Crypto Prosecutor Turned Crypto Investor 👩‍⚖️

good morning friends!

Welcome to the 185 new subscribers who have joined us last week—you're in the right place! Join 926 of our friends curious about Web3 by subscribing here:

I'm happy today. Not because I treated myself to a mocha latte this morning (something about rising crypto prices...green is my favorite color), but because I saw this stat on Twitter when I woke up:

Bitcoin isn't "becoming" the new Gold. It already is.

No announcements today ... just comprehensible Web3 knowledge in 3 minutes ⇩

Crypto Prosecutor Turned Crypto Investor

Last week I described Vitalik Buterin as "My Web3 Hero". That was until I learned about Katie Haun, the most badass person I've ever come across. (i still luv u vitalik). 

Take the five most impressive people you know, merge them into a single human, and you're left with Katie Haun. The woman has conquered academia, drug cartels, corporate fraud, and venture capital, and now has her sights set on Web3.

Haun prosecuted and confiscated Bitcoin before Bitcoin was cool. Just last week, she raised $1.5 billion for her new crypto fund—the largest fund ever raised by a solo female founding partner.

This might sound hypocritical, like Kevin Durant slithering to the Warriors after their near perfect season in 2016, but that's without context.

Before becoming an investor at Silicon Valley's acclaimed Andreessen Horowitz, Haun was a federal prosecutor on fraud, cyber, and corporate crime. She led the investigations into the corrupt agents from the Silk Road, an online black market with over 100,000 buyers powered by Bitcoin as its currency.

In her interview with Tim Ferriss, Haun explained that they were able to catch the corrupt FBI agents by following a digital trail of Bitcoin transactions on the blockchain. The crime would have never been solved if the Silk Road operated in cash. 

As the case continued, Haun's perspective on digital currencies evolved:

“We prosecuted some nefarious use cases [of cryptocurrency] and in the course of that, I ended up starting to get to know some of the early players in the crypto space…I also started realizing more and more what I had kind of realized early on that this doesn’t seem all criminal. It seems like there were actually a lot of people trying to build some really important products and services that can be used for good.”

Take it from the woman who observed the darkest parts of crypto's involvement: the positives of Web3 outweigh the negatives. Read more about Katie Haun's new $1.5 billion crypto fund here:

In Other News ...

a "fungible" image ↑

→ Institutional Interest Is Climbing 📈: 60% of surveyed Goldman Sachs clients intend to increase their crypto holdings in the next year or two. Over half of clients are now exposed to crypto, compared to 40% at the start of 2021. 

→ Taxes In Bitcoin, Part 2 : Yo Colorado, you've got a secret admirer: Florida Governor Ron Desantis says that the state is working on accepting taxes in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

→ Coinbase Consolidates 🇧🇷: Coinbase is said to be nearing an over $2 Billion deal to buy 2TM, the owner of Brazil's largest crypto exchange. The move signals further consolidation in the crypto financial services industry. 

→ Madonna Buys A BAYC: Madonna joins Eminem, Serena Williams, and Steph Curry by purchasing her very own Bored Ape. The price tag? $564,000. 🤑

Projects We're Keeping An Eye On 👀

→ Layer3: It's no secret we have a crush on Layer3. I'm writing a "Generalist-style" deep dive on Layer3 that will be published next week (2,000+ words!). For now, get familiar with the company's new beta site and weekly newsletter.

→ 30,000 Feet: If you want to advance from beginner → moderate in Web3, sign up for Andrew Beal's newsletter 30,000 Feet. Each week, he dives deep into the ideas and phenomena behind important topics in Web3 like NFTs & Identity, Social Trading, and Ownership In Web3. 

→ DeathlessDAO: A few days ago we asked people which DAOs should be featured in this week's newsletter. In the comments we discovered DeathlessDAO, an organization that allocates capital for projects focused on extending longevity. Longer lives. More mochas. I'm all for it!

web3 content we’re munching on 🍿

1. How to be safe in crypto (a thread of resources) — super helpful

2. Bankless Pod 110 - The Internet Reset with Alexis Ohanian — everything Alexis touches turns to gold

3. A Week in the life of a DAO contributor by Roxine Kee — DAOs are real. Working for a DAO is real. This stuff isn't just made up.

4. How the blockchain is changing money and business by Don Tapscott — one of the best Ted Talks I've ever heard. This guy predicted Web3 before it was cool.

That's all for this week. DM us on Twitter and let us know what stories/content you'd like featured in next week's newsletter!

Sincerely,

Noah "Mocha" Edelman