BEST OF THE BEST
BRIAN ARMSTRONG: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently penned a (perhaps unusual) thesis on the potential of digital currencies in virtual reality – in particular, virtual worlds. Digital currency, he posits, will ultimately be widely used in virtual worlds due to the simple logic that it “doesn’t make sense” to use international fiat currency in a virtual environment. “People from all over the world will gather in these virtual spaces, and it would be exclusionary (or perhaps even rude) to use one country’s currency in a digital world,” Armstrong writes. Furthermore, digital currencies could let people earn “real money” and incentivize people to spend more time in virtual worlds, “creating a virtuous cycle” for the firms building them. “Customers of these products can take the money they generate in virtual worlds, and convert it to traditional money to pay their bills in real life. This will help take virtual reality from a hobby or entertainment to a full time job or lifestyle,” Armstrong concludes. THE REST THE GUARDIAN: The price of bitcoin may be down around 80 percent from its record high seen last December, but that doesn’t mean the days of crypto are numbered, says a piece from noted economist Kenneth Rogoff in The Guardian. Rogoff explains that despite the fact that regulators are coming to terms with the fact that they cannot support technology that aids tax evasion and other criminal activity, central banks are beginning to do just that, in the form of digital currencies. Further, while the value of bitcoin in the long-term may not be as high as some of the more extreme predictions, that doesn't automatically suggests its value is zero. The “right way” to view cryptos is “as lottery tickets that pay off in a dystopian future where they are used in rogue and failed states,” says Rogoff, or (more prosaically) maybe in countries where citizens have already been stripped of all privacy. And while lottery tickets may ultimately prove to be worthless, there also a "small outside chance" they could one day pay off, he concludes. VULTURE: Last week's Art Basel Miami Beach show saw a blockchain-focused conference with art inspired by, or related to, the nascent technology. Much of the discussion at the event centered around how tokenizing art may make it easier to purchase cooperatively, with multiple investors paying to support a single artist or piece at a gallery. That being said, some artists are concerned about the potential impact. Simon Denny, who contributed a CryptoKitty poster, said he was "a bit scared to see a securitization of art." Fractional ownership of art could also change how the art industry operates, harming auction houses and potentially undermining dealers and collectors. | 
