Satoshi's fundamental purpose for Bitcoin was to fix the broken economic system. Since its creation, the digital cash system has brought hope for the existence of an equality-seeking technology. The future of blockchain-based services lies within the fundamental security, peer-to-peer exchange, and value storage associated with the open-source network.
The so-called "utility" that many DeFi projects bring to the blockchain world are neither decentralized nor secure technology. They catch naive retail attention from their overambitious promises. Rug-pulled projects burn the ones distracted by high yields and new versions of failing legacy finance goals.
Venture capitalists and influencers are fixated purely on their capital gains. They bring no support for the foundations of the technology and its users. Instead of using their dry powder to ignite sustainable growth in crypto, they rather use their influence to extort, fabricate hype, then dump the market on retail investors. These informed early adopters gamble their exit strategy on how much hype the project receives.
It is not surprising that people are exploiting a budding technology. We are only 13 years into a brand-new asset class that will carry the old economic system to success. The critical purpose of blockchain's long-term sustainability is to maintain qualities that fix the double-spend and fungibility problems that our current fiat nightmare holds. To do this, the ones who care for sustainable development must retrace their steps of digital success and consider all areas of asymmetric cryptography.
The growing media presence surrounding crypto, both good and bad, is creating a discourse storm. As is expected with any emerging technology, ultimate avoidance of negative press is an impossibility. And recently, Terra Luna and Celsius have been the catalysts receiving major backlash. Terra Luna's promised stability was easily interrupted because of design flaws. Celsius halted withdrawals from their centralized system for fear of a bank run. An algorithmic stable coin and a central lending platform are two examples of outdated financial services. Both blockchain services are existing problems with the financial system – problems that Bitcoin was made to fix.
Harvard Business Review published an article by Marco Ianstiti and Karim Lakhani called "The Truth About Blockchain." They explain, "Blockchain is not a 'disruptive' technology, which can attack a traditional business model with a lower-cost solution and overtake incumbent firms quickly. Blockchain is a foundational technology: It has the potential to create new foundations for our economic and social systems." Bad actors will be shaken out as the free market decides their fate, resulting in blockchain fundamentals shining through.
The amount of psychological capital contained in the crypto space continues to surprise the naysayers. Skilled developers are too enamored with innovating and creating "solutions" that are not fundamentally applicable for the real purpose of a blockchain. Both Iansiti and Lakhani warn, "It would be a mistake to rush headlong into blockchain innovation without understanding how it is likely to take hold. It is imperative that we don't take off without solidifying our bases." This article was published in 2017, and their main point continues to ring true. We must fuse together the foundations of the Internet.
This is not a bash on developers who have worked hard on blockchain projects. It is rather a call to broaden your crypto-graphic fundamentals. Some are still waiting for mass adoption of Web 3.0. If we sit and wait instead of continuing to unravel the mystery of cryptography, we are already behind.
