Why Web3

I spent five years living off the grid.

No bank account.

No phone contract.

No rental contract and no identifiable digital record.

Every purchase was straight cash.

As part of my weekly routine, I would fish out $200 from my bedside table, walk ten blocks to an inconspicuous store front known as a “cueva” (“cave” in Spanish) and break the law.

You’re probably thinking, “My god, this sounds awful!” When in fact, it was one of the most interesting times of my life.

The Backstory

But let’s back up and talk about how I got there.

I was living in the US burnt out after years of working 80-hour work weeks in finance. I had stayed at my last job five years too long and I was completely on autopilot.

I was like every other corporate drone, just going through the motions.

It was time for a change.

After careful planning, I quit my job, sold all my belongings, and moved to Argentina.

If you havent been, Buenos Aires, Argentina is a magical place filled with amazing people, world renowned beef and a terrible anise-flavored beverage known as Fernet (Fernet & coke) that all Argentines love.

At the time Argentina was in the middle of a financial crisis (I later found out the country is ALWAYS in the middle of a financial crisis).

Inflation was so high that every time I would go to the store to buy food, the price of a loaf of bread would vary significantly.

In addition to high inflation the country had a curious policy when it came to USD dollars - they were illegal. Or rather, you needed to declare all your dollars with the authorities.

This policy ended up creating two exchange rates:

• the official rate (what the bank gives you)

• the blue rate (the black market rate)

The blue rate was double the official rate which meant you had double the purchasing power if you used a cueva.

This meant my expenses were cut in half!

(Black market rate = red line, Official rate = blue line)

Although this was technically illegal, it was so widespread that many cuevas would have policeman stationed in front of the place to prevent people from getting robbed.

What does this have to do with Web3?

To be honest, everything.

In the early days of crypto, Argentina had an unstable currency and rampant government corruption.

Because of this, Argentines adopted Bitcoin early.

When inflation is at 50% and your country’s politicians can break the law with no consequences Bitcoin looks pretty safe.

I was able to experience this first hand when I lived there. This opened my eyes to how much of the rest of the world lives - with no bank account and no guarantees that their government wont run their currency into the ground.

Crypto, and Web3 more generally, is the antidote to that problem.

But this newsletter isn’t about sound money or politics, at least not specifically.

As soon as people hear talk about currencies, inflation and “hard money” they lose interest quickly.

This newsletter is about the next phase of the internet (Web3), why it’s important, how to navigate its many pitfalls and ultimately how to thrive in Web3 and life in general.

The System

The current system is rigged.

Sure it’s cliche, but cliches exist for a reason.

Working in investment banking, private equity and venture capital helped me understand how much the system is rigged. It showed me how the current powers-that-be don’t give a fuck about you.

Take a quick look at the events of the past 20 years (housing crisis, financial crises, government corruption, etc.) and you can see this in action.

My takeaway from all this is that power consolidates, leaving little for the many, and the standard 9 to 5 is modern day indentured servitude.

If only there were another way…

Enter Bitcoin in 2009 which showed the potential to change everything.

What is Web3?

Fast forward to 2023 and crypto has become Web3.

The next phase of the internet is here which includes:

• Dencentralization

• Blockchain technology

• Cryptocurrencies

• NFTs

• DAOs

• DeFi

• and a host of other applications

But all those terms are crypto jargon and something we are going to demystify in this newsletter.

The overarching theme for Web3 is ownership. You’re able to own:

• What you create

• Your identity

• Your security

This is a huge shift from our current system where only a handful of large companies own that information and profit handsomely from it.

If you understand how to navigate Web3 and approach everything with a learning mindset, you will thrive over the next decade.

My aim with this newsletter is to educate, inspire, entertain and ultimately help you win in Web3.

Every week I am going to be breaking down Web3 topics including:

• Strategies on how to navigate Web3

• The latest trends in Web3 & AI and how to profit from them

• How to turn your side hustle into your full time gig

• My wins and my losses along the way

• Personal growth and learning mindset topics

My goal is to provide as much value as possible for those a few steps behind me.

Who Am I?

Hello! I’m Web3 Savant

I fell down the crypto rabbit hole almost three years ago.

And I experienced that A ha! moment after reading Andreas Antonopoulos' “The Internet of Money” and listening to Naval Ravikant’s podcasts.

This radically changed the way I thought about how our system works and where the world is headed.

My background is in Finance. I started as an investment banker, and worked in private equity, venture capital and real estate investment. I've also founded three companies as an entrepreneur.

But I grew tired of staring at spreadsheets all day and helping rich people get richer.

This boredom led me down the crypto rabbit hole.

I was sucked in by the last bull market, spending most of my working day checking Twitter, Discord and CoinGecko.

Eventually, Web3 took up 99.9% of my headspace and I took the plunge.

About eight months ago I went full time as a digital creator in Web3.

The New Frontier

Web3 is the new frontier. 

It is the next phase of the internet. And it’s growing twice as fast as the original internet.

Over the next few decades, almost every facet of life will revolve around Web3, AI and virtual reality.

The things you buy, your culture, how and where you spend your time - those will all be facilitated through the prism of the new internet (Web3).

This gets me super pumped.

I hope you’ll join me on this great adventure.

LFG!