I think one of the most interesting concepts about crypto is:
"The Internet succeeded because it skewed capitalism - the first or richest project didn't necessarily win, the most user friendly project usually did."
Compare that to crypto: The largest project by far is the first, companies like crypto.com can just spend billions of dollars on marketing to become a leading exchange, and users still don't really reap tangible benefits from crypto (other than asset appreciation and edge use-cases).
It's like everyone looked to the early internet and ignored everything good about it other than the equity appreciation (probably b/c that is exactly what crypto is right now)
I think we are still in the 1998-1999 phase of crypto. In Internet terms, that was peak Pets.com and Kosmo. All of the money being made right now is from first-mover advantage and marketing. But value isn't really being created.
It is important to recognize that many of the ideas weren't necessarily bad at the time, they were just 100% optimized for moving fast and capturing eyeballs. Now Pets.com came back as Chewy.com and Kosmo came back as Instacart.
Most of the winners (assuming there are some) simply don't exist yet. There may be some Amazon/Googles in there - if so, they are getting some press but aren't necessarily winning the hardest right now but are building the hardest for tomorrow.
The difference of course being pets.com at least did something theoretically better than going to a pet store. Chewy was enabled by better logistics that just weren’t there in 1999.
For crypto, it’s not like there is a cool use case hampered by a lack of support infrastructure, there just is no cool use case (yet).
Like what’s version 2.0 of Solana look like? Is it a consumer transaction network? Is it a web3 thing? What’s the unlock that gets us there? Are we just applying the wrong metaphors to the wrong technology because we are hopeful that there will be “another Internet” that our generation can profit from?
> It is important to recognize that many of the ideas weren't necessarily bad at the time, they were just 100% optimized for moving fast and capturing eyeballs. Now Pets.com came back as Chewy.com and Kosmo came back as Instacart.
finance bros started getting deep into Silicon Valley (with gig economy stuff in particular) and this is the end result of that. Bunch of people who care way too much about money, with big mics and who have way too much respect in this industry relative to their own morals.
Hustle mindset got us here, dunno if it gets us out.
I think it does but it requires a different kind of hustle. If you have no capital you can still collaborate with other like-minded people and companies to extend your reach while you build out your business (this is how I am expanding). It's still hustle finding these people, supporting them, getting them up and running etc. but as the basis for something sustainable it has a lot of merits.
> The largest project by far is the first, companies like crypto.com can just spend billions of dollars on marketing to become a leading exchange, and users still don't really reap tangible benefits from crypto
Crypto.com was founded in 2016, FTX in 2018, Coinbase in 2012, Gemini in 2014, Binance in 2017.
"The Internet succeeded because it skewed capitalism - the first or richest project didn't necessarily win, the most user friendly project usually did."
Compare that to crypto: The largest project by far is the first, companies like crypto.com can just spend billions of dollars on marketing to become a leading exchange, and users still don't really reap tangible benefits from crypto (other than asset appreciation and edge use-cases).
It's like everyone looked to the early internet and ignored everything good about it other than the equity appreciation (probably b/c that is exactly what crypto is right now)