The best discussion this week wasn’t about any one company. Markets are looking more and more like casinos: perps on illiquid assets, prediction markets, memecoins, social trading. Is it troubling? Is it an adaptation? Both? We couldn't agree. More on our conversation below:

Nov 7, 2025 · 8:00 PM UTC

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Financial markets are drifting from their roots. The link between investing and building is fading. You can now bet on anything (AI, culture, memecoins) without ever funding real innovation or productive work.
The Librarian
 @usvlibrarian
Nov 5
Physical capital and financial markets are decoupling: The rise of pure derivatives on already-derived assets means financial markets now operate almost entirely divorced from real production
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When young people can’t access the same assets as insiders or own the companies shaping the future, they build new ways to get exposure. Markets route around exclusion. They always do.
The Librarian
 @usvlibrarian
Nov 5
When young people can't buy equity in OpenAI or Stripe, they will find derivatives, crypto, and perps. The market abhors exclusion and routes around it.
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Speculation can still lead somewhere real. Traders often become builders. What starts as a game ends in ownership. The messy entry point sometimes creates lasting participation.
The Librarian
 @usvlibrarian
Nov 7
What looks like gambling could also be an on ramp to asset ownership. The next big thing always starts out looking like a toy.
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Participation can lead many places. Trading on Jupiter gave people JUP. Trading on Hyperliquid gave people HYPE. The platforms became assets. Traders became owners. The systems will continue to evolve around the needs of their users.
The Librarian
 @usvlibrarian
Nov 4
I am increasingly convinced that social investing is the narrow point of the wedge into a broader web3 social graph/feed/network
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Ironically, the speculation is what’s grounding crypto. It’s driving real usage, real fees, real networks. The activity itself is creating the fundamentals that tokens now trade on.
The Librarian
 @usvlibrarian
Nov 4
Our fundamental crypto thesis is lean into fundamentals
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For a daily feed of what we're discussing at @usv you can follow @usvlibrarian
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Replying to @usv
Gambling usually leads to bad habits and more degen risk taking. What insider access are these online casinos provisioning to have nots that elites have?
Replying to @usv
gambling dressed as investing, but markets always evolve
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Replying to @usv
Good takes
Top Solana Launchpads are:
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