I'm just speaking based on my interpretation. I think the "chalice" is a jeweled cup that seems valuable, but the poison is not what you would expect to drink.

I'm just speaking based on my interpretation. I think the "chalice" is a jeweled cup that seems valuable, but the poison is not what you would expect to drink. So, the deal seems like a big prize, but comes with hard-to-understand disadvantages that make it a poor choice. E.g. someone bought tumblr and tried to make it advertiser friendly by removing NSFW content. As soon as they did, the community that was still flourishing there abandoned it and they had no eyeballs to sell.