Mark Zolan 1.8 12 ideas

Zolan states that "70% plus of people say yes, we'd like to be able to spend it" and Go Mining is rolling out a "Simple Earn" product that pays yield every four hours on these assets without lockups, alongside a debit card. The transition of crypto from a passive "pet rock" asset to a high-velocity currency with native yield generation increases utility and demand. If friction decreases (via cards/apps), velocity of money for these specific L1s and stablecoins increases. LONG. The integration of yield + spending utility creates a sticky ecosystem for these assets. Regulatory crackdowns on "yield" products or banking rail failures.

The interviewer notes that Square (Block) has a "leg up" with Bitcoin terminals and the Cash App ecosystem, already integrating merchants and consumers. Go Mining is attempting to enter a market where Square is the dominant incumbent for "Bitcoin-native merchant services." Go Mining's success depends on out-innovating or undercutting Square. WATCH. Square is the benchmark. If Go Mining gains traction, it validates the sector but threatens Square's moat. If Square pivots faster, they crush new entrants. Square's closed-loop ecosystem is difficult to penetrate.

Zolan notes that currently, "2.5% of [merchant] volume goes back to Visa and Mastercard." He explicitly states their new product aims to make payment acceptance costs "minuscule... thousands of 1 cent" or free. This is a classic "race to the bottom" on fees. If crypto payment rails (Layer 1 Bitcoin) can reliably offer merchants a 250bps margin improvement, merchants will incentivize consumers to switch away from legacy credit card rails. SHORT / AVOID. Legacy payment processors face margin compression if L1 payment rails achieve UX parity. Consumer addiction to credit card rewards (points/miles) may outweigh merchant preferences.

Go Mining has onboarded "almost 5 million people" to mining via NFT-based hashrate, allowing entry for as little as $25. By abstracting the hardware and electricity complexities, Go Mining is increasing the capital inflows into the mining sector. This "retail-ization" of industrial mining stabilizes hashrate growth and broadens the investor base for the mining ecosystem. LONG. Democratized access to hashrate creates a more robust mining network and sustained demand for mining infrastructure. Bitcoin halving events reducing rewards; centralization of hashrate in large pools.

Bitcoin payments will be "virtually at no cost or very little cost to the merchant certainly well below the acquiring expenses that they're incurring today with Visa and Mastercard." Merchants operate on thin margins. If a parallel payment rail emerges that eliminates the ~2-3% interchange/acquiring fees of the duopoly (V/MA), merchants will aggressively incentivize consumers to switch payment methods. This threatens the pricing power and volume of legacy payment networks. SHORT / AVOID legacy payment processors vulnerable to fee compression. Consumer behavior is sticky; credit cards offer rewards/points that crypto payments currently struggle to match.

"Bitcoin adoption won't come from holders... there's a demand for being able to literally pay for coffee around the corner with Bitcoin... but the infrastructure and the capability is not there." The speaker believes the "Digital Gold" thesis is capped. The next leg of value creation comes from velocity of money—using BTC as a medium of exchange. As companies (like the speaker's) roll out L1/L2 payment rails in 2026, utility increases, driving demand for the underlying asset beyond mere speculation. LONG BTC as the underlying asset gaining transactional utility. Regulatory crackdowns on using non-stablecoin assets for payments; tax implications (capital gains on every coffee purchase) remaining unsolved in major jurisdictions.

"We've been coming to Asia... to Japan... for the past 20-25 years to see the future of payments. Japan had contactless payments 10-15 years before the rest of the world got it." If Asia is the leading indicator for payment technology adoption, the companies and economies in this region will be the first to monetize the "Bitcoin as Currency" shift. Investing in the region's tech and payment sectors captures this early adoption curve. LONG exposure to Japanese and Asian payment/tech innovation. Demographic headwinds in Japan; regulatory fragmentation across Asian markets.