He created the Bitcoin mixer Helix, which obfuscates the origin of the cryptocurrency. The DOJ considers this a “money transmitting and money laundering business.” This major potential precedent could (should?) drive more U.S. developers to build anonymously. | learn more
Written jointly by Bill and Melinda Gates: “Why we swing for the fences.” | learn more
This article hit me hard because it touches on many themes I’ve considered lately. Like many immigrants, I was raised by a whole community in addition to my parents, benefiting me greatly. Isolating our kids from that type of community […]
“The discovery of the CPR [Candidate Phyla Radiation] superphylum was (and remains) one of the most remarkable developments in our growing realization that the genetic diversity of the microbial world is unimaginably vast.” It’s thought to contain a quarter of […]
This is a must-read for anyone with an interest in science who doesn’t already know all the gory details of its troubles. “This week, here are three intertwined stories about positional scarcity from this strange world: 1. How an “indentured […]
Matt Rutledge is not thrilled with the direction Woot.com has gone since its acquisition by Amazon in 2010. He decided (as of 2013, but I just learned about it) to start retailing his way once again. | learn more
Written by Alex Iskold of 2048 Ventures, one of my favorite writers in early-stage tech. “Even the best companies that build products that early customers want need to carefully think through how to acquire more customers. Just throwing money at […]
Late last year, finance forums had an uptick in people trying to figure out how to lose money. Why? They wanted to get below the income threshold for health insurance subsidy. Dan Luu’s post offers more details a handful of […]
Productivity software (e.g. Dropbox) and collaboration software (e.g. Slack) have long been separated. This post discusses how the next step in software combines the two, “and why the Slack of Gaming may be Discord but the Discord for Enterprise is […]
He’s jumped on the fractional ownership of collectibles bandwagon via their portfolio company Otis. A couple years ago I bought 1% of a 1985 Ferrari Testarossa on Rally, marking probably the first and last time I beat Fred Wilson to early adoption […]