The group that wouldn’t shut up about censorship, debanking, and government interference… suddenly silent now that all of that is actually happening in their so-called “free country.” How’s that free speech thing going, by the way?

I’ve been turning this over in my head, not sure where to even begin. Two years ago, I left the tech/VC space for good. At first, I thought I could just put my head down, do the work, cash the cheque, and ignore the bigger picture. But once I started connecting with people across the industry, the reality hit: tech wasn’t for me. The right-wing rhetoric was everywhere, and it was suffocating. Looking back now, it makes sense why I’d get side-eyed for speaking my mind.

To be clear, I don’t think tech itself is the problem. But the kind of people it attracts is. The industry has become a magnet for opportunists who will do anything for a return, no matter what’s on the line. Over the years, conservatives carved out an incubator where hate speech, sexism, and abuse were tolerated, and the crypto crowd simply made themselves at home. Many of them came straight from 4chan anyway, so the fit is...natural.

I often compare crypto to the incel community, and not just as a joke. Both are groups made up of people who didn’t quite make it in the mainstream (in crypto’s case, web2), grew bitter, and decided to turn that bitterness into everyone else’s problem. It’s resentment masquerading as innovation.

That resentment also shows up in the way they handle money. New money is always a little sad; it bends easily, it flaunts too hard, and it lacks any sense of grounding. Most of these people will kneel to whoever dangles a dollar in front of them.

And then there was the “Crypto Ball.” What even was that? A gala? A cosplay event? Watching it felt uncanny, like people playing dress-up for a world they desperately want to belong to but never will. Maybe it was their first time at anything resembling a formal dinner.

The most disheartening part, though, was watching women attend, smiling and networking alongside men whose track records are...something. I won’t apologize for my stance here: complicity is complicity. Being a woman doesn’t give you a pass. You don’t get to play the “underdog” card while actively propping up an ecosystem that thrives on misogyny and abuse. You’re not victims in this story; you’re participants.

~Anyway~ given the attack on free-speech in the US today I felt compelled to share my thoughts.