Garry Tan is the new President and CEO of Y Combinator
linkedin.comAnnounced half a year ago:
I cited Garry Tan in my blockchain thesis. One month into writing it, because I wanted to learn more about blockchain, I got disillusioned about whole crypto industry. My conclusions where that blockchain is useless. Happy I did put time into researching this, I saved my friends 5 figures after lengthy discussions.
Sad one of the biggest crypto influencers is going to lead Y combinator
For context, here was Tan's bull case for Ethereum in 2021:
https://twitter.com/garrytan/status/1402648829732614146
While I can't comment on any blockchain token's merit as an investment, I think in terms of social impact, the potential of the blockchain is overwhelmingly positive, which makes me glad that Tan is now at the helm.
Fundamentally, cryptocurrency is just a mechanism for transferring value electronically without any centralized intermediary. You can even forego the speculative aspect of it entirely, and just hold USDC/DAI. Sending value is as simple as effecting a transaction from your browser-based MetaMask wallet. It removes all dependencies on third party custodians and payment networks like Venmo or PayPal.
People being empowered to control digital assets, like a unique name, or digital currency, with their own device, rather than depending on large intermediaries to control their assets on their behalf, is obviously a good thing.
The technology is still quite raw, with many important features lacking, but that is a solvable problem in that it only requires more engineering resources, while the fundamental properties of the blockchain open up new capabilities that the traditional server-client architecture lacks.
I think he is more of a tech influencer than a crypto influencer, in Silicon Valley networks plus on online platforms.
He backs up and advises crypto startups, AI startups, no-code startups, biotech startups... He does it while wearing his hat of a venture capitalist. Not a blockchain expert, developer or academic. He is in the tech game for fast company growth and high returns on investments.
As a disclosure, I must that I check his videos about company/brand building, targetted at online startups. For technical knoweldge about blockchains, I maintain other sources of info (Github, online forums, Twitter). For financial knoweledge related to blockchain, I consult different sources, mainly established economists, Arvix papers, retired traders or fintech books.
It's strange we haven't seen a linkedin alternative by now.
This would not be the first bad decision YC has made in choosing a president. Ralston's ego and appalling treatment of a female college on a YC video shortly before he was appointed president was infuriating.