we support international frameworks to ensure the national interest of the US are protected? 

4. U.S. Leadership in the global financial system and economic competitiveness: How do we invest in research, policy, and development to support the leadership of the US in this sector. 

5. Financial Inclusion: How do we make sure people get the education they need to participate in this system in an informed way? 

6. Responsible innovation: How do we support technological advances in a way that is responsible, mitigates risk, and prevents negative environmental impacts.

Okay, so what does this mean globally? 

The US often sets the global standard for how other countries engage with innovation. This move from the Biden administration signals that web3 innovation will be cautiously received. They see a lot of potential risks but also know the value and are willing to explore the possibilities. Given the growth of web3 in markets like India, this is good news for the continued innovation of the sector, although not everyone sees it that way-- for some, regulators butting in could be bad news. Regulation often leads to less volatility, which many people have been profiting from in the crypto space. We will watch the follow up from the order closely and keep you posted on how this continues to influence the global landscape. 

Want to dive in more?

Something to read

• Read Biden's Full Executive Order

• The Man Behind Ethereum is Worried About Crypto's Future

• Mark Cuban on why NFT's are in a Bubble

• NFT Tax Guide

Something to do

• Join our Discord

• Create a digital wallet

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Till next time,

w3 the North