Blog
Elon, Land, and Stablecoins
I haven't written for a couple of weeks. I've been down with some Covid-like virus. The good news is I'm feeling better, and you get three articles this week instead of one. The upcoming cohort of Hype-Free Crypto begins in 10 days. Join us for a hands-on introduction to Blockchains,

Harberger's Office
A radical tax system can make cities more vibrant and affordable. Crypto can help.

Freedom and Flatbread
I am on vacation for a couple more weeks, and so is the newsletter. This evening, we're celebrating Passover, in which we commemorate the Exodus from Egypt and the emancipation of Jewish slaves. This year, I am celebrating with my extended family after being kept apart by deaths, births, and

The Military-Industrial Memeplex
When memes collaborate, humans make bad decisions.

Abrogation Theory
In a world with unlimited information, thinking for yourself is irrational.

Gays, Jews, and Geniuses
The 21st Century will enable more outcasts and weirdos to flourish. The world needs to get ready.

My Enemy's Money is My Friend
A world in which information flows freely is much more dangerous for tyrants than it is for America. And the same is true for money.

Regulation, Abstraction, and Discord Grinders
🚀 Looking for a Corporate Crypto Course? Give your team a hands-on introduction to Blockchains, Decentralized Finance, and Web3 with our private corporate cohorts. Learn more here. This is the 3rd issue of Hype Free, a newsletter about the future of the internet and digital assets. If you're not yet a

Crypto and the War in Ukraine
How are cryptocurrencies being used in the war in Ukraine? How will recent sanctions affect the evolution of crypto markets? What are the main insights and dilemmas highlighted by this conflict?

Apeing into War
Crypto tokens don't just finance wars. They incentivize more people to join the fight.

Global Money, Global War
A crowd with a bank account meets an army with an overdraft.

The Meme Leak Theory
China is banning memes. America is developing immunity.

Hype-Free Web3
Demystifying the future of the internet and digital assets.

Perpetual Gamma Squeeze
A "crowd with a bank account" is turning the economy — and society — on its head.

Visible Capital
Crypto makes the world more visible. This makes many people uncomfortable.

Progress and Volatility
Why the next big thing will look like a scam

Impossibly Useless
Welcome to the future: Work is leisure; communities are corporations; and every person is both an investor and a financial product.

Ponzi and the City
Urban economics explains the evolution of Web3. And vice versa.

Stalin in the Metaverse
New ecosystems cannot create old monsters. But they can create new ones. Here's what we can do about it.

GitHub Shrugged
Open-Source developers provide free resources to giant corporations. Until they don't.

Unpacking the Web3 Sausage
Crypto is interesting for the freedom it enables, not for the freedom users currently care about. (a response to Moxie)

Snow Day
No newsletter today. We got a lot of snow last night, and I am spending the day shoveling and completing other missions. Looking for something good to read or listen to in the meantime? Check out: Packy McCormick's The Laboratory of Complex Problems Walter Kirn's The Power and the SilenceThe
Don't show Me the Money
The blockchain will disappear. But first, it will uncover a whole new world.

The Unchained Web
In 2021, the internet figured out how to generate its own goods, enforce its own rules, and take what it needs from the outside world.

In Praise of Ponzis
A new economic model is emerging. Here's why it makes sense.

Crossing the Bank
A single currency is a perfect solution for a low-information world. We no longer live in one.

Crypto Quentin and Non-Fungible Taylor
NFTs will not replace copyright law. They will make it redundant.

GitHub for X
The 2020s will do to knowledge work what the 2010s did to unskilled labor.

Crypto and the Conservation of Centralization
You can't decentralize the web. You can only kill old winners and pick new ones. Here's how.

Friday!
🐣 We have a new baby boy, so no newsletter this week. 🔐 The first cohort of Hype-Free Crypto is sold out. To get on the list for January, reply to this email or drop your email here. 🚀 The 10th cohort of Future-Proof Real Estate kicks off next week. There's never been