In May 2022, Terra UST crashed, which led to a push for crypto regulation. “UST is an algorithmic stablecoin mainly backed by its sister cryptocurrency, LUNA, but was also backed by bitcoin. Founder Do Kwon previously told TechCrunch that plans were in place to back it with other cryptocurrencies over time. It’s unclear if that road map is still in place for UST as it tries to recover from its downfall,” Jacquelyn wrote. To regain the trust of traders and holders, the next move would be regulation … right?
Making sense of OpenSea at a $13B valuation
At the start of 2022, OpenSea raised a $300 million round at a $13.3 billion valuation. Alex did a deep dive to figure out how the new (in January 2022) OpenSea valuation squared up with its revenues. You can follow along with Alex’s collection of data and computations to determine whether the company is underpriced or overpriced.In the pitch video above, Davies plays one of the most powerful cards known to storytelling: Make a story hit close to home. It’s easier to encourage your audience to empathize with a single family who has lost their four-year-old son in a hail of bullets than it is to spur them to absorb the tragedy that 3,500 children have died in a conflict.
“I have six daughters, and two sons. Applying these same statistics to my family, one of my sons and two of my daughters will get some form of cancer in their lifetime. And another personal note, my father got cancer at the age of 47,” he says, drawing us into the narrative. “That was scary. My wife’s father got cancer in his early 70s. And my grandfather died from cancer. I’m guessing that you probably know someone that has cancer, too. This is a disease that truly affects all of us.”
I would argue that perhaps the company is laying it on a bit thick — there’s a thin line between rousing storytelling and emotional manipulation — but it’s refreshing to see someone who isn’t afraid to really go into the story. Very well done.