Compiled by: Wu Blockchain about Blockchain
Preface
Ethereum core developer Péter Szilágyi is a member of the Ethereum Foundation and is also the head of development of Geth, the most mainstream Ethereum execution layer client.
On the evening of August 5, perhaps after witnessing the community's drastic emotional fluctuations in the face of drastic market fluctuations, Ethereum core developer Péter Szilágyi tweeted that he doubted whether he had chosen the wrong industry, revealing his deep disappointment in the crypto industry and sparking widespread discussion. The following is Wu Blockchain compilation of the original text and corresponding key comments:
original
I often wonder if I'm in the wrong industry.
Take SpaceX as an example: if they succeed in sending a rocket to Mars, it is progress for mankind; if they fail and the rocket explodes, mankind can learn lessons and improve; all results promote progress.
In comparison, the crypto space is like a casino for fools (apologies to a few). If the market goes up, they will yell about when to buy a sports car; if the market goes down, it will directly affect or even destroy their lives; what contribution has it made to mankind?
Yes, building a new monetary system takes time. That’s right… but can we do something useful along the way? Everyone is focused on becoming the next V (probably referring to Vitalik), but no one wants to do anything useful. Everyone is pursuing value extraction.
I really don't see why this system shouldn't break down? In the grand scheme of things, what do we have to lose? All crypto has done is a massive transfer of value, but so far I don't see any value creation.
Note that getting rich through luck and then moving the money into some non-crypto projects is not a crypto success story. It is at best a story of a charitable lucky person succeeding, but more likely it is a story of that person simply diversifying their investments.
In my opinion, it's time for the industry to create something truly useful that people want to use, or it's time to shut down.
At least Bitcoin tried (and failed) to be a safe haven asset. But all the other projects are like businessmen selling shovels, they don't really create anything of value. Just like in the gold rush, the people selling shovels don't care if there is gold to be mined, they just want to make a profit from it. The reality is that these projects don't provide any real innovation or actual value, just pursuing short-term interests and speculative opportunities.
On the evening of August 6, Péter Szilágyi tweeted again:
My complaints about Ethereum/cryptocurrencies are not meant to denigrate them, but to keep expectations realistic.
Our most important task is to keep those who have invested their savings into this world from getting hurt. Everything else is secondary.
Promising everything and not delivering leads to bloodshed in the streets. The same is true of persuading people to get involved in something they don't understand the risks of.
Be honest and acknowledge what works and what doesn’t, what has been accomplished and what hasn’t. Emphasize the risks of each part, including future parts that may never materialize.
I will always be against creating a frenzy because I don’t want to see the average person get screwed over by some billionaire venture capitalist who couldn’t care less that you exist.
Yes, I may always be in the minority. Yes, this may cost me most of the potential gains in crypto. I believe fairness is more important than financial gain.
Comments and replies
The founder and former CEO of the decentralized cryptocurrency trading platform Shapeshift commented: Stablecoins, defi lending (such as Aave or Compound), decentralized exchanges (DEX), privacy coins, many excellent wallet applications, excellent financial intelligence systems such as Dune or Messari, high-throughput blockchains, there are indeed many great inventions in the crypto field. You yourself may be confused by the casino-like speculation, but you should see the real value through the appearance.
Péter Szilágyi responded: I am not saying that nothing valuable has been created. But I think the speculative factor is too dominant, and we seem to like this phenomenon because it brings money. Regarding the creations you listed:
● I accept stablecoins.
● Lending requires collateral, so you need on-chain wealth to access it, and to me, that’s not real empowerment.
● Decentralized Exchange: Well, this one falls directly into the casino category in my opinion. If we had a lot of strong currencies that people really wanted to exchange, DEX would have been an essential tool. But at the moment, it's more about trading, which doesn't make sense to me right now.
● Privacy coins: They are not that common and we may see crackdowns on them (e.g. Tornado, etc.) I would be happy to see them develop and be accepted.
● Wallet: It is just a supporting tool for the rest, but not a use case in itself.
● Dune/Messari: Well, you can analyze the casino situation, but that doesn't make it any less of a casino, but I'd love to be proven wrong.
● High TPS: Yes, we have reached that point, but what do we do with it? I am using my shovel metaphor to express this. Hopefully, it can be used for some real purpose instead of releasing 1000 meme coins.
I believe there are many great things being built. But don’t we let MEME and Lamborghini sports cars become our ambassadors?
Crypto KOL @iamDCinvestor commented: Transparent on-chain settlement is actually a great value-added for humanity.
Péter Szilágyi replied: How does this affect the 99.999% of the world's population who don't have money to gamble?
@iamDCinvestor Reply: 99.999% of people don't need to use it directly to benefit. A more transparent financial system will benefit everyone because it will have less behind-the-scenes shenanigans and opacity, lower costs, more trust. The value may be hard to see if you only focus on degens being liquidated, but it is important and world-changing, I really believe.
Péter Szilagyi: Of course, I totally accept that. But if we call it the "world computer" or something like that, shouldn't we build something more directly relevant to ordinary people?
@iamDCinvestor: I agree, we need other applications, on a much larger scale in other areas, I think we will achieve this huge value settlement layer, it's a good start, but there will be more to come, I still think smart contract wallets, identity, non-monetary digital assets, and other forms of money will all be very important in the future, but at the same time, booms and busts are not going away. Human greed is still too strong, the systems being built are really important for the future, and your work is important.
@0xemon commented: You should spend more time in emerging markets than in the West. Many people rely on stablecoins and DeFi infrastructure to improve their economic situation. The problem is that most people don't want to talk publicly about their financial decisions, so you only hear about Lamborghini stories.
Péter Szilágyi: Stablecoins may have value. But if you need to rely on cryptocurrencies for economic reasons, are you really the target audience for all these DeFi protocols?
@0xemon: Probably not, which is why I think we need to encourage more developers and investors from emerging markets. Supporting entrepreneurs in developed markets doesn’t really help the target users at the bottom of the pyramid. I know a lot of people who use stablecoins because they live in countries with capital controls and can earn a yield on their stablecoins. They also use it as a form of compensation. Anything that improves economic well-being is a big benefit to users. Unfortunately, casinos have such a large market share that we often overlook the other benefits. However, at the same time, access to casinos also means access to a lot of liquidity that people living in emerging markets don’t have access to. Crypto is a step-up fintech for people in emerging markets. We just haven’t done enough to highlight its unique use cases and support local developers. We’ve been in the decentralized finance space for years, but not a single VC has tried to invest in permissionless on-chain microfinance loans. Imagine if more VCs were based in developing countries…
@nicnode commented: Look at how crypto is being used in Latin America and other emerging markets - literally saving many lives. Bolivia is going through a huge crisis right now and the only refuge people have to ensure they can access their savings is crypto.
Péter Szilágyi: But they will not use DeFi protocols, nor will they use uniswap or nft.
@nicnode: Yes, they will in the future (some already have), but education (and easy translation) still goes a long way. In Latin America, most banks offer predatory lending rates, DeFi solves this problem.
@vladlykhonis commented: Funding wise. Unfortunately though, no one is funding anything "useful".
Péter Szilagyi: I thought about this aspect in contrast to the stock market. I agree that part of it is necessary for “efficient capital allocation.” But the stock market is the opposite: you have companies building utility, and the stock market funds them. Cryptocurrency seems to be the opposite: we have a super efficient way to allocate capital, but no utility to allocate it.
