#17 - Benedict Evans

Bullish:

• $BLOCKSPACE - Block space is seen as a crucial component for crypto, analogous to bandwidth for the web, suggesting potential growth and importance in the crypto ecosystem.

  • “Block space is to crypto what bandwidth is to the web.”

    Host·1:46:39
• $CRYPTOEQUITY - The potential for global, internet-based equity issuance enabled by blockchain technology could revolutionize crowdfunding and capital formation.

  • “That means that crowdfunding thing I talked about says, that an Internet company can issue Internet equity and anybody in the world can be part of that cap table.”

    Host·1:40:16
• $CRYPTOPAYMENTS - Crypto payments are being utilized in practical applications, such as paying for AI services, indicating potential for growth in this sector.

  • “You know, open router? That that allows you to try a bunch of different AI models and it just use encrypted to pay for all of it.”

    Host·1:53:40
• $CRYPTOORACLES - Blockchain-based data verification systems, or crypto oracles, may have significant value in prediction markets by incentivizing accurate information and decision-making.

  • “When people have money on the line, their partisanship reduces and they actually get a different chip in their head where they're like, is this true or not?”

    Host·1:59:37
• $METAVERSE - AR/XR technology is seen as having potential to become as ubiquitous as smartphones, suggesting significant growth opportunities in this sector.

  • “I think it's much easier to see something like what I'm wearing now being a universal device at the level of a smartphone.”

    Benedict·21:12
• $USDC - USDC is highlighted for its efficiency in international transfers, suggesting potential for growth in cross-border transactions.

  • “If I want to receive or send a wire to a startup in Japan. USDC, I can do that in seconds.”

    Host·1:33:09

Bearish:

• $VR - VR technology is compared to gaming consoles, suggesting limited mass-market adoption potential.

  • “My base case of VR is that it may end up like games consoles. In that you see a games console, it's amazing, most people don't buy it.”

    Benedict·21:12
• $EQUITIES - US financial markets are expected to undergo significant changes by 2035, potentially due to competition from Chinese markets and internet capital markets.

  • “US financial markets, I don't think, are going to be there in the same way by 2035.”

    Host·1:41:16