Could Sam Altman's World Overtake Bitcoin? | Markets Daily

Summary

Markets Daily Crypto Roundup: Could Sam Altman's World Overtake Bitcoin?

Episode Release Date: May 15, 2025
Host: Jen
Guest: Jake Brackman, CEO and Founder of Coin Fund

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In this compelling episode of Markets Daily Crypto Roundup, hosted by Jen from CoinDesk, the spotlight is on a bold proposition: Could Sam Altman's Worldcoin (WLD) overtake Bitcoin in user adoption and market influence? The discussion brings in-depth insights from Jake Brackman, CEO and Founder of Coin Fund, a prominent investor in frontier technologies and an early backer of Worldcoin.

1. Consensus Pitch Fest: Showcasing Innovation

The episode kicks off with Jake sharing his recent experience as a judge at the Consensus Pitch Fest. He provides an insider’s view of the competition, highlighting the evaluation process and the standout pitches.

Jake Brackman [00:50]:
"We had about seven companies present to us for three minutes. At the end, we agreed that Nift Mint and Chain Patrol really stood out as front-runners."

The two companies, Nift Mint, led by Jonathan Blanco, and Chain Patrol, a security startup already generating substantial revenue, impressed the judges with their innovative approaches and solid business models.

2. Common Mistakes in Startup Pitching

Jen probes deeper into the pitching process, asking about common pitfalls that startup founders encounter when presenting to venture capitalists.

Jake Brackman [01:39]:
"At a pitch competition, presentation matters immensely. Founders need to focus on how they present themselves and their team. Clarity in communication and a well-structured presentation can make or break a pitch."

Jake emphasizes that beyond the idea itself, the ability to effectively communicate the vision and demonstrate the team's capability is crucial for success in securing investments.

3. Worldcoin: A New Contender in Crypto Adoption

Shifting focus, the conversation delves into Worldcoin, a project led by renowned entrepreneur Sam Altman. Jake discusses Coin Fund’s early investment and the project's evolution.

Jake Brackman [02:36]:
"Worldcoin's core innovation is its biometric proof of personhood, which is increasingly vital as AI makes it harder to distinguish real people online. With 26 million registered users and growing, Worldcoin is positioning itself as a leading Web3 platform."

Jake draws a comparison between Worldcoin and Bitcoin, highlighting Worldcoin’s rapid user growth:

Jake Brackman [02:56]:
"Bitcoin has about 106 million users and 22 million monthly active users. However, Worldcoin’s 8 million monthly and nearly 2 million daily active users on their user-friendly iPhone app suggest they have the potential to surpass Bitcoin’s adoption rates, especially with their recent US launch."

4. Worldcoin’s Strategic Go-to-Market Approach

Jen, intrigued by Jake's assertion, seeks to understand the strategies behind Worldcoin's impressive market penetration.

Jake Brackman [04:26]:
"Worldcoin's global strategy spans approximately 35 countries, with the US launch poised to double their user base. Additionally, their innovative approach includes opening brick-and-mortar flagship stores, such as the one in Miami, to provide hands-on experiences."

Jake elaborates on the in-store experience, describing how these physical locations bridge the gap between crypto technology and mainstream users:

Jake Brackman [05:41]:
"The stores are minimalist, housing World orbs that facilitate biometric verification. Visitors can download the World app, scan a QR code, and instantly set up a blockchain account. This seamless integration demystifies cryptocurrency for everyday users and encourages active participation."

5. Overcoming Regulatory Hurdles

The conversation shifts to the regulatory landscape, a critical factor for Worldcoin’s continued expansion.

Jake Brackman [06:31]:
"Worldcoin has navigated regulatory challenges professionally across various jurisdictions. Their conservative approach ensures compliance, especially in the US, where they’ve worked closely with regulators to guarantee a safe and compliant launch. This strategy not only builds trust but also sets a precedent for other projects in the crypto space."

He underscores the importance of adaptability and proactive engagement with regulatory bodies to foster sustainable growth and user trust.

6. The Future of Consumer Adoption in Crypto

As the episode nears its conclusion, Jake shares his optimistic outlook on the future of consumer adoption in the cryptocurrency industry, with Worldcoin leading the charge.

Jake Brackman [06:12]:
"Crypto 2025 is set to be a pivotal year for mainstream adoption. Worldcoin is at the forefront, making crypto accessible and tangible for the average consumer through innovative technologies and strategic market approaches."

Jake's insights paint a picture of a crypto landscape where user-friendly platforms like Worldcoin could redefine the standards of adoption and usability, potentially rivaling established giants like Bitcoin.

Conclusion

This episode of Markets Daily Crypto Roundup offers a thorough exploration of Worldcoin’s potential to surpass Bitcoin in terms of user adoption and market influence. Through Jake Brackman’s expert commentary, listeners gain a nuanced understanding of the strategies and innovations driving Worldcoin’s growth, as well as the broader implications for the cryptocurrency ecosystem. As the crypto world continues to evolve, Worldcoin’s journey serves as a compelling case study for future developments in blockchain technology and consumer engagement.

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For those interested in staying ahead in the crypto markets and understanding pivotal developments, this episode provides invaluable insights from a key industry leader.

Transcript

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[Jen]

Jake Brackman has been at the forefront of investing in frontier technologies for over a decade. As the CEO and founder of Coin Fund, he joins this special edition of Markets Daily to share his unique perspective on where the next phase of crypto innovation and capital is headed. Jake, welcome.

[Jake Brackman]

Hi Jen, Great to be here. Good to see you again.

[Jen]

Yeah, great to have you on the show again. I know that you are a judge at the Consensus pitch fest, so tell me a little bit about what was going on there. What kind of projects did you see folks pitching?

[Jake Brackman]

Awesome. Yeah, there were three judges, me and Kelly from Arrington and Miki from Metalaire, and we had about seven companies present to us for three minutes. I would say the judges at the end all agreed that there were two that really made it out to the forefront there. One was a great pitch from Nift Mint, Jonathan Blanco, and one was Chain Patrol, which is a security startup that was already starting to generate millions of dollars of revenue, making crypto safe.

[Jen]

You see a lot of pitches. What is a common mistake or misstep? You see startup founders making when they pitch VCs.

[Jake Brackman]

I think especially at a pitch competition, what really matters is presentation. You know, everyone's looking at the founder and thinking about what does the team look like? You know, is the presentation well spoken? Is it neat? Is everyone understanding what the product is? So we had some mixed results today on that. And respectfully, you know, we're all constantly working to make our startups better, but a few of them definitely stood out.

[Jen]

So really focus on your founder story and presenting yourself before the project because the project can always change, right?

[Jake Brackman]

Absolutely.

[Jen]

All right, well, you know what I wanted to talk to you about today. I know that you are investor in an investor in Worldcoin. You and I have spoke, spoken about that on this show before and there was some big news. Two weeks ago we heard that WLD is now available in the United States, a big development, especially what's been going on with that project. Talk to me about how you're looking at the project as an investor and what we can expect.

[Jake Brackman]

Absolutely. So Coin Fund has been invested in World from the very beginning. We did that very first round, the end of 2020, early 2021. You know, this is a Sam Altman project, and of course that's a big name now. And I think it's a very prescient idea. At the core of World is a biometric proof of personhood that has a lot of applications in the world where AI has gotten really, really hard to distinguish from people online. But what I would say for. Because we're at consensus, which is a crypto event, I would say from a Web3 perspective, world is the greatest Web3 go to market. I think of all time, 26 million registered users, 8 million monthly active users, and almost 2 million daily active users are today operating on an iPhone app, which is really easy to use, has one click login, and works on Ethereum technology, on an Ethereum L2. Built on optimism. And I'll just say that, you know, bitcoin as a Network has about 106 million users and about 22 million MAUs. And I really think that at least on those dimensions, with this US opening, World has an opportunity to overtake that and leave those numbers honestly in the dust. There were days last year when world was converting 1 million users a day. If we could do that for a quarter straight, we will overtake the number of bitcoin users.

[Jen]

Well, okay, that's a bold statement. Jake, I want to talk a little bit about this. Go to market. There are a lot of folks here at Consensus who are thinking about go to market. They're wondering, how do I bring more users? How do I get this amount of users to my project? What do you think sticks out? How was World able to go to market in this way?

[Jake Brackman]

That's a great question. I think one of the ways that they've done it is they've had a global go to market. I think they're in something like 35 countries. And with the US they're poised to double, if not more, like the attention on the project. But here's the funny thing. World Chain is a blockchain. And World has opened up six brick and mortar flagship retail stores. One of them is in Miami, where I live. And the fact that people can be walking in our Miami neighborhood, see something interesting, walk into a store, learn about World Chain, learn about World id, get verified on the app and earn some free cryptocurrency, and try out a defi protocol in the app, that is an incredible progress from where we were five years ago or even two years ago in terms of getting Mainstream users to use. Crypto 2025 is really going to be one of the first years we're going to start to see real consumer adoption. And I think that World is at the forefront of bringing it to market.

[Jen]

Tell me a little bit about that in store experience. That's kind of interesting. I have never walked into a storefront and learned about a crypto project and like you said, maybe that is one of the secrets to unlocking the audience that we talk so much about.

[Jake Brackman]

It really makes the experience and the ideas real for people. The stores are very, very simple. They contain almost nothing except a bunch of these orbs from World. You download an app on your phone, you scan a QR code in the World and then it reads your biometrics and boom, you have a blockchain account, you have an app store with defi apps and games that you can try out. And it's really night and day from the kind of tough user experience that we've seen in the past.

[Jen]

The last thing I want to ask you about this is you did mention that World launched in multiple different jurisdictions, multiple different countries, and there was some regulatory scrutiny when it comes to the project. How do you think the project and how do you advise projects to move on from that and continue to build, continue to bring users into the project?

[Jake Brackman]

I mean, I think World has done an incredibly professional job moving throughout its different jurisdictions. One of the reasons that we're seeing the US Launch only now is because they've been incredibly conservative and working with regulators to make it a safe and compliant launch. The same is true for I think, all the other jurisdictions that they're operating in. You know, and countries have different questions about how this technology works. It's a new technology, it's a very advanced technology. There's many crypto blockchain, zero knowledge proof privacy technologies at play in this device. And I think it's healthy that jurisdictions want to learn about it, but I think when they do, they will see that this is really the primary, most privacy preserving biometric proof of personhood that's out there. It is extremely relevant and is driving Web3 adoption.

[Jen]

Jake, thanks so much for joining us at the desk here. We'll see.

[Jake Brackman]

My pleasure.

[Jen]

We'll see you around the conference.

[Jake Brackman]

Thank you so much.

[Jen]

That was Coin Fund CEO and founder Jake Breckman.