Why has gold been valuable for as long as time?
Gold is chemically uninteresting - it barely reacts with other elements. Yes it’s scarce, but not incredibly rare. And yes, unlike silver, it doesn’t tarnish so it will maintain value thousands of years later.
Sure, gold is a store of value and an inflation hedge. But the big reason why gold is so valuable? It’s the stuff of stories.
Gold is beautiful, which is a narrative that has been carried through generations.
It’s aesthetically pleasing nature makes it something that we want to showcase. And, as Alexis attests due to his Armenian heritage, something that certain cultures vibe with (even if his gold chain was hiding underneath his shirt on the podcast).
Flex value cannot be underestimated. Particularly as we enter a world where our mobile phones are now our bank vault and our digital identity may be as important as our physical identity.
Hello PFP - “profile pic” phenomenon of NFTs, and Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry has just entered the chat with his recent Bored Ape Yacht Club purchase and updated Twitter PFP.
So if we are all just status-seeking apes trying to follow the stories and gold has held its value because it’s the stuff of stories perhaps the next forms of gold will be items that create powerful narratives and stories that we can flex digitally.
What are the next forms of flex value? Let us know what you think on @comXcap - or change your Twitter profile pic to flex that value.
If money is what makes the world go around, it's community that keeps it turning.
There are two things that are foundational to the human experience. One is capital and the other is community.
Alexis Ohanian is a long-time champion of creators. Now, everything is community. If companies don't have a community strategy, they better get one. Because community-led companies are the future - and community can create a competitive advantage.
Michael Sidgmore is a long-time believer in democratizing access to financial services. Now, everything is FinTech. If companies can't figure out how to offer financial services products on platform, then they may lose out on keeping their customers or creators.
Many of the most interesting companies and investments of the future - whether they be sports cards, sports and esports teams, musicians / artists, creators, crypto, startups - are a result of the merging of culture x finance, a collision of Community x Capital.
We are excited to share our conversations on this topic with you because we believe that the next decade will be defined by Community x Capital.