"They Knew It Was a Memecoin": Shaw Walters on ElizaOS, AI & the Future of the Project

In his first interview since declaring the ElizaOS token dead, Eliza Labs Founder Shaw Walters sits down with CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie to lay out what he says actually happened. He also makes a broader case for why crypto's casino culture is actively driving out the builders who could make the space matter and why he's still coding Eliza every day regardless. - Timecodes: 00:00 - Shaw Walters Joins CoinDesk 02:23 - “Why Do People Think I Owe Them Anything?" 06:35 - How AI16Z Started: A $75K Joke That Hit $2.6 Billion 10:49 - Does He Regret Launching the Token? 11:43 - Crypto “Needs to Die And…Be Restarted" 15:34 - On the Burwick Lawsuit: "It Was a Total Scam" 18:36 - "The Casino Is Not the Industry" 20:40 - Why He’s Still Building Eliza 24:00 - "Stay Away From All of This and Invest In Yourself" - This interview has been edited for clarity and focus. - #digitalfinance #finance #bitcoin Subscribe to CoinDesk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CoinDesk?sub_confirmation=1 CoinDesk is the leading digital media, events and information services company for the crypto asset and blockchain technology community. Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/coindesk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coindesk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coindesk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoinDesk Newsletters: https://www.coindesk.com/newsletters CoinDesk Podcast Network: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jyIhkvAQhed8AWDZiPpSP Public Keys: https://open.spotify.com/show/1rqYzRV10nfKfoTpFXZhTE Markets Daily Crypto Roundup: https://open.spotify.com/show/7sDXM8BlxsUqzL2IqmLqwE The Policy Protocol: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Fh8ffulAWcCqMu0uVuwoj