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Alex Adelman
Alex Adelman: How to Earn & Get Bitcoin Back with Lolli.com
- Alex Adelman's journey from building Cosmic (an e-commerce gateway) through acquisitions by PopSugar and Rakuten, arriving at Lolli as a Bitcoin rewards platform integrated into everyday shopping. - Lolli's core model: earn Bitcoin cashback (ranging from 0.5% to 40%) when shopping at 500+ retail partners, designed to onboard non-technical users ("Bitcoin for Bubby"). - Early Bitcoin merchant adoption was weak due to volatility and lack of consumer demand; payments adoption proved impractical at scale, shifting focus to rewards as a gateway drug. - Retailer perception has evolved from viewing Bitcoin rewards as marketing gimmick to recognizing Bitcoiners as high-quality, savvy, price-conscious customers with strong purchasing power. - Privacy-first approach: Lolli collects minimal data, does not sell customer information, and tracks only shopping behavior at partner merchants to deliver rewards. - Long-term vision centers on building consumer Bitcoin wallets and merchant liquidity, with Lightning and stablecoins playing roles once Bitcoin stabilizes as a payment currency.
Tales from the Crypt #57: Alex Adelman
- Alex Adelman's journey from building Cosmic (a commerce platform) to co-founding Lolly, a Bitcoin rewards extension for online shopping. - Lolly's business model: retailers pay commissions when they drive sales, Lolly converts fiat to Bitcoin at market rates and distributes it to users, who can withdraw to their own addresses or convert to USD. - The distribution problem for Bitcoin: mining and investing appeal to small segments; shopping is universal, making it a better on-ramp for mainstream adoption. - Retailer incentives to accept Bitcoin: eliminating chargebacks, payment processing fees (1.5%+), and fraud costs, particularly in cross-border commerce. - Privacy and security as core principles: tracking only purchase data necessary for rewards, then deleting or anonymizing; vision is full user sovereignty over Bitcoin. - Long-term vision: getting over 500 major retailers to accept Bitcoin via Lightning Network, enabling direct peer-to-peer payments with near-zero fees and settlement in seconds.