Web3 news made easy
date
April 29, 2023
•
New York, NY
An Interview with Rafik Fellal the Founder of Block139. A platform that aims to provide news, information and education about crypto, Web3, NFT and metaverse, and also information about crypto conferences worldwide, with the goal of being the go-to source in the Web3 space.
I’m a Swiss-born Moroccan, and I’ve been passionate about technology since a young age and was repairing neighbors' computers in exchange for a couple of hours playing games or surfing a slow internet.
I became an IT Specialist in 2006 but never really worked in the field as I couldn’t find something genuinely inspiring back then, and following the dot-com bubble, the whole industry had an awkward reputation.
For those reasons, I put technology aside and decided to study Political Science and International Relations. Still, in 2017 when the second Bitcoin (crypto) cycle happened, I got soaked right back into my computer as I was amazed about how disruptive some projects like Ethereum were.
Since then, while working in EduTech, I’ve been monitoring the crypto space and trying to find the perfect entry point to make it my main occupation. I was lucky to establish Block 139 last year and join Mimo more recently.
We want to create the “go-to platform” in the crypto/blockchain space regarding news, information, and education.
For that, we want to create a space where (1) users can read the latest news on blockchain, crypto, Web3, NFT, and metaverse, (2) be informed about the major crypto conferences happening around the world, and (3) learn the basics of this new and fast-growing industry.
The volume of daily industry-related information is already overwhelming enough to add complexity to how readers access this information. We tried to step into the shoes of a commuter looking for their daily blockchain-fix on their way to work. You’ll have noticed that our website was deliberately designed to make it simple and intuitive for our readers to get their blockchain-related content all in one place and as simple as it is to go through their photo albums.
We’re thinking about other projects as well! But they will materialize as our platform keeps growing – and, of course, depending on the feedback we will receive from our community.
I’m taking a step back on this question to provide some background on the project's origins. In November 2021, I went to an event organized by Supermomos, a new and rising communities curator platform in New York, where I met my co-founder, David; through him, I met my other co-founder, Jerome.
That evening, we discussed for hours how networking, discovering and attending events and conferences, and finding new information sources was the best way to start or stay up to date in the blockchain space. However, this proves challenging to keep up with!
The initial question was how to make our lives easier. First, our goal was to create a new crypto newspaper. However, we realized it would take time to stand out and doesn’t solve all issues. Why not organize the news and information in one place instead of creating it? That’s when Block 139 was born, first as a Twitter account and then as a website.
We thought that creating an easily accessible and intuitive platform could help everyone in their journey to the crypto and Web3 space.
We follow a few guidelines that will help us stay relevant.
Crypto is a fast-growing industry. Its inherent nature is to disrupt the existing status quo not only in finance but the overall concept of money creation and transfer (in its current form) and the interactions between people (i.e., having a computer code instead of a “centralized” medium). As a result, we need to constantly stay aware of “what is happening,” meaning the new projects, the new blockchains, and the new use cases and applications of blockchain and inform our readers.
If you notice, on our website, we have dedicated spaces for DeFi and NFTs, for example. We will add new verticals appearing in the space as they become relevant.
Crypto is also an industry that carries the image of being a totally unregulated “movement” pushed by rebels. It still suffers from having a “bad rep” (e.g., the recent collapse of FTX). We believe that pragmatic regulation will contribute to broader adoption. In this environment, we try to stay focused on building and continuously providing content that keeps our readers informed of industry and regulatory developments that, we hope, will make the industry safer. That’s our modest contribution to keeping our readers safe in an environment where being informed is critical to making sound decisions. It may seem elementary, but it’s not. Thinking about what people are looking for and need is a challenging exercise, which the team must always discuss.
If I or any of my cofounders are no longer passionate about this space, he or I will quit; it is that simple. We’re doing this project because we feel profoundly passionate about crypto and blockchain technology, from the freedom it promises to its multiple applications.
I enjoy being in such a dynamic industry; at this stage, passion is needed to adapt and evolve with the space and ensure it keeps its promises.
I wish I knew the correct answer to that question! Crypto and Web3 are still in their infancy, but I believe crypto adoption, DeFi expansion, and web3 applications will help, impact and shape the future. Let me explain.
Paradoxically, the highly publicized insolvency procedure of FTX and its ripple effect is one of the best illustrations. The news was highlighted in specialized crypto news and traditional, “institutional” media (e.g., the FT, the WSJ, the NYT, etc.).
If the failure of a crypto exchange has such an impact, it probably means there are more crypto holders (but also that industry players are also more intertwined) than we think. The increasing number of crypto investors is positive for crypto adoption because even if these users mainly consider crypto as one more investment product, holding cryptos pushes them to be curious about our space and become, themselves, potential supporters.
If we were to think about tech innovation stages, I would say that the industry is still at an early stage of the tech adoption curve, probably stage 2, in which existing crypto holders are early adopters of the technology.
I firmly believe that these same early adopters, whose curiosity was probably tickled by the investment opportunity that crypto represents, will look for potential applications of blockchain technology in their own industry.
DeFi will continue to grow. It doesn’t mean it will replace the traditional financial system, but I’m seeing a coexistence between them. Some will prefer to place their assets in DeFi, while others will continue to trust financial institutions only, and some will do both.
This coexistence is positive as it offers more options to investors. That’s one of the main reasons I joined Mimo, to bridge Traditional Finance and Decentralized Finance and help provide additional and diversified investment options to institutional and retail investors alike. A perfect example is how at Mimo, we’ve recently brought US Treasury bills on-chain and made them accessible to everyone in a more general effort to tokenize real-world assets.
When we see the success of e-sports and video games, it’s difficult to think Web3 will not partake. It’s like saying in 1995 that “the internet won’t change how people play video games” (a very conservative bet). I see video games intertwine more and more with our real life, as gamification is a trend to make learning easier, with crypto being the prominent medium for fast transactions without people realizing it. The question is not about whether it will happen but how long it will take! With all these ongoing movements, I hope Block 139 will play an active role in helping, informing, and educating people across the globe.
To follow our journey, visit:
Website: https://www.block139.com/
Twitter account: https://twitter.com/block_139
