Investing in the Future of Web 3.0

Relay Chain

How do you place a value on a more open, transparent, and representative web? What will be the true impact of blockchain technology and what motivates VC investments in the space?

In this episode, Joe Petrowski (Research Analyst, Parity) talks with Jasmine Zhang of IOSG Ventures, an early-stage venture fund investing in the blockchain space. They discuss the future of web 3.0, the impact that open finance and prediction markets will have on society, the potential impact of Polkadot and Substrate, and the broader blockchain investment scenario.

Links:
IOSG Website
IOSG on Twitter
Jasmine Zhang: [e-mail]

Highlights:
01:25 - Why invest in web3.0?
04:26 - How can web 3.0 fit into web 2.0 business models?
10:00 - How blockchain applications will democratize finance
13:06 - How prediction markets will influence society
24:33 - How do you determine the valuation of a protocol?
29:20 - Value of Substrate
31:11 - Why come from China to Berlin for investment?

Key Quotes:

“[Web 2.0] definitely brings more convenience to our daily life, and you feel like you cannot really live without these applications. On the other hand you also feel like, at the end of the day, they’re all platforms. And platforms create value by connecting the service providers and the end users. But they also try to maximize their profit and can one day expand their commission fees from the two sides. You’re kind of taken advantage of by them in a certain way. They sell at you into every part of your life and then they become super huge, they become like giants—more money, more data, more capital that is generated by us, the end users. And they they can use all of these resources to keep building their monopoly.”

“Web 3 is a new way, more personalized way that you share your data. To be your own boss of your data. So you have ownership of your data. Is going to be more open, more transparent, and more fair.”

“A centralized authority will never beat the efficiency of a decentralized economy. Because knowledge is unevenly dispersed among the whole of humanity. Only if you can combine them can you have a better decision to be made.”

Special Guest: Jasmine Zhang.