"Cryptonetworks" can help us build a more competitive, innovative, secure and decentralized Internet.  "Tokens" (also known as cryptocurrencies or cryptoassets) are integral to the operation of cryptonetworks.  As we design new laws and regulations in this emerging space, we should keep these concepts in mind, beyond the financial aspects that are today's primary focus.

In recent months, there has been untold attention paid to cryptocurrencies, blockchains and the coming of the "decentralized web" or "web3".  And, given the rise of the cryptocurrency markets (over 1500 coins, with a total market cap of $370B as of today) and the recent boom in token-based fundraising (including a healthy dose of scams and shenanigans) there is increasing regulatory and legal attention being paid to the sector, and rightly so. This is a profound, and confusing, innovation.  As John Oliver so aptly put it last week, it's "everything you don't understand about money combined with everything you don't understand about computers".  Basically right. At USV, we've spent the better part of the past five years exploring and investing in this space, and now have roughly a dozen investments touching it in one way or another.  As we have watched the technology and market evolve, alongside the public discourse, we feel its important to reiterate why we think this technology is so powerful and important, and contribute to the ongoing collective learning about how it works. While much of the focus, especially in the context of regulations, is on the financial and fundraising applications of cryptocurrencies, our interest continues to be on the potential for cryptonetworks to provide digital services, such as computing, file storage, social applications, and more. You might ask, why is it important to have another way to provide digital services?  We already have lots of websites and apps that do that today.  The reason cryptonetworks are an interesting addition to today's digital services is their core architecture of decentralization.  Just as the original internet gave us a decentralized layer on top of the telecommuncations network, which resulted in untold innovation, cryptonetworks are a decentralized way to provide digital services.  

"Cryptonetworks" can help us build a more competitive, innovative, secure and decentralized Internet.  "Tokens" (also known as cryptocurrencies or cryptoassets) are integral to the operation of cryptonetworks.  As we design new laws and regulations in this emerging space, we should keep these concepts in mind, beyond the financial aspects that are today's primary focus.

In recent months, there has been untold attention paid to cryptocurrencies, blockchains and the coming of the "decentralized web" or "web3".  And, given the rise of the cryptocurrency markets (over 1500 coins, with a total market cap of $370B as of today) and the recent boom in token-based fundraising (including a healthy dose of scams and shenanigans) there is increasing regulatory and legal attention being paid to the sector, and rightly so. This is a profound, and confusing, innovation.  As John Oliver so aptly put it last week, it's "everything you don't understand about money combined with everything you don't understand about computers".  Basically right. At USV, we've spent the better part of the past five years exploring and investing in this space, and now have roughly a dozen investments touching it in one way or another.  As we have watched the technology and market evolve, alongside the public discourse, we feel its important to reiterate why we think this technology is so powerful and important, and contribute to the ongoing collective learning about how it works. While much of the focus, especially in the context of regulations, is on the financial and fundraising applications of cryptocurrencies, our interest continues to be on the potential for cryptonetworks to provide digital services, such as computing, file storage, social applications, and more. You might ask, why is it important to have another way to provide digital services?  We already have lots of websites and apps that do that today.  The reason cryptonetworks are an interesting addition to today's digital services is their core architecture of decentralization.  Just as the original internet gave us a decentralized layer on top of the telecommuncations network, which resulted in untold innovation, cryptonetworks are a decentralized way to provide digital services.