Ethereum developers and Andre Cronje reflect on the core of the encryption industry: Complete decentralization is impossible, and short-term hype is discouraging

Ethereum developer @pcaversaccio and Yearn Finance and Sonic Labs founder Andre Cronje revealed the plight of the decentralization movement from the perspective of ideals and reality on Twitter on 12/22. They stated that over-reliance on compliance and emphasis on short-term interests have gradually led the crypto industry to deviate from its original purpose of challenging the world, and have also put many developers in a dilemma, whether to uphold decentralization or compromise with reality. They further stated that the crypto world is experiencing a spiritual crisis in 2024.

The soul-searching choice between continuing to challenge the system or compromising with reality

@pcaversaccio's reflection directly points to the core problem of the crypto industry in 2024:

• Delaying decentralization: He believes that Layer 2 technology should have driven decentralization, but has become a conservative design like "training wheels" that hinders progress. Many centralized transitional designs such as verification and management mechanisms, which are considered temporary, have actually slowed down the development of complete decentralization.
• Regulatory pressure: KYC is ubiquitous, and the developer and user acceptance of this disappoints him.
• Lack of innovative enthusiasm: Many on-chain applications are either gambling or speculation, deviating from the original intention and principles of changing the world. He further criticizes that the current crypto industry has largely lost its enthusiasm and is chasing short-term trends, forgetting its mission to challenge the system. He calls for: "Don't become a puppet just pursuing short-term hype."

Developers' dilemma

As the founder of Yearn Finance and Sonic Labs, Andre Cronje delves into the current predicament from the perspective of developers:

• Challenges of complete decentralization: Cronje shares that past projects like Solidly, due to strictly adhering to the principle of decentralization, lacked the ability to upgrade and control access rights, but this "demand for perfection" in code and design is prone to failure due to code vulnerabilities and irrational user behavior. The reality is that complete decentralization is almost impossible.
• Changing user demands: Cronje points out that users are increasingly less understanding of the meaning of decentralization and no longer pursue immutable code. They are more concerned about the team behind the project and the product direction, hoping to find someone responsible when problems arise.
• Regulatory shadow: Although Cronje has avoided fundraising, using utility tokens, and not establishing a legal entity in his projects, he still spent nearly two years negotiating with the SEC, a process that was inefficient and arduous.

Cronje expresses his helplessness: "Developers only have two choices, either to uphold non-tamperable and decentralized principles, but bear all the responsibility and regulatory pressure; or compromise, obtain licenses, retain access control, and continue to optimize the product." Cronje admits that reality makes the second choice a more acceptable path.

(Andre Cronje discusses Appchains: Innovation or over-engineering?)