Will Little @wclittle Subscribe

Managing Director at Prota Ventures.
I'm a bioengineer-turned-software-developer and venture builder/investor. Learn more about me professionally on LinkedIn, personally here, and check out the podcast I host, Ventures.

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Topic:   Web3
 Will Little

Apr 30, 2019
Blockchains Proof-of-Stake Web3

How (and why) to evaluate validator participation in Proof-of-Stake blockchain communities

While the core promise of blockchain technology involves data security, decentralization, and transactional speed/reliability at scale, the main use cases we’ve seen thus far have been limited to long-term value storage (e.g. bitcoin) and programmatic transactions of digital tokens (e.g. ethereum). Understandably, to prove the initial usefulness of the technology, these early networks have optimized their protocols for decentralization and data integrity, rather than transaction speeds and fast finality.
Will Little

Jan 30, 2019
Blockchains Proof-of-Stake Livepeer Web3

Livepeer is a brilliantly designed crypto network for delivering scaled value (blockchain pioneers, take note)

Well, it’s official: the lofty promises made during the 2017 crypto frenzy have come up dramatically short. The mad rush of teams raising insane amounts of money that year have not (yet) produced mass-adoption of decentralized applications. As every experienced startup investor and founder knows (especially in hindsight), raising a ton of money without a product — let alone a proven market that wants that product — is a recipe for disappointment.
Will Little

Dec 13, 2018
Blockchains Cosmos Network Smart Contracts Web3

Smart Contracts vs. Application-Specific Blockchains

Besides the addition and subtraction of numbers on a distributed ledger (i.e. cryptocurrencies), blockchains hold the power to provide most — if not all — of the services that centralized computing can provide. Thus, as the community of builders continues to grow, we have seen the very beginning of not only decentralized money, but also decentralized file storage, computing services, financial services, real-life asset ownership records, supply-chain management, personal identity, energy distribution, health records, governance, and more.
Will Little

Sep 18, 2018
Blockchains Proof-of-Stake Web3

An introduction to Proof-of-Stake token yields: Assessing risks and rewards

Although the latest wave of blockchain hype has calmed down this year, the ferocity of teams working on the underlying technology continues to increase. The time is fast approaching when scalable, secure, and decentralized solutions for many core areas of technology (computing, file storage, payments, etc…) will be ready for application developers. When this collective tipping point occurs, there will likely be a rapid transition of user adoption from Web 2.0 apps (centralized) to Web 3.0 apps (decentralized).
Will Little

Jul 18, 2018
Blockchains Cosmos Network Web3

An introduction to the Cosmos Network: Why the Internet of Blockchains will help drive mass adoption of decentralized applications

While the scaling problem for blockchains is well understood and being addressed by many teams, what is often overlooked is the interoperability problem and why it matters for the future of crypto. Without protocols in place to enable automated communication between chains, our decentralized projects will continue to remain in silos and our overall ecosystem will remain fractured.
Will Little

May 14, 2018
Blockchains Proof-of-Stake About Will Web3

A primer on Proof-of-Stake and why it matters for the future of blockchains

There is a major, multi-faceted shift happening right now in the world of crypto. It’s difficult to see given how noisy, complex, disjointed, and interdisciplinary the information flow and topics are in the community; but new consensus protocols combined with a maturing regulatory landscape are setting the stage to unify four groups that are often in conflict within a blockchain project...
Will Little

Dec 11, 2017
Blockchains Web3

How to buy bitcoin and trade cryptocurrencies: a step-by-step guide

While 2017 has been a massive year of growth for blockchains, obtaining cryptocurrencies and trading them is not for the faint of heart. In this article, my goal is to explain how to buy, store, and trade cryptocurrencies across multiple exchanges and a hardware wallet, including how to safely participate in token sales (aka Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs).
Will Little

Aug 27, 2017
Blockchains Web3

A Primer on Blockchains, Protocols, and Token Sales

Blockchains are changing the foundation of the global economy, and everyone is freaking out. Opinionated tribes are invoking civil wars and forking into new tribes. Multiple heated battles are happening simultaneously (mostly on social media) while only a few people on the outside understand what’s going on.