# CSX: Week 4 Notes

**Published by:** [Jayme Hoffman](https://newsletter.jaymehoffman.com/)
**Published on:** 2024-04-28
**Categories:** csx
**URL:** https://newsletter.jaymehoffman.com/csx-week-4-notes

## Content

Here are my notes from Week 4 of a16z Crypto's CSX. This week, which focused on research and engineering, included talks and breakout sessions on incentives, ZK, layer 2s, and security testing. It was one of my favorites and the most impactful week so far! Talk(s): Tim Roughgarden And The Research TeamThe a16z Crypto research teamReleases major papers multiple times a yearCollaborates with a16z Crypto portCosHelp them succeedoffice hours - what are the hurdles?another set of eyes on a designSometimes deeply influences product/protocolHelping portCos in an immature field is a competitive advantage — “18mo advanced notice on important papers to write by talking to founders.”Scott Komiers - Farcaster / TwitterExcited about consumer cryptoMarket designeconomics - how does the world workmarket design - how should the world workDesign incentives in the system to shift or change behaviorDropping tokensThink really hard about the users that are most valuable and the ones that are going to build with you — “Who are going to Invest to grow the ecosystem?“ - ScottYou cant black-box the blockchaincomputer in the sky, anyone can use and shareThe source of competitive advantage has changedWeb2Platform lock-inHold everything in this enclosureBecome extractive over time (ads, charge more)Web3Break out of itWeb3 breaks a lot of itData to be individually ownedFive forces of web3The source gets stronger when you have interoperabilityValue capture in traditional form is more difficultNetwork effect forms around Protocol and digital assetsEmbeddedness becomes a source of competitive advantagedifficult for anyone to disintermediatevalue capture = small feesCommunity cohesionWant to engage in your ecosystemShared ownership is a powerful loopOn FarcasterFarcaster gives users a very powerful form of ownershipUsers own their identityThey can use it and any value built up across any clientThis is absent in web2Places limits on how extractive any one client can beUsers can switch to SupercastUsers have more powerFarcaster did very well curating the early supply of usersReason to do additional work for creatorsThey have to do a lot of work to investThey have a higher activation costEarly platforms have to subsidize creatorsOn cryptographyThere’s always something exciting in cryptography“Cryptography is resolving this physical paradox in the universe — kinda mind-blowing cryptography thinks about this” - Valeria Nikolaenko10 years is the median time for cryptography papers to become a realityRely on hardware to become practicalSnarksClose to crossing the threshold to where they’re much more usefulCrossing a performance and usability thresholdMore cryptography is better“Richer the toolkit, the better. The more tools we have, the more free we are.” - ValeriaOur privacy toolkit is very poorData is leaked all the timeMPC you can shift it aroundHow to nerd swipe cryptographersAsk, “when will quantum computers arrive”Very many decades away from being here — Very far from a cryptographically relevant quantum computerJoke in cryptography: “Quantum computers are always ten years away”Progress is very slow nowOnce scaleable tech, it can grow exponentially fastMaybe it will take another military conflict to motivate people to work on it - the US and China being a little afraid of each other helpsThinking that problems are simple is good because it will attract more people to work on themSession: Incentives and Market DesignBreaking down a system (Titles.xyz examples)What are the …ComponentsFlowsObjectives with incentivesWays we acquire usersPuzzles thinking overNote: Titles is cool, and Soren and Parker are great ✨Marquee usersGood for pulling in other users and creatorsI.E., if Optimism is using, another chain will want toAt scale, marquee users get a lot from the platformHave a different strategy for recruiting different types of usersOn feesEasier to wrap a transaction fee when a transaction is already happeningAirbnb adds value at the time of the transaction (fee model) vs. the moment of access (subscription model)Fees on spamMinimal fee for anti-spamCan kick back the first time there's a mintPay to create a modelLinks that came upFiidsFiids is like a Hootsuite or Tweetdeck for Farcaster and web3 social. IMO, it’s the most powerful desktop client. DM Tiago for an invite.FarconFarcon, a multi-day conference in Venice Beach, CA, is like Woodstock for Farcaster. The event is sold out, but you can find a list of side events here, including Far(away)Con, our London satellite event.SpindlSindl is a suite of attribution products for Web3 companies. Its founder, Antonio García Martínez, writes an incredible blog on Web3 attribution and growth (h/t Eddy Lazzarin).Story ProtocolStory Protocol is building a protocol and universal ledger for IP. They have a bold and beautiful vision outlined here (h/t Jason Rosenthal).Gurley on ILTBThere’s a great new Invest Like the Best podcast with Bill Gurley and Michael Mauboussin (h/t maks).Launcher Labs ProgressReboard and follow boards - Farcaster / TwitterShoes of CSX - Shoes of CSX is a work-in-progress Frameboard highlighting the great shoes and founders in a16z Crypto’s CSX.We made great progress on the protocol and onchain side of Frameboard — excited to share more soon 🖼🛹⛓

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