Good morning,

This is my last post for the year. Thank you so much for supporting my intellectual vagabonding this year–I am full of gratitude.

While single-player mode of building up this blog has had many benefits (I highly recommend a writing practice if you don’t have one already–feel free to DM me if you want to chat about it), multi-player mode has been the best part; I love getting your comments and critiques–it always sharpens my thinking.

I’d like to use some of the holiday quiet for reflecting on what I can do to make this more valuable to you all. To that end, if you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. Eager to hear any thoughts, but if a prompt is helpful, try: If I stopped receiving these emails, what would I be most disappointed about losing?

Thanks again and have wonderful holidays.

–Tony

Fee compression

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are kind of ridiculous. Every time you visit a friend at Google or wherever, they make you sign an NDA as you check-in and get your guest badge. That NDA basically says that you won’t steal any information you get exposed to during your visit. By and large, Google is unlikely to sue someone visiting their bud for free lunch because someone is unlikely to both (a) get exposure to sensitive information and (b) act on it. Still, I never really sign my name on those screens; I just put a line through it. I’m pretty sure it won’t hold up in court, but it’s the principle.

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Members receive a members-only analysis each week that is timely and substantial. I've been asked to be more opinionated and responsive to current events, so I'll try to do that in this more private forum. If you want my critical take on what matters in the industry, you might enjoy these analyses.

You can see a sample of a members-only analysis here. And a list of all of them here. Don't take it from me, check out these tweets from members:

  • "@tonysheng's writing is the best out there and this is worth every penny" --Myles Snider, CEO of Aurora EOS
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Over time, I'd love to develop more benefits like transcripts of podcasts (maybe host my own), a members-only discussion forum, AMAs with industry leaders, and more.

Thank you. I hope you'll stick around.

–Tony

If you aren’t already familiar with my work, I write long-form analyses on building and investing in crypto, and the impact of crypto on society.

My readers include investors at Union Square Ventures, a16z, Village Global, Multicoin Capital, Scalar Capital, and Polychain and builders of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Zcash, EOS, Tezos, 0x, and Coinbase.

Some awfully nice things people have said:

Tony’s blog is one of the best hidden gems in crypto. The content is regularly some of the most insightful out there. I read every post with a fine toothed comb.

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If you read one person’s writing in the space, make it Tony’s. Tony breaks down complicated crypto concepts and economic theories in ways that educate both the beginner and expert alike.

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Member updates

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Pricing vs valuing cryptoassets (plus EdgeWare ROI model)

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Libra versus the state and lessons from the Algorand auction

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Who has power over Facebook's GlobalCoin?