#25 Bitcoin ETF approved, now what? (Click here to find out...)

Welcome to?Edition #25 of 'This Week in Web3' - an all-in-one source for the most interesting Blockchain, Web3 and Metaverse content on LinkedIn, as curated by me! If you didn't catch these awesome posts, here's a quick recap...

????♂? What Happens Now Bitcoin Has An ETF?...

The Bitcoin ETF was finally approved by the SEC. And it was so good, they had to announce it twice! This week's Friday Poll looked into the LinkedIn community's view on the implications of the ETF for the wider Web3...

Bitcoin as a peer to peer, decentralised technology for transfer of value didn’t really NEED an ETF, in the same way your baby doesn’t really NEED diapers… It’s just sometimes less messy that way...

So we’re going to see institutions and individuals starting to ask for exposure to Bitcoin as part of their long term financial planning. Cool. Then what? Bitcoin has often been the crypto of choice for OG Web3 folk, so high bitcoin prices often help fund investment in other Web3 projects. So there may be a positive impact there.

Or this week’s events may just be a big pile of ‘meh’ in the grand scheme of the future of Web3, Blockchain and Crypto… But I have a sneaking suspicion it’s not going to be that simple… Check out the full post and comments here.

?? Why Do Institutional Investors Care About Bitcoin?

The Bitcoin ETF is LIVE! But why should you, banks, institutions or anyone care? This week's viral report from Cointelegraph Research covers A LOT of the context...

Everyone is losing their minds about what the SEC's approval of a Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund) means for the future of Blockchain and Crypto. And rightly so... ETFs allow a regulated way for investors to get exposure to Bitcoin as part of their portfolio... 'Just buy it yourself! You don't need an ETF to hold Bitcoin' they say... and they're right.

One the other hand, large funds and institutional investors manage their investments differently, want to work with the big asset managers in a certain way, are regulated in a certain way, and probably don't want the hassle of self-custodying crypto. But they do like the look of crypto and tokenised products as asset classes.

This reports is a 128-page BEAST that covers a lot of the investment case for Bitcoin, as well as detailed analysis of why institutional investors should care. Not an institution? No worries, the analysis is still valid for individuals, and also provides important market context, including:

- The role of Bitcoin in a portfolio

- Risk management and portfolio management theory

- Trading value chain for Bitcoin

- Custodians that work with Bitcoin

- Market Makers

- Bitcoin's use cases (no, seriously!)

- Survey of Bitcoin acceptance for payments

- Challenges for Bitcoin (ESG, custody, volatility, monetary policy, etc.)

- Bitcoin's roadmap for innovationAnd much more..

It would be impossible to come out of the other end of this report and NOT know more about Bitcoin. As always, this is not investment advice, always Do Your Own Research (DYOR)... Which could start here!

?? A New Batch of Blockchain Top Voices is Born!

LinkedIn reached out to me in 2021 to say 'Would you like to be recognised as a Top Voice on our platform?' I thought it was a joke. Or a scam. At least not real...

It's not something I'd set for myself as a goal, and frankly the people I was following with Top Voice badges (e.g. the amazing Allie K. Miller) had always felt to me to be on a different stratosphere in terms of content, impact and influence... That's not me...

Back then, I had no one coaching me, I was just putting out content about Blockchain, Crypto, Web3 because I was passionate about the technology, and very few people on this platform were saying anything coherent about it. But things are different now... Web3 is different. LinkedIn is different. And the content available to people who want to learn from objective experts with legitimate roles in Web3 companies (not shillers on X or YouTube) is being regularly brought to bear on LinkedIn.

So I want to help celebrate this year's cohort of Web3 'Top Voices' - I love what each of you are doing. Your own flavours, your own angles, always with integrity and a desire to educate and inspire. Huge shout goes out to:

????♂? Keir Finlow-Bates

?? Mathew Sweezey

?? Aram Mughalyan

?? Jamie Parmenter

?? And one more that I can't celebrate (yet) but who has been CRUSHING it out here for a long time, and is overdue some recognition.

If you're not already connected to these legends, hit that 'Follow' RIGHT NOW, and turn on notifications (??) because they're putting out some of the best of LinkedIn on a daily basis. Check out some other community recommendations for who to follow when it comes to Web3 here.

?? If There's One Thing To Think About With Blockchain, It's This...

If there's ONE THING I want people to realise about Web3, and the future of Blockchain and Crypto, it's this...

This is the final video from the Blockwall summit, where Dominic Briggs and David Shrier joined me for a ranging discussion on how Blockchain and the Metaverse can make a meaningful impact on the world... And a little bit of AI sprinkled in there too...

This video shows our 'one thing' where we talk about the single concept that most people need to (and possible don't already) understand about Web3, and for me, it's this: 'The basic rules of digital transformation apply to Blockchain in the same way it does with every other technology... If you want to see adoption, you need to consider the rationale, cost and benefit of the transformation. Not blindly follow hype and 'could do' statements...'

Blockchain and Crypto democratises a number of things (e.g. infrastructure, investment, transfer of value) so we can see Blockchain-native businesses grow faster and unencumbered... However, for traditional enterprises the traditional rules of business cases, process and technology change still apply.

And what makes things harder is that it's not just a simple 'swap in / swap out' with legacy technology, as working in Web3 requires to business to think in terms of community, collaboration, and shared incentives in a way that traditional capitalism rarely creates. So you have a business model change that's required at the same time... Not simple. That's not to say Blockchain and enterprise can't work together, but the criteria for their success are not obvious to most... Still...

Check out the video and other community members' 'one thing' here.

?? Web Tree

Do you want to make money in Web3?... Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has a helpful decision tree for you. Although there are some issues...

Decision trees are risky business, as they assume to contain all (major) choices into a series of binaries, from which leaders can then make a simple selection. However, strategy is often not that simple. Technology choices even less so!

But let's explore this one for a minute, as the community's comments on decision trees have always been valuable in the past. Here are some considerations / critiques from my side:

- Starting with 'make money' vs. 'just experiment' is a bold start, but ultimately just leads you to a choice you've already made. A little clickbaity...

- Calling out the 1-to-many or ecosystem nature of Web3 technologies early is important. This is a technology for networks or parties. However, that there are efficient marketplaces today doesn't preclude there being opportunities with Web3 tech: just look at Crypto ETFs and Real World Asset tokenisation for proofs that this isn't a 'dead end'

- There are helpful prompts towards supply chain, creator economies and creating secondary markets, which are on-point for Web3 use cases (although there are more)

- Finally, I like that they call out ±30% improvement in one of the tracks, and here why:

Making use of Blockchain, Crypto and wider Web3 architectures requires both a technical and 'philosophical' (structural) change to the way businesses or their workflows are architected. This is a lot of change for most organisations to consume. If there isn't a 'step change' (in my Deloitte / IBM days, I would say $5m+ benefit for enterprises) benefit, the cost of change will kill the project.

This may be why we've seen a lot of the early use cases being led by pioneers rather than traditional 'business folk', but then, isn't that always the way with emerging technologies?...

Check out the full post and community comments here.

4?? Season 4 of the Blockchain Won't Save the World Podcast Is Here... Featuring Charles Hoskinson!

Season 4 of BWSTW kicked off with something HUGE! Charles Hoskinson's first ever LinkedIn Live...

Charles shaped the direction of some of the biggest Blockchain projects in the world, including Ethereum , Cardano, and now Midnight. So you'll want to hear what he has to say...

He is recognised as one of the leading thinkers when it comes to Web3, but is also the founder of a number of non-Blockchain businesses making use of disruptive technologies, so he brings a broad commercial perspective He also knows what it takes to scale Blockchain and Crypto ecosystems, from the code, to the community, to regulation and engaging with market intermediaries.

In this show we talk about the path ahead for Blockchain technologies for further enter the mainstream, including:

- What Charles has learned about adoption from his years with Cardano

- The imperatives for further use of decentralised technologies

- The main use cases where Blockchains can drive meaningful change

- His vision for Midnight, and where a data protection Blockchain succeed where others have so far failed

- Advice for enterprises and governments looking to engage with Web3, Blockchain & Dapps

And much much more. It will be out on podcast next weekend, but in the meantime, you can rewatch the LinkedIn Live here.

Midnight is hiring for some critically important and exciting roles, and YOU could be the perfect fit. We have had many applications, but still didn't find someone with the right fit of knowledge, experience and creativity...

Here are the two urgent roles we're looking to fill right now:

Role 1: Product Owner

This is an exciting, cross-functional role, where you’ll be responsible for designing and delivering product features that cater to a variety of audiences, and drive the next generation of Blockchain apps, powered by Zero Knowledge technology.

You’ll be involved from research to design, from strategy to execution, and responsible for prioritising features, defining work packages, elaborating acceptance criteria, and supporting architecture, engineering, quality assurance, and more.

Click here for more details, or click here to apply.

Role 2: Product Marketing Manager

This is a highly visible, cross-functional role, where you’ll be responsible for designing and delivering campaigns that engage Web2 and Web3 audiences, and drive adoption and growth of the Midnight community.

You’ll be involved from ideation through go-to-market and responsible for product launches, messaging and positioning, competitive analysis, persona development, supporting virtual and in-person events, and more.

Click here for more details, or click here to apply.

Also, check out all the open roles (technical and non-technical) across Midnight and Input Output (IOHK) by clicking here.

My LinkedIn Profile (Go click the ?? icon and turn notifications on!)

Blockchain Won't Save the World Podcast

RightClickSaveTheWorld Podcast

5-Hour Blockchain Growth Training with Blockchain Training Alliance

30-Min Short Course: Getting a Job in Web3 with LinkedIn Learning

?? And finally, no matter what the crypto markets throw at you this year, Diego Borgo ?? is here to remind you: