selfaware soup

Esther Weidauer

Critical Resources on Crypto/NFTs/Web3

A collection of entry-level material to get people started on a critical perspective towards blockchains, cryptocurrencies, NFTs and the idea of web3

2022-04-25

A lot of people I speak to have yet had little contact with the crypto world, by which I mean anything surrounding public blockchains, crypto-currensies like Bitcoin, Non-Fungible Tokens aka NFTs and the idea of web3 that is built on top of all that. I end up recommending the same resources again and again for learning about these things from a very critical and sceptical perspective. So here the are:

Dan Olson’s (@FoldableHuman) video essay “Line Goes Up” is a hugely helpful piece. It’s absolutely worth the time. Also there’s good jokes in there:

Youtube thumbnail of 'Line Goes Up', a brick wall with two big cartoon ape faces as graffiti(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_xWvX1n9g)

A good follow-up on that is Olson’s appearance on The Financial Diet (@TFDiet) where he and @Chelsea_Fagan go into some of the criticisms of “Line Goes Up” and look more into how this affects personal finances.

Youtube thumbail of 'NFTs … not even once', showing Dan Olson and the title in large letters with the thumbail of 'Line Goes Up' in the background(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8St36RjHd2E)


If video isn’t your cup of tea, here’s a very good article by @tante (several translations linked at the top: German, Swedish, Portugese, Italian): The Third Web, by tante

That article also comes with a handy FAQ: tante’s Blockchain/Web3 FAQ


If you’d like to listen to podcasts instead, @techwontsaveus (hosted by @parismarx) has several good episodes on the subject. I’d start with “Web3 is a Scam, Not a Revolution” with @smdiehl

Screenshot of the podcast audio player of the episode, pixelates font and retro-aesthetric player controls(techwontsave.us)

A good follow-up on that is “Web3 is Not Going Great” with guest @molly0xFFF

Screenshot of the podcast audio player of the episode, pixelates font and retro-aesthetric player controls(techwontsave.us)


Speaking of which, I also recommend following Molly’s project @web3isgreat. It’s both hilarious and scary and gives a nice look into the more obscure day-to-day stuff in the crypto world.

Screenshot of the website's header, showing a cartoon apy and a teh planet earth on fire, next to a pixealted retro-aesthetic title(web3isgoinggreat.com)


Ok, that should be enough to get anyone started. Good luck, I know it’s an incredibly obtuse subject (that’s not an accident) but I’m sure you’ll make it. I might add to this list if I find newer resources that I think are helpful for an entry level understanding.