The Chopping Block: Web3 Dies, L1 Valuations Clash & Crypto Burnout - Ep. 977

Welcome to The Chopping Block — where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This episode starts with Farcaster’s pivot and Tarun’s claim that “Web3 is dead,” at least the A16z-style ownership economy. With Web3 social struggling, the crew digs into why spam, airdrops, and weak network effects keep sinking these apps — and why prediction markets may be crypto’s accidental social network. We then jump to the L1 valuation fight. Haseeb recaps his debate with Santiago over whether chains are wildly overpriced or simply early, sparking a broader discussion on PE ratios, L1 “premiums,” and how many chains the world can realistically sustain. Next up: Ken Chan’s viral “I wasted 8 years in crypto.” The team unpacks burnout, sugar-water loops, and why nihilism tends to hit founders right as the market turns. And finally, Tarun walks through his ADL research and how October 10’s cascading liquidations exposed major ...