Most Startups Misunderstand Incentives feat. Joseph Al-Chami | Internet Explorers Ep. 74

The future of crypto might not be bots, bulls**t, and broken incentives — but first, we have some serious receipts to go through. This week we are joined by researcher Joseph Al-Chami for a wide-ranging dive into the biggest consumer crypto stories of the week — and an honest reckoning with how points systems, appcoins, agentic investors, and open social graphs are actually playing out. From Circle’s IPO drama to AI SEO strategies, we’re connecting the dots on what’s really happening across consumer crypto, AI, and internet culture. We kick off with a quickfire rundown of Appcoins, AI discoverability, and the death spiral of poorly launched tokens, before moving into a deep, revealing conversation with Joseph about the hidden dangers behind points-based growth strategies — and why blind copying Duolingo-style gamification just doesn’t work for crypto projects. This episode unpacks: Ohara’s new Appcoin model and the future of vibe coding AI SEO tactics and why discoverability is about to change forever Why launching a token will not save you The rise and potential fall of Circle’s stablecoin empire The launch of LensChain and the mini-app revolution on Farcaster How agentic investors are creating novelty arbitrage (for now) Open social graphs vs. corporate controlled platforms Why vanity metrics are destroying crypto ecosystems A real breakdown of why “points and quests” mostly attract bots How to build loyalty systems that actually work   Chapters: 0:00 — Intro and a Brand New Home 00:39 — Live Show Chaos and Vibe Check 01:50 — Market Sentiment and Real Builders 03:09 — Introducing Joseph Al-Chami and Topics 04:53 — Appcoins, Vibe Coding, and Token Models 08:11 — AI SEO and Discoverability Shifts 12:55 — Why Launching Tokens Can Fail 16:11 — Circle’s IPO Drama and Fallout 19:38 — LensChain, Open Social, and Mini-Apps 24:16 — Farcaster Airdrops and Notification Burnout 26:51 — Rise of Agentic Investors and Novelty 29:09 — “It’s All Base’s Fault” Twitter Meltdown 30:14 — Credible Neutrality and Blockchain Trust 32:59 — Joseph’s Research on Points Farming 39:48 — How to Build Real Loyalty   Internet Explorers is a weekly rundown show where extremely online individuals broadly explore (romanticize, even) new consumer Internet experiences. Join us⁠ live on Twitter/X, Fridays 10am PT / 1pm ET. Seed Club Twitter: https://x.com/seedclubhq Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/internet-explorers/id1756599282 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6iJk3xZoij7pVhlNbTP9qS?si=4cda0ac044dc4c6a Pods.media: https://pods.media/internet-explorers