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There was a time, not long ago, maybe you remember it, when you had a connection with your local barista, bartender, or server.

A connection that allowed you to be a “regular” or a “local”. Maybe the joint would give you a drink or appetizer on the house. Maybe they’d slip you in ahead of the waitlist. Or, maybe they would just simply shake your hand and recognize you as you walked in.

For many, that magic is gone.

We could point to Covid as the catalyst for the change, but to be honest it was happening before then. The distance between people created by the pandemic simply exasperated it.

Trying to find the exact cause is a foolish effort, but one reason without a doubt is the introduction of technology.

You see, technology and hospitality have a complicated relationship. On one hand, technology makes dining easier and quicker, on the other it removes the interpersonal relationship, while potentially also causing frustration.

Think about it…

There are POS systems that make ordering food much easier, but also force you into a complicated and embarrassing situation where you are asked to tip 30% on a cup of coffee.

Or, there is the delivery company that allows you to order and eat food from the comfort of your home, but also takes a huge percentage of the order from the restaurant or inflates the actual cost of the food for you.

Not only that, but when every restaurant fights to satisfy the godlike algorithm that is Uber Eats, they end up all having the same menu and having to deliver… fries.

We could go on, but you get the point.

The magic of restaurants is the friction. Most restaurants aren’t conglomerates commoditizing food. They are creating interesting menus because they are passionate – whether about the ingredients or serving people who enjoy their creation.

But maybe, just maybe, better technology could bring back some of the magic.

Enter Blackbird, a platform that aims to better connect restaurants and their patrons and just last week raised $24 million to do so.

Here’s how it works:
Restaurants are able to track repeat customers and reward them for their loyalty. Customers simply need to download the Blackbird app and use it at participating restaurants. When they do, they are able to unlock perks decided by the restaurant.

For example, at Gertie in Williamsburg, regulars with the Blackbird app are able to receive “coffee and bagels on the house, access to quarterly members-only events, personalized mug, SMS concierge.”

Ok, but why does this matter?

Because Blackbird is built using crypto technology. It even has its own digital currency (FLY) that food enthusiasts can earn and spend on at other at restaurants in the Blackbird network.

Not only that, but the company was founded by Ben Leventhal who also founded Eater, a platform to find where to eat in a city (acquired by Vox), and Resy, a restaurant reservation service (acquired by Amex). In short, Ben knows how to build consumer apps people want to use.

Fred Wilson, who is on the board of Blackbird put it best:

We agree. Blackbird is an idea that would work on web2, but will be able to do far greater things on web3. At the end of the day, the customer doesn’t even need to know how it’s being done. It speaks volumes that The New York Times was able to write an entire piece on Blackbird’s fundraise and not once mention anything about crypto.

It’s easy to get disillusioned in crypto when the projects that are being launched are either hype machines or use-cases that just don’t matter to the average consumer.

Projects like Blackbird may be able to change that.

The current state of crypto right now is a snooze fest.

In our years of experience of writing this letter, there has been very few occasions where there is basically no news worth reading, let alone writing about.

No, really – it’s that bad.

The past couple weeks, for example, have been filled with:

In reality, none of this really impacts or sways the Average Joe of crypto.

You can make the argument that a looming Bitcoin ETF actually matters, however, it’s highly anticipated and almost exhausting at this point.

Regardless, most news events hardly resonate with the everyday crypto enthusiast these days. They don’t shift the scales of adoption nor influence the price trajectory of stalwarts like bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). These are all topics we love to dissect and write about, of course.

Crypto’s ongoing slumber is why major crypto publications like MilkRoad now write about Meta VR headsets. It’s why Decrypt now covers content around Gaming and AI. And it’s partly why CoinDesk, the largest crypto publication of them all, is cutting its staff and seeking a sale.

Not to mention, bitcoin trading volumes are trading at levels not seen since 2019.

The funny part is that the news isn’t even bad news anymore. There’s just literally no news. Nothing is exciting either. As a result, mainstream media, it seems, has taken a temporary hiatus from the crypto realm. They don’t care at the moment.

And that say’s something.

To drive the point home: We are currently in the deepest pits of a bear market – a fact apparent not from charts or figures but the deafening silence in crypto journalism.

If this doesn’t scream “accumulation season,” we don’t know what does.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

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