Episode 79 Designing a Sustainable Token Economy

Episode 79: Designing a Sustainable Token Economy

Episode 79

Designing a Sustainable Token Economy

Gary Coover is the Chief Operating Officer of Superlayer. We cover why Gary advocates “Burying the Rails”, what went wrong in the industry over the past 2 years, and Superlayer’s attempts to build an economically sustainable and inflation-resistant token.

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(00:02:05) - (First question) - Things he got wrong while trying to launch his new business

(00:03:57) - His view on NBATopShots as an inflation failure versus a crypto failure

(00:06:18) - How his businesses differ from previously attempted token based companies 

(00:10:20) - Determining whether a founders business in capable of tokenization

(00:12:24) - He tells us why a token is necessary for these businesses to be successful

(00:14:22) - Examples of returning value to the wrong group of people

(00:19:02) - He explains how users pay for content on the platform

(00:20:03) - Using tokens for in platform purchases instead of centralized currency

(00:21:48) - How the inflation economics work behind the token model

(00:23:28) - Handling content on the platform that is deemed illegal or unethical 

(00:25:10) - Developing trust with creators that feel jaded from the past 

(00:27:30) - How he sees the business developing from a tokenless model to one with tokens

(00:29:16) - How he approaches building the right tokenized economic structure

(00:31:11) - The ability to charge by preference in either tokens or dollars

(00:33:28) - Pros and cons of not having control over market volatility 

(00:35:19) - Which of his companies are currently using token based currency

(00:38:18) - A look back at things he is proud he got right and still believes in

(00:40:58) - What he sees in the space today that gets him excited

(00:42:41) - What he is most excited to build over the next six months and six years

Designing a Sustainable Token Economy

Introduction

Eric
This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Gary Coover. Gary spent 8 years building Samsung’s innovation arm, Samsung Next, before he was drawn into the Web3 world. Today, he is the Chief Operating Officer of Superlayer, a venture studio focused on building Crypto startups.

We start this conversation by analyzing what went wrong in the industry over the past 2 years and why Gary advocates burying the rails. We then talk about Superlayer's attempt to build an economically sustainable and inflation-resistant token model within their products, Hotline and Trophy. Please enjoy my conversation with Gary Coover.

Where Crypto went Wrong

Eric
Gary, in 2021, Web3 was the word. I don't know if it was the word of the year, but everybody was talking about it, everyone had high ambitions of it could solve the world's problems for creators, for artists, for connecting people. And clearly, in hindsight, it was a bubble and a lot of people when a new technology starts to gain adoption, people get ahead of themselves. So I'm curious from your time from starting Superlayer, going back on it, I'm sure you've done a lot of reflection, what were the things that you got most wrong as you tried to launch your new business?

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