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An Overview of Blockchain-Based Universal Basic Income Projects
Dani Grant – Jul 10, 2018
One of the applications of blockchain that we are very excited about is Universal Basic Income. While UBI has traditionally been imagined as a government subsidy, cryptocurrency gives us a way to implement UBI without the need for a government to implement it. We are intrigued by this possibility and are wondering about some key issues, such as the complexities around issuing new currencies and preventing fraudulent accounts. Read more
An Overview Of The Distributed Computing Landscape
Dani Grant – Jun 11, 2018
People have been trying to build distributed compute networks since the 1990’s; In 1996, GIMPS used distributed compute to search for prime numbers and in 1999, Seti@Home used volunteers’ compute power to search for extraterrestrial life. Now 25 years later, [...] Read more
CryptoKitties
Fred Wilson – Mar 20, 2018
The news broke today that USV, along with many of our friends in the tech/startup/VC sector, has invested in CryptoKitties. What is a CryptoKitty? Well it's a cute digital kitten. The USV team made one last December and our kitten [...] Read more
Algorand
Albert Wenger – Feb 15, 2018
We have been writing about the importance of decentralized protocols going back to 2013. Since then a lot has happened, including a run up in the price of Bitcoin (and eventually other crypto currencies), the launch of Ethereum, the rise of ICOs and with them the funding of many new projects. And yet it feels to us that we are still in what Carlota Perez calls the “Installation Phase” of a new technology. That’s the period when a market attracts a lot of capital to help build out the necessary infrastructure. Read more
The Unknown Path to a Decentralized Future
Albert Wenger – Sep 22, 2017
Some companies with currently centralized services have been criticized for issuing tokens and raising money in ICOs. There are even allegations that venture investors are pushing companies to do so as a ploy for liquidity. I suspect that some situations like that do actually exist, but I know from first hand conversations that many of the entrepreneurs pursuing this route are doing so out of a genuine conviction that it is the right path to a decentralized future. Read more
Blockstack Browser and Token
Albert Wenger – May 23, 2017
Today Muneeb and Ryan from Blockstack delivered the morning keynote at the Consensus 2017 conference here in New York. They made two important announcements: first the availability of the developer edition of the Blockstack Browser and second the news that there will be a Blockstack Token. To understand the importance of both of these announcements, it useful to look at some of the history of the Internet. Read more
Protocol Labs
Brad Burnham – May 18, 2017
Protocol Labs made a series of announcements earlier today including that Union Square Ventures made an equity investment in the company late last year. We are thrilled to be working with Juan Benet and his team and excited to be able to share some of our thinking here. Read more
Digital Currency for Virtual Worlds
Jacqueline Garavente – Jan 9, 2017
In Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel, Snow Crash, we were introduced to the concept of a Metaverse, the 3d mixed reality heir to the Internet marked by a convergence of the physical and virtual worlds. Technologists have been trying to bring [...] Read more
Blockstack Funding
Albert Wenger – Jan 6, 2017
We are excited to announce follow-on funding in our portfolio company Blockstack. Read more