Bill Laboon | Web3 Foundation

My book is out (Kindle / paperback)! It's a near-future sci-fi techno-thriller set in a world where cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Monero) have totally eliminated traditional money. amazon.com/Strength-Numbe…

If you like thinking about this question, I highly recommend that you read Blindsight by Peter Watts. amazon.de/-/en/Blindsigh…

Decentralized Lugano, hosted by @ScytaleDigital, where our own @WilhelmtRoth moderated the "@Polkadot Outlook 2026" panel. Beyond the stage, from insightful conversations to exciting new connections, it's clear that the future of digital assets, blockchain, and AI-driven economy is bigger than ever. A big thank you to Scytale Digital, BIL Suisse, and @BitcoinSuisseAG for making this event possible - another great edition of @DecentralLugano.

Pioneered by Polkadot: a new efficient data storage model for everyday Web3 applications When it comes to storing and serving data, most Web3 apps still fall back on centralized Web2 servers. The missing piece has been a decentralized alternative that is actually suitable for everyday use. Bulletin Chain, pioneered by Polkadot, aims to solve this.

@Hopeioum @danicuki @VCosta7989126 @thewhiterabbitM @era_italia @Fiskantes @GregusJakub @hydration_net @Polkadot @jamixir @Web3foundation This responsibility was transferred earlier this year with the strategic shift in focus of W3F (and final evaluations remain the responsibility of the Polkadot Technical Fellowship). For more information, see this blog post: medium.com/web3foundation…

@danicuki @VCosta7989126 @thewhiterabbitM @era_italia @Fiskantes @GregusJakub @hydration_net @Polkadot @jamixir @Web3foundation Wait! I read these were on fast track to be reviewed. I read that last year late 2025. @BillLaboon This is not on track with initiative directives, can you please explain why the roadblocks & what is being done to remedy these? I read you hired someone for this.

I had 1 of the most bullish call just couple hours before KelpDAO exploit. We found provider of most robust and scalable, (high) yield bearing collateral crypto space ever experienced. Shortly after, started biggest DeFi drama which won't be as dramatic for users as it looked like but it will reshape the whole space, hopefully for better. For me & @hydration_net it validated strategy described in my forum posts (turned to blog later) aka <~Hydrated Strategy~>. Tldr; 1. Security is everything and even as we have more security layers and better security setup than 99.9% projects objectively, we have to stay paranoid and always push for more protections and higher standards. Surviving till the next wave of interest and liquidity will come is often more important than anything else. Also more time project passed w/o much of drama and scars bigger premium it can get over time due to its lindyness. 2. On-chain economy can't generate enough revenues which would turn to real yield, yet. Genuine usage is simply not there where it should be, yet, even as it's on good trend. On-chain economy is too reflexive and correlated with crypto prices which depend on stronger external factors than quality of crypto products. 1 of the key factor for ours, others or even whole DeFi success will be availability of robust, scalable, ideally revenue & yield generating collateral. I was shocked how many people in DeFi space didn't know about PRIME (looping) and 2 upcoming additions will be even more juicy and interesting from different perspectives. 3. Making interest rate arbitrage aka carry trade accessible, liquid and efficient to everybody around the world is great. But platforms relying exclusively on 3rd party LPs supplying stablecoins and willingly accepting smaller yield than yield generated by collateral against which they are lending and taking its risks are imho in worse position than platforms with own stablecoin available at fixed rate. Same LPs found themselves often stucked and not able to withdraw their funds bc of 100% utilization of such (2 sided) pool. But ofc having own stablecoin ain't silver bullet, as it is bringing its own challenges around overall safety and also liquidity as you can't mint just like that 100m $ of new stablecoin while it has 1m$ liquidity in pools to satisfy needs of borrowers. Overall, great lessons last weeks and months which I will try to turn to best momentum for @hydration_net but ofc I wish whole space will thrive.

Count of bitcoin at risk from quantum attack: 6_895_527 BTC projecteleven.com/bitcoin-risq-l…

Referendum 156 on Interlay looks suspicious, a forceTransfer call. If you placed it, let the community know what it is for; otherwise I have to assume it is malicious and will vote against it.

Web3 Summit 2026 is not just a stage. It's a place for people working on systems and ideas shaped by digital agency, privacy, and participation — not control. Does that resonate? Bring your talk, performance, artwork, installation or music into the mix. Apply to be a apart of the evolving lineup: web3summit.com/lineup/

It's surprising to me that not a single person that I can see in the comments called this out. Every time I see ragebait from someone I don't know, I assume the person is lying or leaving out salient details and check it. Post: reddit.com/r/Fire/comment…

Less trust, more truth..

Like so much on the internet, this Reddit post is entirely fabricated (check comment history - in the last few days, the poster has been a man, woman, mechanical engineer, and a soldier..) Proof-of-personhood can help prevent this...

Polkadot Referendum 1887 is now up for vote - this upgrades the runtime for People Chain to allow two-second blocktimes polkadot.subsquare.io/referenda/1887

Typo, obviously, I meant 2026. We're not that far into the future =)

@decentrallugano 2027 is starting and it’s a full house. I will be speaking soon on Polkadot’s outlook..

@alice_und_bob I suspected you were in the audience that day!

@BillLaboon So glad I made a video

My first talk on smart contracts, back at Pittsburgh Tech Fest 2016. Entirely hand-drawn - those were fun days

@CryptoCappex In terms of hand-drawing snakes? Sadly, no..

@BillLaboon Have we made progress since then?

Link, if you want a trip down memory lane... github.com/PghTechFest/Pg…

Decentralized Lugano returns to Lugano, Switzerland, on April 23rd. Conversations spanning AI, finance, and the growing need for sovereign infrastructure in an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. On the event agenda: Polkadot's 2026 Outlook talk with Bill Laboon from @Web3foundation, Alessandro de Carli from @Acurast, and Vineet Budki from Sigma Capital. Find out more at @DecentralLugano.

You can see details on Referendum 1883 here ( polkadot.subsquare.io/referenda/1883 ) and the actual code and technical details here ( github.com/polkadot-fello… )

OpenGov is currently voting on upgrading Polkadot to runtime 2.2.1. This enables Phase 0 of the launch of the Bulletin Chain, a new system chain for ephemeral storage, used to support Proof-of-Personhood, the Hand-Off Protocol, and other general purpose use cases.