Welcome to the Daily Debrief, where I just found a new font called Comic Sans and it is very funny indeed.
Our stuff
Go! Go! goTenna. Stacie Waleyko, Decrypt’s answer to legendary tech reviewer Walt Mossberg, writes a comprehensive and readable review of the extremely cool gadget known as the goTenna Mesh. These little gizmos, when connected over low-power radio frequency, can create mesh communications networks for all sorts of things, ranging from intercom systems while camping to emergency broadcast networks. Read it here.
XRP for Thee. Our man Timbo chums the waters and starts a feeding frenzy over his Ripple/XRP item today, in which he puts together a credible list of the dozen companies that are using (or simply testing) xRapid, a cross-border payments system that relies exclusively on XRP. This is important for a number of reasons: Ripple is hoping to use XRP to displace SWIFT, which rules the international payments biz; and also, the more XRP people use, the higher its price goes. Good on you, Timbo! Read his piece here.
Weird Things to Buy With Bitcoin. Not content to single-handedly account for half of Decrypt’s monthly traffic, Timothy has also compiled a massive list of online and meatspace stores that accept Bitcoin in lieu of fiat currency, and all the weird stuff you can spend it on. From creepy blockchain toys, to action figures that look like you, the Timinator has built out a comprehensive guide to where to spend Bitcoin. Please read it here so he can go home and get some rest.
Vlad the Inhaler. Even prodigal son Ben M deigned to do some work today: Vlad Zamfir, a core Ethereum developer, admitted that he is sharing his spécialité on Proof of Stake, with CasperLabs—for money! Casper is something of a rival to Ethereum so his long-rumored defection was at last confirmed. I chatted with Zamfir, 1:1, after his press conference in midtown Manhattan. Because I am a real reporter. READ IT HERE
Other stuff
Another day, another prediction market. The Helena Network just went live on Ethereum’s Mainnet.
Magic: The Gathering. Pope Vitalk Buterin I was smitten with this Medium post, which identifies a variety of personality types by deconstructing MtG’s “color wheel.” It has nothing to do with crypto, except perhaps how different types of humans interact with each other and achieve (or don’t) consensus. And yet, it is worth a read.
NCIS: Canada. Super interesting thread by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong on Canadian embarrassment QuadrigaCX. His analysis: This was not an “exit scam” but instead mismanagement.
Written by Ben M, who is in New York through Sunday night, so it's your last chance to chase him. If you catch him, he will lead you to his pot of gold. Email him for his whereabouts at ben@decryptmedia.com