These are my independent thoughts and do not necessarily represent the views of my employer. Cover art: "The Monk by the Sea" by Caspar David Friedrich, 1808-1810.

A malaise pervades the crypto industry today. On one hand, the regulatory environment has never looked better, and TradFi interest in public blockchains is at an all-time high. Yet internally, crypto feels more stagnant, circular, and cynical than ever. How can that be?

I think it's because crypto today only exists to serve cryptoassets. While the total market cap of crypto nears $3t, very little of that value is exogenous to our industry. The tokenized traditional assets that have come onchain (dollars, t-bills) have been tokenized primarily to serve crypto's needs, not the imperatives of the assets. Crypto has not improved the traditional financial system; yet.

It's true this is partly because crypto hasn't been allowed to change the financial system. The Biden Administration seemed to do everything in its power to prevent adoption of the public blockchain innovation that exploded in 2020 and 2021. It debanked crypto entrepreneurs and companies. It froze all bank experiments with the technology. It investigated or sued the best actors in the space, turning earnest engagement into prolonged litigation.

It's also true crypto has obvious innovations that could improve traditional financial services. Automated market making is an elegant way to improve liquidity for low-volume assets. Collateralized lending extends credit to people with just one dollar of net worth, exactly the people most likely to pay the highest interest rates. Even perps make markets more efficient by making option durations infinitely granular.

But it's also true that crypto hasn’t succeeded, for whatever reason. In fact, these days, it's more common to see crypto fail. Parts of our industry not only tolerate but actually celebrate and justify modern memecoins when they are plainly extractive, circular, and shortsighted. Projects race to "TGE" (Token Generation Event) pre-product, intending only to cash out, which leaves roadmaps half-completed and vaulted promises unfulfilled. Others see government endorsement as an explicit product strategy, which depletes the common stock of credibility we all share.

What is needed is real innovation. A crypto product you don't need to pay people to use. Examples, not explanations. A proof of concept -- yes, a proof! -- not another promise. Justly or not, we must now produce a tangible example of change to break through this malaise.

I think this is required.

I'm also telling you it will come. Not from blind faith, not from naive optimism. But from conviction. It will come because of the work, creativity, and Spirit of a few people -- who dare to change the world.

We believe in something real.