tomborgers.eth

I just published “Ethereum as a Digital Economy” link.medium.com/jTn6bo3Uadb

we're making @blocks smaller today. here's my note to the company. #### today we're making one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company: we're reducing our organization by nearly half, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. that means over 4,000 of you are being asked to leave or entering into consultation. i'll be straight about what's happening, why, and what it means for everyone. first off, if you're one of the people affected, you'll receive your salary for 20 weeks + 1 week per year of tenure, equity vested through the end of may, 6 months of health care, your corporate devices, and $5,000 to put toward whatever you need to help you in this transition (if you’re outside the U.S. you’ll receive similar support but exact details are going to vary based on local requirements). i want you to know that before anything else. everyone will be notified today, whether you're being asked to leave, entering consultation, or asked to stay. we're not making this decision because we're in trouble. our business is strong. gross profit continues to grow, we continue to serve more and more customers, and profitability is improving. but something has changed. we're already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company. and that's accelerating rapidly. i had two options: cut gradually over months or years as this shift plays out, or be honest about where we are and act on it now. i chose the latter. repeated rounds of cuts are destructive to morale, to focus, and to the trust that customers and shareholders place in our ability to lead. i'd rather take a hard, clear action now and build from a position we believe in than manage a slow reduction of people toward the same outcome. a smaller company also gives us the space to grow our business the right way, on our own terms, instead of constantly reacting to market pressures. a decision at this scale carries risk. but so does standing still. we've done a full review to determine the roles and people we require to reliably grow the business from here, and we've pressure-tested those decisions from multiple angles. i accept that we may have gotten some of them wrong, and we've built in flexibility to account for that, and do the right thing for our customers. we're not going to just disappear people from slack and email and pretend they were never here. communication channels will stay open through thursday evening (pacific) so everyone can say goodbye properly, and share whatever you wish. i'll also be hosting a live video session to thank everyone at 3:35pm pacific. i know doing it this way might feel awkward. i'd rather it feel awkward and human than efficient and cold. to those of you leaving…i’m grateful for you, and i’m sorry to put you through this. you built what this company is today. that's a fact that i'll honor forever. this decision is not a reflection of what you contributed. you will be a great contributor to any organization going forward. to those staying…i made this decision, and i'll own it. what i'm asking of you is to build with me. we're going to build this company with intelligence at the core of everything we do. how we work, how we create, how we serve our customers. our customers will feel this shift too, and we're going to help them navigate it: towards a future where they can build their own features directly, composed of our capabilities and served through our interfaces. that's what i'm focused on now. expect a note from me tomorrow. jack

🚨 𝘽𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂: @PayPal replaces CEO after earnings miss. Here's what we know: PayPal announced that Alex Chriss will step down, following weaker-than-expected Q4 results and slowing growth in branded checkout. Chriss will be replaced by HP Inc. CEO Enrique Lores after profit and revenue fell short of expectations. Shares of the firm tumbled more than 12%. Jamie Miller, the payments firm’s chief financial officer, will serve as interim CEO until Lores takes over on March 1, according to a statement Tuesday. “While some progress has been made in a number of areas over the last two years, the pace of change and execution was not in line with the Board’s expectations,” newly appointed board chair David Dorman said in the statement. Key signals: • PayPal-branded checkout growth slowed to 1% • Q4 EPS and revenue missed expectations • 2026 transaction margin dollars expected to decline slightly Another reminder of how unforgiving public markets are for large-scale payments platforms when growth and execution slow. Big reset moment for PayPal. Source/more info: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

An average importer / exporter maintains 4 bank accounts. These accounts started as a workaround, but ended up introducing new issues around fragmented liquidity and operational overhead. Introducing Specie (@SpecieFinance), a single account for global trade businesses.

Exclusive: JPMorgan is cutting off its relationship with Checkbook, the fintech firm that provided some high-risk stablecoin startups such as Venezuela-focused Kontigo with access to JPM bank accounts. Last month, we reported that JPM froze the accounts of these stablecoin startups. Here's @MichaelRoddan's dive on Checkbook: theinformation.com/articles/jpmor…

$AVICI @AviciMoney & @moonpay have been teasing a rumor of a potential partnership for weeks now, but the time may finally be here! Here are the key reasons why this partnership would be huge for $AVICI: 1. Massive User Acquisition Potential- MoonPay has over 30 million verified users across 180 countries and has processed $8+ billion in transactions. Integrating Avici's neobank features (e.g., self-custodial cards, spending crypto via Visa) into MoonPay's on-ramp/off-ramp infrastructure could expose Avici to millions of new users seamlessly onboarding and spending via Avici's tools. This addresses a core barrier in crypto adoption: easy real-world utility. 2. Enhanced Product Utility and On/Off-Ramping Moonpay excels at fiat-to-crypto payments (partnered with brands like adidas, Gucci, Nike). A deep integration could enable smoother fiat on-ramps directly into Avici's smart wallets or cards, plus better off-ramps for spending. This complements Avici's existing Visa partnership and recent Solomon Labs integration (for yield on spendable stables), creating a full-stack crypto banking experience that's superior to competitors. 3. Credibility and Institutional Validation MoonPay is a major player (valued at ~$3B+, backed by Galaxy and others). Partnership with them signals strong validation for Avici, a community-owned project (no VC allocations, launched via MetaDAO). It could attract more institutional interest, especially as Web3 neobanks hit record volumes ($379M in card transactions recently). 4. Market Cap Upside and Narrative Fit Avici's current market cap hovers around $35-40M (post-correction from November highs). With MoonPay's scale, analysts previously floated $1B–$5B valuations ($50–$500 per token) if partnerships materialize. The "people's bank" narrative (privacy-focused, decentralized alternative to traditional finance) aligns perfectly with rising stablecoin volumes ($33T in 2025) and DeFi growth. 5. Timing and Momentum MoonPay's cryptic posts on January 8, 2026, sparked direct community calls linking it to Avici. Combined with Avici's live product (100K+ monthly transactions, high retention), this could ignite a fresh rally in a bullish 2026 market. All in all, if confirmed, this partnership solves key pain points (user growth, fiat bridges, utility) and positions Avici as a leader in crypto neobanking. The timing couldn’t be better for @AviciMoney as stats continue to skyrocket The people’s bank is looking forward to this integration & the time is finally here Ownership supercycle