Return to Chain Reaction.
We talked about privacy and how it can be at odds with regulation. We are covering a larger-than-life founder who may be looking for redemption through web3.
You can subscribe to the newsletter if someone forwarded you the message.
There is a weekly window into the thoughts of a senior journalist.
Over the last bull run, we all learned that there is a refuge for those looking to change themselves. Adam Neumann is no different. Neumann made waves in the tech world this week when it was revealed that his new startup, focused on residential real estate communities, had just received a $350 million investment, the largest check the VC firm has ever written. According to The New York Times, Flow earned a $1 billion valuation before doing anything.
In an ironic twist, the new venture aims to attempt to solve the housing crisis, which was described in a post by the founder of the company. The VC was found to have fought hard to prevent affordable housing units from being built in his hometown. Initial details, though, were scant as to how exactly Neumann's company would address the crisis, apart from some vague commentary about renters not being able to benefit from owning their home equity.
Tech industry reacts to Adam Neumann’s a16z-backed return to real estate
If all that wasn't enough, there's a new angle.
According to Forbes, Neumann's startup will launch a digital wallet for cryptocurrencies. There is little to no overlap between the wallet product and the firm's stated focus in real estate tech.
According to Forbes, the company has been recruiting candidates by describing its business as a "Next Generation Multi-Family Property Management System" that would include a tokenized rewards program. A Flow spokesman told Forbes that the job description was mostly false, and that the company had worked with an external recruitment company.
Forbes was given a new job description that focused on technology in residential real estate, rather than any specificcryptocurrencies or web3
Neumann has rodeos in the wild west before. He raised $70 million for Flowcarbon, a startup that wanted to tokenize carbon credits on the block chain. Flowcarbon has halted a planned token sale, citing averse market conditions, and seems to have removed references to Neumann from its team page even though he was listed as a co-founder of the venture. The Flow announcement this week from a16z mentioned Flow as Neumann's first venture since WeWork, but he wasn't involved with Flowcarbon at all.
A16z made a big bet on the notorious Neumann, which is telling of investors' priorities. Maybe it will be a gripping TV series if one good thing comes out of it.
How a16z’s investment into Adam Neumann further solidifies the ‘concrete ceiling’
The first item on their agenda was juicy, and they took control of the news once again while Lucas was out.
He went into hiding after losing billions of dollars on behalf of investors. He talked about his role in triggering the biggest crash in the history of digital currency.
After watching the highlights reel from the Do Kwon interview, the two of them talked about the bad and potentially good news for the site.
Next Tuesday, we will have a guest interview with the co-owner of Mad Realities.
You can subscribe to Chain Reaction on Apple and other platforms.
The place where startup money is moving.
The list was compiled with information from Messari.
Some of this week's analysis can be found on our subscription service.
The head of investments is very bullish on web3.
The market is in a state of limbo between a deep bear market and a recovery. According to the head of investments at Polygon, nothing has changed regarding the long-term mission of the company.
NFTs are seen as art in a new format by AnthonyHopkins.
NFTs are being looked at as a way to engage with fans by celebrities and athletes who are dipping their toes into the world of cryptocurrencies. Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins is the newest entrant to the digital collectibles market. "NFTs are blank canvases to create art in a new format."
The hacking community is still resilient in bearish markets.
According to a new report by Chainalysis, there is still a lot of illegal activity when it comes to crimes. Some subsectors of crime have increased while others have decreased in the last year.
There is a need for open source software to prevent hacks.
Many people in the space are wondering what can be done to prevent hacks in the future. They can point out the importance of education, but what else? According to Mudit Gupta, chief information security officer at Polygon, the answer may be through projects using open source software.
Crypto scams have declined, but hackers remain resilient in bearish markets
Thanks for taking the time to read. You can subscribe on the newsletter page to get this in your inbox.