Jason Rodrigues

AI, crypto & semiconductors // building something new //

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

projects end. friendships end. but you know what doesn’t end? this mf devcon hallway

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

went to Oxford for a formal dinner

it was this pretentious 4 course high society meal

and there it was… dubai chocolate was on the dessert menu

mind blown 🤯

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

The journey is full of ups and downs.

Find your tribe that makes it all worth it.

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

Go pond

[Pond @JoinPond]

Today, we’re launching Pond AI Studio and Pond Markets—new offerings to support early-stage AI projects, founders, indie developers, and aspiring builders.

From infrastructure and token launches on @base to go-to-market and acceleration—it’s all here now, in one platform.

[James S @strjd87]

Building this point out a bit more...

Crypto’s history is full of ambitious attempts to “rebuild Web2 on Web3”. A decentralized Twitter, a blockchain Airbnb, a P2P Uber. The pitch decks are slick. The intention is good. But in most cases, the result is underwhelming.

Why?

Because using a blockchain shouldn’t be the feature. It should be the foundation. The simple truth is this: if crypto doesn’t fundamentally improve the user experience or unlock a new use case, there’s no reason to rebuild an existing Web2 product onchain.

Why? Because most Web2 products already have:

Fast UX
Trusted infrastructure
Enormous network effects
Clear, centralized paths to dispute resolution

When you take that same product and put it on a blockchain, you often trade all of that for

Higher latency
Worse UX
Poorer performance
Governance ambiguity
And no new user benefit

Decentralization is not a value proposition on its own, it’s a tradeoff. And users only accept tradeoffs when they get something better in return. Instead of asking, “Can we build X onchain?”, We should be asking: “What products are fundamentally better when they’re built on crypto rails?”. Some examples where the answer is yes:

Stablecoin payments → open, borderless, censorship-resistant financial rails

Prediction markets → censorship-resistant access to truth-seeking financial primitives

Tokenized social graphs → transferable reputation and programmable incentives across platforms

Each of these use cases works because they leverage the unique properties of blockchains: Trustlessness, Permissionlessness, Composability, Programmability, Global accessibility. These are not nice-to-haves. They’re requirements for the product to even exist in its best form.

Forget Recreating. Start Inventing.

I spent nearly a decade working in traditional financial markets, where efficiency, speed, and user trust are built into the system by design. If there’s one thing that experience taught me, it’s this: you don’t move value onto a slower, clunkier, more complex system unless there’s a very good reason. The only reason to build on crypto rails is if they unlock something new. Not just because they’re novel, but because they offer properties that the old system simply can’t. That’s the bar. And it’s the one we should be holding ourselves to in this space.

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@0xDeltaHedged Yeah, understated how important this is and how much you can improve applications and models underneath

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@hypertris @elfa_ai Signs you’re building a good product

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@linear crossed a billion dollar val

tasteful, opinionated software always has room to win

congrats to @karrisaarinen and the team

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@hypertris @elfa_ai thanks, friend

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

Spoke to @hypertris today and man, I'm bullish about @elfa_ai 🙌

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@joeljohn @letsharbour

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@DeGatchi Bellman equations incoming

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@Might_Natty Feel better ❤️‍🩹

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@TonyCatoff @peakbengaluru @bad_chain @CatoffGaming @shipyard_ @SuperteamIN @solana Tony, you are a legend

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@jatinsandilya_ Say more

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

hiring anti portfolio

[shai 🌻 @shaiunterslak]

happy 'missed another opportunity to create generational wealth' day to those who celebrate :)

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@inkparadox @formacity @beondeck grateful, fam

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

the @formacity fellowship is high signal.

our cohort is filled with kind, smart and helpful people. the content is also banger.

last time I did something like this with @beondeck, i made friends for life.

couldn't be more excited

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@arlery eid mubarak!

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@0xakki_qiro @formacity @beondeck legend, thanks for all of your inputs

[Jason Rodrigues @JasonRogues]

@farhaj @formacity @beondeck ❤️❤️❤️