Welcome back to another comprehensive and informative episode in this limited series of the Rational Reminder Podcast, a weekly reality check about the world of cryptocurrencies. We are lucky to have another respected figure in the crypto world on our show, technology veteran Tim O’Reilly. Tim is a well-known educator and publisher in the crypto community and the Founder, CEO, and Chairman of O’Reilly Media. He has been involved in the technology industry since the inception and rise of Silicon Valley and, with over 35 years of industry experience, he is known for popularizing the terms ‘open-source software’ For this week’s episode, we are revisiting a portion of our conversation with the legendary Professor Campbell R. Harvey and and his more optimistic viewpoint on the crypto space. Campbell is the Professor of International Business at Duke University and is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. In 2016 he served as the President of the American Finance Association, and from 2006 to 2012 he occupied the incredibly demanding role of Editor for the Journal of Finance. We hear about Campbell’s latest book DeFi and the Future of Finance along with his most recent research. Discover how Campbell first became interested in the topic several years ago and decided to put together a course for his students. We also delve into the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) and how we can expect it to shape global finance, trading, and the future of the internet.

Key Points From This Episode:

What Tim’s definition of a technology unicorn is. [0:03:07]
The problems that Web3 could solve and what makes a product innovative. [0:04:39]
Differences between companies that survived the .com bust and those that did not. [0:11:05]
Whether Tim thinks there are promising projects in the crypto or Web3 space. [0:18:36]
How society would change if Web3 became the new normal. [0:22:19]
Examples of the applications blockchain technology could have for record-keeping. [0:24:36]
Tim shares his thought son whether or not we need blockchain technology for aspects where the state is involved. [0:27:24]
Ways in which the evolution of crypto has changed Tim’s mental map of the future. [0:31:37]
The role public blockchains could play in breaking the recentralization trend in decentralized technologies. [0:35:02]
Tim tells us if he thinks centralization is a bad thing. [0:37:15]
Past mistakes and innovation within the tech industry. [0:41:39]
Tim’s opinion on the support of Web3 from venture capitalists. [0:44:02]
Whether or not building technology outside of the government’s reach is the right way to improve society. [0:46:46]
Advice Tim has for those who are looking to get rich from cryptocurrencies. [0:50:35]