Six years later, my last day at Galaxy, and stepping down from GP at Galaxy Interactive. Thankful to Novo, my GI partner and brother forever in Sam Englebardt, the effervescent Michael Fan and the entire GD/GI crew. 

Infinitely grateful for what has been, and exceedingly expectant for what is to come....

Founder @ Zero Edge
Prev: Galaxy Interactive, GS, JPM, Cleary, CLS 

My dad had me when he was 44, and his message to me was that whatever I did in life, I had to do it quickly. And so I went to university at 14, law school at 18, and have been working professionally since 21.

But for every step forward I ever took in life, inside I took two steps backward. As success grew, so did the stakes. Like a cat with nine lives, I managed to pull my way out of the morass every time, but I finally came to the realization that the perpetual martingale would destroy me permanently one day.

Risk was eating me from within. I needed to find a better way. Now at 38, I've lived long enough to know that when presented the chance to fulfill one's life mission, it's a path one must take, no matter the cost....

Especially now that I have a chance to turn my infinite darkness into the ultimate edge.

I have been in crypto full time since 2018. Every year, we talk about mainstream consumer adoption as if it’s just around the corner. To me, we are further away than ever before.

I have been in crypto full time since 2018. Every year, we talk about mainstream consumer adoption as if it’s just around the corner. To me, we are further away than ever before.

https://twitter.com/KeyboardMonkey3/status/1503498043785728001

The problem is cultural. For all the talk about how crypto is a generational byproduct of financial nihilism, it is ironic that up only, memelord, iykyk crypto culture is perpetuating the same thing.

For all the pumps, farms, and L1/L2s that are making a select few hilariously rich, the rest of us are struggling harder than ever before. And for newcomers, forget about it, the space is as daunting as it’s ever been.

"Less bubble-ish. But I believe those wishes will be left ungranted. At least this cycle. There’s good reason to think this market is going to shitcoin harder than ever this cycle. That there will be an even greater “Lack of Pretense That Any of This Shit Does Anything or Will Ever Do Anything."

Call me naive, but I don’t believe it has to be this way. The future is warm crypto, and it is my life’s mission to make the entire world see it:

“Not money, but energy. Not exclusive, but inclusive. Not scarce, but abundant. Not isolating, but connected. Not trustless, but trusted. Not anonymous, but known. Not zero sum, but positive sum. Not ngmi, but wagmi. Not cold, but warm.”

“Not money, but energy. Not exclusive, but inclusive. Not scarce, but abundant. Not isolating, but connected. Not trustless, but trusted. Not anonymous, but known. Not zero sum, but positive sum. Not ngmi, but wagmi. Not cold, but warm.”
https://galaxyrtk.substack.com/p/warm-crypto

I have zero interest in propagating “cold crypto copypasta”, a rigged game where the rich only get richer, and the early cash out from the largesse of the late. Fleeting vanity metrics like TVL and transaction count are meaningless.

Rather, my mission is to launch a radically sustainable experiment in community economics that proves that “bettors can be better together”.

To achieve this, we will need to develop (i) a sybil-resistant, continuously flowing token distribution model, (ii) a free to play onboarding experience (no tokens required for gas or play), (iii) a compelling betting core loop and viral memetics...

(iv) a long-term sustainable economy with organic payer demand, and (v) a community grounded in values of abundance and long term cooperation, not scarcity and scheming.

Betting games are one of the only mechanics in an open economy that can sustainably drive organic payer demand. However, traditional casino models don’t work, because they pit the interests of the house against its players, which is the opposite of what web3 incentive models are supposed to accomplish.

Casinos end up wrecking their community before “community” can ever form. To destroy the house, we must build one without it, then return it to the community.

This is Zero Edge: a digital co-op for lighthearted social stakes.

Digital Co-op: an on-chain community fully owned by its members–rooted in values of sustainability over profit and abundance over scarcity–radiating viral memetics and better together vibes

Lighthearted Social Stakes: revolving around accessible experiences designed to spark joy and laughter, leveraging casino-style core loops with social twists that transform “games of luck” into “game theory”

Traditional casino games are solo, PvE experiences designed to immerse and isolate players into an alternate reality to distract attention away from the inevitably losing battle of bankroll vs. time.

From a social justice perspective, my broader vision is to create chicken soup for the bettor’s soul. Against the backdrop of radical short termism across the crypto casino, our mission is to transform finite games into infinite ones: cooperative markets, social gameplay, mass accessibility and trustless design.

As a direct result of predatory mechanisms designed to isolate and confuse, millions of individuals are suffering from hopeless addictions leading to gamblers’ ruin.

As with the tobacco industry, there is a narrative of personal responsibility that the casino industry has cultivated to redirect the blame back to the bettor, while cultivating a misleading narrative of winning through paid influencers.

People love to gamble, and if not provided a healthy outlet for their proclivities, they will turn to darker outlets. Our approach is to accept human nature for what it is, and build a better mousetrap: remove the poison of house edge, socialize the downside and the upside, and make betting better together.

For such crazy ambitions, you can probably count on one hand the number of people who have the specific knowledge, experience and resolve to build a 100% ecosystem owned digital co-op for social stakes without getting into trouble.

Somehow that strange mix of law, markets, finance, crypto, gaming and gambling all culminated in this moment, this opportunity, and this realization:

We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one. ~ Confucius

Travis Kling writes: “You can wish the crypto market would be more sound-minded. More sober. More focused on providing solutions to real problems. More rooted in reasonable valuation methodologies."