Not A Cartel

Why Crypto Feels So Weird Right Now

Reporting in from Costa Rica, Cooper and Adam catch up on life, music, and markets. They unpack the current mood across crypto Twitter, the rise of apps like FOMO and the UX arms race in social trading, and how creator coins are evolving beyond speculation into real creative ecosystems. Along the way, Cooper shares his approach to rethinking Coop Records’ next phase, balancing risk, and refocusing on real users over pure traders. Topics include: * Life and creative process at Daniel Allan’s Costa Rica offsite * DevConnect vs Devcon — what really makes a good crypto gathering * Market sentiment and taking chips off the table * The FOMO app and why UX is crypto’s biggest moat * How “social trading” defines the next wave of onchain social * Creator coins, content markets, and the long game for builders * Why focusing on real users > crypto-native traders

Social Trading Is Taking Over Crypto (and Farcaster Knows It)

The gang reunites for a wide-ranging, high-energy conversation on everything shaping the onchain creator economy right now — from Blueprint Cohort 3 to Farcaster’s acquisition of Clanker and the new wave of “social trading.” They dive into what’s working, what’s breaking, and what the future looks like across Base, Solana, and beyond. It’s a real-time snapshot of builders figuring it out live. Key Topics & Timestamps 00:00 – Welcome Back 01:00 – Blueprint Cohort 3 & Loyalty Coins 09:45 – Building with AI (Replit & Design Workflow) 13:20 – Creator Education & Onchain Mindset 15:00 – Loyalty Coins & The Flywheel 18:30 – Farcaster x Clanker Acquisition 22:30 – The Future of Onchain Social 26:00 – Rise of Social Trading Apps (FOMO, Clicker, Base App) 34:00 – Jesse Pollak & Base Coins Controversy 37:00 – Solana vs. Base Ecosystems 43:00 – Loyalty, Speculation & Community 45:50 – Coop’s Zora Livestream 47:00 – Monad Airdrop Reactions 49:30 – MegaETH & ICO Meta Returns 52:15 – Closing Thoughts

Has ETH Lost Its Swag? Debate on Ethereum’s Future | NAC Ep. 35

The Not A Cartel crew dives deep into one of the busiest weeks in crypto—from fundraises and governance drama to creator coins and the eternal ETH debate. Coop shares insights from his $4.5M seed round, Lucas revisits the early music NFT days, and Adam sparks laughs with his takes on Clanker’s acquisition saga. The group also debates what gives ETH its “swag” (or lack thereof) and how YC’s focus on onchain startups could shape the next wave of builders. Key Topics & Timestamps (01:15) Coop’s $4.5M fundraise (05:26) Success of Coop Records 2.0 and merging NFTs with tokens (06:50) Reflecting on Sound.xyz mints and patronage vs speculation (10:32) Throwback to the hype era of buying music NFTs (11:20) Clanker x Rainbow acquisition drama (18:21) Jesse Pollak teases creator coins on Base (21:29) Copy-trading, Clicker app, and why Coop’s trades still move markets (22:38) Lessons learned from early days: “Should’ve just copy-traded Coop” (24:12) Punk Strategy Coin and the case for NFT-backed tokens (26:22) Balancing being a founder vs. staying on top of market trends (29:01) YC’s call for onchain startups—opportunity or overhyped? (34:09) Rage-bait of the week: Andrew Kang Thinks Tom Lee is Retarded (37:20) What narrative gets ETH to $10k? Institutions vs. retail “swag factor”

Base Token?? What It Means for Coinbase + Crypto

The crew dives deep into the explosive rise of streamer coins, content token fit, PumpFun’s livestreaming meta, and even Base exploring a network token. Key Topics & Timestamps (00:00) Trump statue + top signals banter (03:40) The live-streaming + token meta (04:12) PumpFun’s new wave of creators (06:50) Content-token fit explained (11:31) Creator fees & new economics (12:52) Novel content experiments (23:32) Base explores a token (27:26) Solana ↔ Base bridge (30:17) Revenue wars: apps vs chains (37:07) Mirror sunsets, Paragraph rises (47:12) Pods Clips update

Pump Fun vs. Hyperliquid: Who Wins the Buyback Wars?

The NAC boys are back with another episode of Not A Cartel—celebrating birthdays, dissecting token buybacks, debating WorldCoin, and unveiling new product drops. From Pump vs. Hyperliquid to Coop Recs 2.0 and Noice’s pivot, it’s a full tour through the current onchain economy. Timestamps 0:00 – We’re back + Chevy leaking “proprietary alpha” 0:55 – Birthday celebrations: David + Lucas + plum wine from Japan 4:20 – Pump token hits all-time highs; revenue and buyback debate 6:50 – Sustainability of 100% buybacks vs. reinvesting in product 9:50 – Zora as the “new Meta” and creator upside 11:00 – Pump vs. Hyperliquid vs. other “safe bets” in crypto 13:20 – Tom Lee invests BMNR funds into WorldCoin—reaction + debate 16:30 – Coop Recs 2.0 launch: collectibles + coins 20:00 – Product vision: onboarding fans at festivals with credits + IYK 23:20 – Chevy’s creator arc + content posting 23:50 – Pods Clips update: moving to whitelist-only, focus on quality clippers 25:40 – Death Pixie update: signed to Mousetrap, aiming for Coachella 27:30 – Coop DJ arc: opening after RL Grime, Mousetrap show 30:14 – Noice 2.0 pivot: from micro-tipping to Launchpad narrative 35:18 – Shoutout Basecamp, Blueprint, and the ecosystem 36:15 – Inversion raises $26M to bring legacy businesses onchain 38:30 – Closing notes + birthday wrap-up + clip reminder