Ken Chang, co-founder of Aevo, recently published a lengthy article titled "I wasted 8 years of my life in crypto," directly pointing out that the crypto world has fallen from its ideals to become the biggest casino of our time, sparking reflection within the community. Nic Carter, a partner at Castle Island Ventures, responded by breaking down the crypto world into five "telos," pointing out that pessimism stems from an obsession with a single narrative.
From idealism to disillusionment: Why do crypto creators collectively feel betrayed?
Ken Chang's article reflects the "burnout" that often occurs in the crypto space, where what was thought to be a new financial order has instead created a 24/7 global casino.
He pointed out that the proliferation of new L1 licenses, the fueling effect of VC spending, and the increasing resemblance of perpetual contracts and prediction markets to casino infrastructure, while truly public-benefit technological advancements are extremely limited.
Why has the ideal become distorted? Let's first discuss what the "ideal" of cryptocurrency is.
Nic Carter cited the example of Mike Hearn's departure from Bitcoin 10 years ago, arguing that Ken's disappointment was not an isolated case, but rather a consequence of each contributor's misunderstanding of " what crypto should truly be ."
Their details differ, but their arguments are the same: Bitcoin/cryptocurrency was supposed to be something (a decentralized or cyberpunk practice), but it turned out to be something else (a centralized casino). Both point to the problem that "the current outcome is not what was originally intended."
The implication is that they are essentially arguing about the divergence from the " ultimate purpose or aim of cryptocurrency ." But then again, what exactly is our goal?
Five goals in the crypto space: Will the five camps cooperate or struggle?
Nic roughly summarizes the five major goals of the current crypto field, pointing out that cryptocurrency has never been a one-way narrative, but rather an innovative movement that combines and simultaneously advances five beliefs.
The Renaissance of Sound Currency: The Obsession and Reality of the Bitcoin Utopia
First, there was the initial dream: Bitcoin natives believed that BTC could rival, and even replace, sovereign currencies. Fifteen years later, Bitcoin has indeed become an important asset, but it remains a long way from comprehensive monetary reform.
Nic believes his achievements are not to be underestimated, but his supporters are still oscillating between hope and despair.
( Binance's CZ engages in a heated debate with Peter Schiff: Bitcoin vs. Gold – Who Wins? )
Standardizing Business Logic: Ethereum's Smart Contract Revolution
The digital revolution camp, led by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, has proposed a vision to improve efficiency and transparency by writing various financial flow or contract logic into the code.
The current results have achieved a certain degree of success, such as the significant growth in the scale of DeFi derivatives, but the grand goal of "rewriting the economic order" has not yet been achieved.
Nic believes the path is open, but the road ahead is far narrower than he imagined.
The Imagination of Digital Property Rights: NFTs – A Good Starting Point But Too Early
Some camps argue that "digital assets" should be truly owned like physical property, but the productization of NFTs and decentralized social networks has not been successful so far and has been ridiculed as a bubble.
Nic agreed: "We will ultimately stand up to defend our control over our digital assets, possibly through blockchain, but that's an idea that's not yet ready."
Putting the capital market on the blockchain: the most boring yet most pragmatic innovation
This is the most "ideologically neutral" camp in the crypto world, advocating for using blockchain to improve the slow, inefficient, and outdated nature of traditional financial settlements. While lacking the mystique of cyberpunk, it possesses the greatest potential commercial value and is a steadily emerging trend.
Nic stated, "You don't see the crypto community particularly enthusiastic about these things that are close to traditional finance, but for better or worse, it has certainly driven a part of the crypto industry's growth."
Global financial inclusion: Committed to meeting the needs of emerging markets
From stablecoins to self-custodial wallets, and then to tokenized stocks and payment debit cards, crypto is providing restricted regions around the world with their first equal access to the global financial system.
Nic believes this is currently the most successful area in the crypto industry, and also one of the most underrated visions.
From Utopia to Pragmatism: Revolution Fails to Meet Expectations, Bubbles Are Inevitable
Nic admitted that many of the earliest grand narratives have not yet been realized, and that meme speculation, as an unavoidable side effect of technological advancement, is indeed causing real harm to the younger generation; however, he emphasized that this is not the whole story of cryptocurrency, nor is it the final outcome.
So which camp is on the right track? Nic believes that " remaining pragmatic and optimistic " is more important than pursuing a specific ideology or narrative:
Whenever you find yourself feeling pessimistic about the realities of cryptocurrency casinos, you must hold on to this: speculation and exploitation are inevitable external costs, accompanied by the ongoing development of revolutionary infrastructure.
Looking ahead at crypto developments: Bitcoin, stablecoins, DEXs, and prediction markets
If we set aside romantic revolutionary visions, Nic believes that current crypto applications are actually clearer than ever before: Bitcoin is becoming a globally recognized asset; stablecoins are undeniably becoming cross-border payment and savings tools; and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and prediction markets are forming truly innovative applications with product-market fit (PMF).
While not as grandiose as earlier narratives, these are all sustainable and quantifiable deep-seated infrastructure advancements.
The next step for cryptocurrencies: Maintaining idealism in reality, and accepting limitations within that idealism.
Nic's core conclusion is that the purpose of encryption hasn't disappeared; it's just more pragmatic and time-consuming than imagined. Those who expect revolutionary changes or have excessive faith in encryption will only become unhappy. Looking to the future, the industry is indeed moving in the "right" direction.
The real challenge is not to reject pessimism, but to maintain a rational optimism. It's about neither indulging in wishful thinking nor completely negating the entire industry because of its casino-like nature.
This article by Nic Carter, analyzing the five major factions in cryptography: a shattered revolutionary dream or an inevitable path of technological evolution? It first appeared on ABMedia, a ABMedia .
