An introduction to the Bankless podcast and its exploration of internet money and internet finance.

Introduction to Bankless

Insightful discussion on crypto trading, long-term survival in crypto, decentralization, and outlook for 2022.

Understanding Crypto with Kobe

Exploration of Kobe's multifaceted approach as a trader and philosopher in the crypto space.

Kobe: Trader and Philosopher

Insights on long-term survival and depth in crypto, along with a discussion on decentralization and its value.

How to Survive in Crypto

Introduction to Arbitrum as a scaling solution for Ethereum, offering increased speed and reduced gas fees.

Arbitrum: Ethereum Scaling Solution

Overview of Matcha's smart order routing for trading across various liquidity sources in Ethereum and other chains.

Matcha: Smart Order Routing for Trading

Introduction to Uniswap as an autonomous asset exchange infrastructure on Ethereum, enabling trades at current market prices.

Uniswap: Autonomous Asset Exchange

The podcast introduces Kobe, a long-time figure in the crypto space, for an in-depth interview.

Interview with Kobe: Part 1

Insights into Kobe's decade-long journey in crypto and the challenges and mindset required to survive in the industry.

Kobe's Journey in Crypto

Discussion on the challenges, volatility, and information overload in the crypto industry, and factors contributing to long-term survival.

Challenges in Surviving in Crypto

Kobe's personal emotional connection to crypto, driven by disenfranchisement with the traditional financial system and the search for a more impartial monetary system.

The Emotional Drive Behind Crypto

Reflections on the inevitability of crypto as a permissionless and trustless system, and the transition towards reality maximalism in observing and understanding the crypto market.

The Inevitability of Crypto

Discusses the evolution of decentralization in crypto projects, drawing parallels between Ethereum, Bitcoin, and other crypto projects. Explores the shift from centralization to decentralization over time.

The Evolution of Decentralization

Emphasizes the significance of decentralization in the crypto ecosystem, highlighting its value in the face of potential state attacks. Discusses the role of decentralization in the future of blockchain technology.

The Importance of Decentralization

Compares the significance of decentralization with the current focus on usability in blockchain technology. Discusses the impact of decentralization on the future of the ecosystem.

Decentralization vs. Usability

Contrasts different dispositions toward decentralization and discusses Bankless's role in focusing on fundamental technologies and decentralization-related topics.

Bankless's Disposition and Role

Explores the concept of crypto as an infinite game and the importance of decentralization in shaping the future of the crypto ecosystem. Discusses the responsibility to promote decentralization and embed it in the protocol.

Infinite Game of Crypto

Discusses the approach to onboarding people to the idea of decentralization and the impact of usability and user perspective on the adoption of decentralized technologies.

Onboarding People to Decentralization

Addresses the issue of profit maximalism and fake decentralization in crypto projects, highlighting the need for education and regulatory clarity to address these concerns.

Profit Maximalism and Decentralization

Discussion on the risk tolerance of founders and the unfair terms of entry for retail investors in crypto projects.

Fair Sale to Retail vs. Scam Projects

Exploration of the conflict between decentralization and regulation in the crypto space, with a focus on Ethereum and newer L1 chains.

Decentralization vs. Regulation

Analysis of the compromise on decentralization in fast chains and the influence of VCs on proof of stake assets.

Centralization in Fast Chains

Discussion on the staking design of Ethereum and the potential for centralization, as well as the launch of L1 chains.

Staking Design and Decentralization

Reflection on past crypto investment mistakes and wins, emphasizing the value-driven approach to investing.

Crypto Investment Mistakes and Wins

Insight into managing the overwhelming presence of crypto in daily life and the impact of wealth in the crypto space.

Dealing with Crypto Brain

Reflecting on the impact of money on family dynamics and personal growth, as well as the search for purpose beyond financial success.

Reflections on Money and Purpose

Discussing the concept of money as a point system and the post-scarcity mindset, as well as the search for purpose after achieving financial stability.

The Point System of Money

Expressing curiosity and interest in exploring new ideas, building things, and engaging with the crypto world and beyond.

Interest in Exploration and Building

Adapting motives and finding new ways to apply them in the crypto world, while acknowledging the challenges and changes in the system.

Adapting Motives in the Crypto World

Creating engaging and honest content through podcasts, sub stack writing, and funding non-crypto projects with a mission to do good in the world.

Engaging and Honest Content Creation

Engaging in real-world activities and discussing alignment charts, personal traits, and interactions with podcast co-hosts.

Real-world Engagement and Alignment Chart

Assessing the alignment of various crypto personalities and entities, including their intentions and actions within the industry.

Assessing Crypto Personalities

Reflecting on the current market conditions, potential impact of unlocks, and uncertainty about the future of the crypto market.

Market Reflections and Uncertainty

Discussion on the changing economics of Bitcoin and Ethereum, the impact of EIP 1559, and the influence of macro conditions.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Economics

Predictions on undervalued and overvalued assets, potential corrections, and hopes for recoveries in major cryptocurrencies.

Market Valuation and Recovery

Casual conversation and banter, self-reflection, and appreciation for the interview.

Personal Interaction and Reflection

Acknowledgment of the guest's work, recommendation of guest's content, and disclaimers about crypto investments.

Acknowledgment and Recommendations

Promotion of Bankless Premium subscription, community engagement, and gratitude for the audience.

Bankless Community and Conclusion

- The video is about exploring the frontier of internet money and finance, and how to get started and succeed in the crypto space.
- The guest, Kobe, has been in the crypto game for 10 years and shares insights on surviving in crypto and the value of decentralization.
- The conversation covers topics such as the value of decentralization, character alignment in the crypto space, and predictions for 2022.
- The guest, Kobe, is described as a trader and philosopher, and the conversation delves into his long-term thesis for the crypto space.

- People who succeeded in the crypto markets had a balance of skepticism and curiosity, avoiding extreme views.
- Luck and life circumstances played a significant role in their success, allowing them to hold onto their investments.
- The speaker's initial attraction to crypto was driven by a distrust of the traditional financial system and a desire for a more impartial form of money.
- Many people resonate with this sentiment, feeling disenfranchised by the traditional system and seeking alternative ways to build wealth.

- The speaker discusses the lack of trust in large centralized power and the incompetence of those in power.
- They talk about the idea of capitulation and how it relates to the crypto world.
- They believe that crypto is inevitable and that a permissionless and trustless system will underpin society's transactions in the future.
- The speaker emphasizes the importance of observing what is happening in the market and understanding the underlying growth mechanisms, rather than applying personal politics to investments.

- The speaker discusses the decentralization of Ethereum and Bitcoin, comparing them to newer blockchain projects like Solana and Avalanche
- They emphasize the importance of decentralization in the long-term success of the crypto ecosystem
- They acknowledge the practicality of using more centralized chains for some users, but stress the importance of prioritizing decentralization
- The speaker also discusses the potential for new podcasts and media entities dedicated to specific blockchain projects as the industry evolves

- The speaker discusses the concept of decentralization maximalism and the importance of decentralization in the crypto world
- They argue that decentralization does not naturally occur over time and must be intentionally pursued
- The importance of onboarding people to the idea of decentralization without pressuring them is emphasized
- The impact of decentralized finance on real people is highlighted as a way to onboard them into the ecosystem

- The speaker believes that the impact of decentralized finance on real people is positive, even if it may not be completely decentralized.
- They argue that tribalism in the crypto community is unnecessary and that all groups are fundamentally the same.
- They express concern about profit maximalists and projects that fake decentralization, but believe that the market will eventually figure it out.
- The speaker also mentions the need for education in the crypto space and expresses concern about the lack of clarity from regulators.

- The speaker discusses how only VCs, professional investors, and insiders can buy into good ideas on day 1, leaving retail investors to only buy when prices are already high.
- They argue that this dynamic is damaging to retail investors, as they want to be early but are limited by regulations and unfair terms of entry.
- The conversation also touches on the challenges of decentralization in the face of regulation and the centralizing force of expertise.
- The design decisions of L1 chains and staking models are also discussed, highlighting potential issues with centralization over time.
- The speaker expresses a preference for L1 chains to be launched in a similar way to Ethereum, and emphasizes the importance of community attitudes towards decentralization.

The video explores the world of internet money and finance in the crypto space, featuring guest Kobe who shares insights on surviving in crypto and the value of decentralization. The conversation covers topics such as character alignment, predictions for 2022, and the importance of observing market growth mechanisms. The speaker emphasizes the significance of decentralization in the long-term success of the crypto ecosystem and expresses concern about the lack of clarity from regulators. They also discuss the challenges of decentralization in the face of regulation and the centralizing force of expertise, as well as the impact of decentralized finance on real people.

- The speaker discusses the failure of Ethereum Classic and the importance of decentralization in the crypto space
- They admit to making mistakes in their crypto investments, including early wins with altcoins and later losses
- The speaker emphasizes the importance of retaining value and denominates their wins in Ethereum
- They also discuss miscalculations in the liquidity of certain cryptocurrencies and the importance of positioning based on liquidity requirements and market performance

- The speaker discusses their use of Gemini exchange for crypto trading and earning yield
- They also mention Slingshot, a decentralized trading platform, and the Brave browser with a built-in crypto wallet
- The speaker reflects on the overwhelming presence of crypto in their life and the impact of wealth on their perception of money.

- The speaker reflects on the impact of money on their life, seeing it as a point system and feeling robbed of experiences due to their family's financial burdens.
- They discuss finding purpose after reaching a post-scarcity mindset and the motivations of crypto OGs.
- The speaker spends time on non-crypto activities and discusses their alignment as chaotic neutral.
- They also talk about their podcast co-host, Ledger, and their unique situation of never meeting in person.

- The speaker discusses a person who disappeared from Twitter after posting a strange video of himself smoking in a hospital after catching COVID before it was widely known
- The person reappeared a year later and the speaker had a conversation with them about various crypto personalities and their alignments on the lawful-chaotic scale
- They discuss figures such as Vitalik Buterin, Michael Saylor, and Charles Hoskinson, and their potential alignments as good, neutral, or evil
- The speaker also shares their thoughts on the actions and intentions of these figures, highlighting the complexity of their character and the impact of their decisions in the crypto world.

- The speaker discusses the lack of self-awareness in the crypto industry, particularly in relation to the CEO of IOHK, founder of Ethereum and Cardano.
- They debate whether the CEO's intentions are good or if they are promoting their products in a dishonest way.
- The conversation also touches on the current market conditions and the potential for a bearish start to 2022, with a focus on the impact of unlocks and the dissemination of capital within the crypto market.

- The speaker predicts a strange year for trading due to unusual market conditions
- They believe macro conditions and central bank actions will be important
- They discuss the changing importance of certain factors in the market
- The conversation shifts to the guest's future appearances and their chaotic alignment
- The speaker gives a shoutout to the guest's writing and podcast
- They end with a disclaimer about the risks of crypto and encourage joining their community for more content and benefits

- The speaker discusses the failure of Ethereum Classic and the importance of decentralization in the crypto space
- They reflect on their crypto investments, emphasizing the importance of retaining value and denominating wins in Ethereum
- The speaker discusses their use of Gemini exchange for crypto trading and earning yield, as well as their reflections on wealth and money
- They discuss figures in the crypto world and their potential alignments as good, neutral, or evil, and debate the intentions of certain CEOs
- The conversation also touches on the current market conditions and the potential for a bearish start to 2022, with a focus on the impact of unlocks and the dissemination of capital within the crypto market
- The speaker predicts a strange year for trading due to unusual market conditions and believes macro conditions and central bank actions will be important
- The conversation shifts to the guest's future appearances and their chaotic alignment, ending with a disclaimer about the risks of crypto and encouraging joining their community for more content and benefits.

🎉 Happy 100th Episode 🎉

Cobie, fka Crypto Cobain, is a cultural staple in the crypto space. Wearing many hats as a narrative investor, thought leader, and memelord, we dive into the brain of one of our favorite crypto characters.

Having been in crypto for nearly a decade, Cobie tells us his keys to surviving in crypto and what it takes to last long term. We also dive into how much decentralization matters, roles and responsibilities in shaping the world around us, and his outlook for 2022 and beyond.

Cobie advises a healthy dose of skepticism and curiosity, and describes himself as a reality maximalist. He’s gone on an absolute tear recently, dropping a series of excellent thought piece articles that establish mental models for understanding narratives across the ecosystem.

We also go through moral alignment charts and ask Cobie the big question… What does he think of Bankless?

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✨ DEBRIEF ✨ | Ryan & David's Unfiltered Thoughts on the Episode
https://shows.banklesshq.com/p/debrief-cobie

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📣 ONJUNO | Crypto from your Checking Account!
https://bankless.cc/OnJuno

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🚀 SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER:          https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/
🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST:                 http://podcast.banklesshq.com/

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BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 

⚖️ ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM
https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum

🍵 MATCHA | SMART ORDER ROUTING
https://bankless.cc/Matcha

🚀 SLINGSHOT | LAYER 2 SOCIAL TRADING
https://bankless.cc/Slingshot

🏦 GEMINI | TURN FIAT INTO CRYPTO
https://bankless.cc/Gemini

🦁 BRAVE | THE BROWSER NATIVE WALLET
https://bankless.cc/Brave

🦄 UNISWAP | DECENTRALIZED FUNDING
https://bankless.cc/UniGrants

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Topics Covered:

0:00 Intro
5:30 How Cobie Survives in Crypto
13:41 Early Discoveries
21:22 Reality Maximalism
32:38 Responsibility & Roles
43:39 Tribes, Decentralization, Utility
53:10 Profit Maximalism
1:01:31 Staking & Incentives
1:10:42 Wins and Losses
1:19:20 Crypto Brain & Culture
1:28:45 Wealth & Purpose
1:36:18 Chaotic Good & UpOnly
1:39:58 Judging Others
1:54:00 Bullish or Bearish in 2022
2:00:42 Closing & Disclaimers

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Resources:

Cobie on Twitter
https://twitter.com/cobie?s=20
UpOnly
https://uponly.tv/
Cobie’s Newsletter
https://cobie.substack.com/

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Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.

Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here:
https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/bankless-disclosures

Because if you spent the last 18 months actively trading and investing, and you could have just held Ethereum, then it's like you just wasted your day.

It could have been outside having a nice time with the sun.

Welcome to Bankless, where we explore the frontier of internet money and internet finance.

This is how to get started, how to get better, and how to front run the opportunity.

This is Ryan Sean Adams, and I'm here with David Hoffman, and we're here to help you become more bankless.

We get inside the brain of a crypto trader.

1 of my favorites on crypto Twitter, this is Kobe coming at you.

We talk about a few things, watch out for them.

5, what it takes to last in crypto, not for the short run, but for the long term.

Second, does decentralization really matter?

We need a conversation, perhaps a bit of a debate on that topic.

Third, what does Kobe actually think about bankless and his thesis?

Fourth, we do a fun exercise like character alignment.

People in the crypto space, are they lawful good?

And number 5, we end with outlook and predictions for 2022.

Is it going to be a bullish or bearish year?

Yeah, I think calling Kobe a trader is underselling him.

And I think if you ask Kobe what he is, he would also undersell himself too.

I think that's kind of part of his character.

He's definitely a part philosopher, I think.

He's a trader philosopher type, if you will.

And there's a dynamic, a pendulum back and forth, I think, where like, oh, he's in trader mode or philosopher mode.

And I think that's 1 of Kobe's great strengths is he can trade on, he uses philosophy to trade and it's definitely worked out for him.

And overall, he just has very long form answers, in depth answers that pull in so many different bits of knowledge from different corners of the crypto world to provide evidence for his answer.

And it's just an impressive feat of brainpower, I think.

And so I just enjoyed picking Kobe's brain as somebody that a lot of people look up to in this space for just leadership and just an example of how to survive in crypto.

I think if there's anyone that's survived through the biggest slog, it's Kobe.

He's still around kicking, just kicking ass.

And maybe he's around for another decade after this, who knows?

Look, that's another good episode title, How to Survive in Crypto, because that's really what we went through.

I think that was a key insight for me too.

Kobe does have a tremendous amount of depth.

Though we called him trader, he's a trader in the outset.

He definitely narrative trades in a way that you and I don't, but he also has a long-term thesis for this space.

And so it was really cool to see him push against our theses and challenge some of our ideas.

And there's some fantastic back and forth there about the value of decentralization, how much that really matters, both from an investment perspective, but also from the future of what we're really building in crypto.

Of course, as usual, if you're a Bankless Premium member, David and I will be talking, doing a full episode debrief of all of our thoughts on the episode that is available on the premium podcast feed.

So if you're a premium member, you can tap into that as well.

All right, guys, this was a really fun conversation.

I think you guys are going to enjoy this 1.

Some people said that Kobe would never show up on Bankless yet.

So let's go ahead and get right into that interview right after we talk about some of these fantastic sponsors that make the show possible.

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Trading on Matcha is super easy because it pools the liquidity for me in a single, easy-to-use platform and allows me to make limit on-chain orders, so you can set and forget your DeFi trades and they will go through automatically while you're away.

So when you're making a trade, head over to matcha.xyz.com and connect your wallet to start getting the best prices and most liquidity when you trade your crypto assets.

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Thank you, Uniswap, for sponsoring Bankless.

Bankless Nation, we are super excited to introduce our next guest.

It's the guest you thought would never happen is now happening.

We've got Kobe on the podcast, formerly known as Crypto Kobain.

Maybe you listened to Up Only, which is his podcast.

He's been in the game, the crypto game that is since 2022.

We're going to talk about what he's done since 2022, his philosophy on things, any beefs with Bankless he might have.

We're just going to talk about whatever comes to mind.

I trolled you on Twitter before I joined, sorry.

I just like to create entertainment for people.

So, Koby, before Twitter, I was like, hey, we're having Koby record on the podcast.

And he's like, I'm going to be at the beach, guys.

And for a split second, I was like, OK, I don't know if he's coming or not, David, but it's just Kobe.

entirety of crypto Twitter has got a handshake agreement that we're all continually being mean to each other as a joke.

But I've recently realized some people don't realize it's a joke.

Some people just don't just don't see that they see the Twitter and then it's oh that's just them being toxic.

Why are they always so toxic all the time and then they don't realize that like oh we're just shitposting having a good time.

I do think it though it's it's look it's It's a rough game out there.

I mean, surviving in crypto takes a lot, right?

And you've been at this game for like, what, is it like 10 years now, Kobe?

Yeah, like a little bit less, I think, but it's getting to the point where you may as well just say 10.

I'm talking about like crypto Twitter You know pain I'm talking about, you know, very Everything everything comes in this industry dealing with idiots Dealing with everything you have to deal with the information Like flood into your mind every single day you go you miss an hour in crypto And it feels like you miss an entire week all of that.

Yeah, I mean the the idiot thing that was not problem 5 years ago I think that like the politicization of everything over the last decade has 10x'd probably 3 times.

Like, Twitter used to be, I'd never thought about using the block button, but like now the experience is virtually unusable unless you press it a few times a day.

But crypto specifically, I think when people ask this question, it's very easy to, to like, use this like sort of hindsight bias and we're like, oh, well, I did this and I thought this about the world and blah, blah, blah.

You know, that photo of a plane, an old war plane that they used to like try and figure out where they should reinforce the armor so that the planes would survive longer.

And then they were putting the armor in the wrong place because the only, only planes that came back with the ones that survived and they go, well, we need to reinforce where they're getting hit.

And you can like, think about like, I can think all these things like, oh, what did I do differently to other people?

Or like, what did I have in my character that meant I could survive?

I think it's more useful to observe all the people I know from that time that didn't get to this point in the market and went and did other things.

Some of them very successful other things and some just left the markets entirely.

And then the people that did from my cohort or graduation class or whatever.

I think the first thing was that most people that survived through the markets have or had is like a healthy balance of skepticism and like curiosity because it's really easy to poke holes in everything, right?

I can tell you a million reasons why Bitcoin could probably fail, Ethereum's not gonna do well, why Solana's like fucked and stuff.

It's really easy to come up with those things.

It's also really easy to turn something into like a religious sort of group and be like, I'm so convicted on this thing, I'll, you know, this is going to...

And then you disregard everything or criticism as like, FUD or, you know, whatever.

And I think the people that did really well and made it through multiple cycles of it going to infinity and then going to 0 over and over, were somewhere in the middle where they were able to think really skeptically and say, okay, what could go wrong here?

What are the things that might invalidate why I believe in this thing.

But at the same time, they were able to be optimistically curious enough to go, okay, maybe I'm a natural skeptic and these things might happen and that's all bad.

And yeah, like these are the things that could go wrong.

But also on the other hand, if the world changes in these ways, how can it be different in the future?

And I think those people were the ones that saw past Mount Gox dying and the centralized exchanges blowing up and seeing, okay, does this matter in the bigger picture?

Like, maybe it matters today, maybe it matters for the next 2 years, but maybe not in 10 years.

See all Bankless transcripts on Youtube

100 - How to Survive in Crypto | Cobie