For many, the term “pseudonymous founder” conjures up an image of a shadowy figure fitted with a Guy Fawkes mask. But, if you look at the recent wave of crypto startups, you’ll notice pseudonymity is becoming an ordinary, run-of-the-mill practice. Crypto’s pseudonymous founders typically don’t curate a daunting, ominous presence – in fact, most have colorful profile pictures (pfps) tethered to their identities in the form of primates, greek gods, anime, and owls with playful names to match: Code Monkey, Zeus, or Owl of Moistness.

Early-stage recruiting is a fundamentally broken process: there’s a stronger bias towards credentialism than ability. Often, the two are confused for each other. Crypto offers us opportunities to work and collaborate in ways that help us see people more clearly and reach people more broadly. The rise of the pseudonymous economy and daos are just the tip of the iceberg of what’s possible.