In early 2022, I had this phase where I was focusing on discussing application layer innovation. Right before then, in late 2021, my main focus was scalability, so it was apt to make amends and point out all of that scalability would be pointless if there wasn’t orders of magnitude higher user demand for applications. Nearly a couple of years later, regrettably, very little has changed. There’s now an overabundance of L2s and L1s with barely utilized blockspace, yet people are still obsessed ...

In early 2022, I had this phase where I was focusing on discussing application layer innovation. Right before then, in late 2021, my main focus was scalability, so it was apt to make amends and point out all of that scalability would be pointless if there wasn’t orders of magnitude higher user demand for applications. Nearly a couple of years later, regrettably, very little has changed. There’s now an overabundance of L2s and L1s with barely utilized blockspace, yet people are still obsessed ...

A common response I always receive for my application layer writings is that I’m being pessimistic. I’ve been writing about this topic for 7 years now (different anons) and it’s the same every time. I’m just trying to observe the space and making pragmatic recommendations based on the state of the application layer. So, let me explain. 8 years ago, before Ethereum launched, BitShares had:DEXUser issued assets (basically ERC-20s)Stablecoins (even algorithmic, see BitUSD)Memecoins (see Brownie ...

A common response I always receive for my application layer writings is that I’m being pessimistic. I’ve been writing about this topic for 7 years now (different anons) and it’s the same every time. I’m just trying to observe the space and making pragmatic recommendations based on the state of the application layer. So, let me explain. 8 years ago, before Ethereum launched, BitShares had:DEXUser issued assets (basically ERC-20s)Stablecoins (even algorithmic, see BitUSD)Memecoins (see Brownie ...

We’ve all heard about it, how infrastructure is way overvalued in crypto, while applications are criminally undervalued. There’s a common critique that “there’s nothing to do in crypto”. Meanwhile, on the opposite end, there’s a lot of hopium, excuses and entitlement like “we’re so early”, “build and they’ll come”. As with most things, the truth is likely somewhere in the middle. No, we’re definitely not early - there’s tremendous value being settled on public blockchains today. It’s also tru...

We’ve all heard about it, how infrastructure is way overvalued in crypto, while applications are criminally undervalued. There’s a common critique that “there’s nothing to do in crypto”. Meanwhile, on the opposite end, there’s a lot of hopium, excuses and entitlement like “we’re so early”, “build and they’ll come”. As with most things, the truth is likely somewhere in the middle. No, we’re definitely not early - there’s tremendous value being settled on public blockchains today. It’s also tru...

It’s been a while since I did one of these, although I have indirectly discussed the topic plenty. But as speculation returns to crypto, there’ll be all sorts of utterly pointless numbers paraded, so it’s ever more critical to focus on actually useful numbers. Now, of course, economic activity metrics can be gamed, but when we’re talking about billions of dollars, it gets significantly harder to do so without being obvious to onchain analysis. Further, considering a slew of metrics gets us cl...

It’s been a while since I did one of these, although I have indirectly discussed the topic plenty. But as speculation returns to crypto, there’ll be all sorts of utterly pointless numbers paraded, so it’s ever more critical to focus on actually useful numbers. Now, of course, economic activity metrics can be gamed, but when we’re talking about billions of dollars, it gets significantly harder to do so without being obvious to onchain analysis. Further, considering a slew of metrics gets us cl...

We like our trilemmas in crypto, so here’s one for governance systems - neutrality, fairness, and inclusivity. This is probably my 6th or 7th post about governance in the last 6 months, and I’ll liberally assume you’re familiar with my worldview of DAO governance. Let’s start with neutrality. Some DAOs may want to simply focus on profits, and their tokenholders are merely owners in the capital structure. There’s no real reason to go beyond neutrality with minimal governance. However, most DAO...

We like our trilemmas in crypto, so here’s one for governance systems - neutrality, fairness, and inclusivity. This is probably my 6th or 7th post about governance in the last 6 months, and I’ll liberally assume you’re familiar with my worldview of DAO governance. Let’s start with neutrality. Some DAOs may want to simply focus on profits, and their tokenholders are merely owners in the capital structure. There’s no real reason to go beyond neutrality with minimal governance. However, most DAO...

I have now written many posts about how the true unique proposition offered by crypto is zero governance immutable protocols/blockchains. However, in reality, there’s a wide range of governance solutions that’ll be implemented by blockchain protocols, sometimes to the extent that they are just communities that use blockchains as one of their many tools. There may be some ungoverned ghost protocols/chains out there, but of the very few protocols that people actually use, Bitcoin is closest to ...

I have now written many posts about how the true unique proposition offered by crypto is zero governance immutable protocols/blockchains. However, in reality, there’s a wide range of governance solutions that’ll be implemented by blockchain protocols, sometimes to the extent that they are just communities that use blockchains as one of their many tools. There may be some ungoverned ghost protocols/chains out there, but of the very few protocols that people actually use, Bitcoin is closest to ...

In crypto, the concepts of “welfare” and “neutrality” are often muddled together, but in reality, in most crypto contexts, they are contradictory ideals. First, let’s define them, in crypto contexts. “Welfare” is the idea that the needs of all people are satisfied, irrespective of their means. “Neutrality” is anyone can satisfy their own needs, but they may require the means to do so. Related, most of what’s called “public goods” in crypto are actually “common goods”. They are non-excludable,...

In crypto, the concepts of “welfare” and “neutrality” are often muddled together, but in reality, in most crypto contexts, they are contradictory ideals. First, let’s define them, in crypto contexts. “Welfare” is the idea that the needs of all people are satisfied, irrespective of their means. “Neutrality” is anyone can satisfy their own needs, but they may require the means to do so. Related, most of what’s called “public goods” in crypto are actually “common goods”. They are non-excludable,...

I have written about these topics before, and have in the past come to a conclusion crypto is great for coordination that only require objective outputs. To that end, the two key usecases are identified as objective money and objective identity, of course with applications that use one or both, or remix them. Here, I’ll talk more about why this is the case, and why “replace everything with crypto” hopium is a distraction. Instead, we must focus all our efforts on where it actually makes sense...

I have written about these topics before, and have in the past come to a conclusion crypto is great for coordination that only require objective outputs. To that end, the two key usecases are identified as objective money and objective identity, of course with applications that use one or both, or remix them. Here, I’ll talk more about why this is the case, and why “replace everything with crypto” hopium is a distraction. Instead, we must focus all our efforts on where it actually makes sense...

Over the last few weeks, the wider crypto market might be languishing in what might be described as an apathy phase. During this time, speculation has hit multi-year lows. This has exposed where true lasting, sustainable demand for crypto lies. The most valuable usecase remains as an alternate store-of-value, with BTC & ETH leading. It’s fair to conclude there’s a baseline demand of several hundreds of billion for this usecase. The other multi-billion dollar usecase is stablecoins, and there ...

Over the last few weeks, the wider crypto market might be languishing in what might be described as an apathy phase. During this time, speculation has hit multi-year lows. This has exposed where true lasting, sustainable demand for crypto lies. The most valuable usecase remains as an alternate store-of-value, with BTC & ETH leading. It’s fair to conclude there’s a baseline demand of several hundreds of billion for this usecase. The other multi-billion dollar usecase is stablecoins, and there ...

Crypto is all about cults and profit, which often leads to a distorted view of the industry. My personal belief is application-centrism, and by extension, user-centrism. I believe applications should be built to offer the best experience for the user, and nothing else should matter. Infrastructure should be chosen based on what’s best for the particular application, and should be abstracted away from the user. Things like “decentralization” are irrelevant in and of itself, and only matter if ...

Crypto is all about cults and profit, which often leads to a distorted view of the industry. My personal belief is application-centrism, and by extension, user-centrism. I believe applications should be built to offer the best experience for the user, and nothing else should matter. Infrastructure should be chosen based on what’s best for the particular application, and should be abstracted away from the user. Things like “decentralization” are irrelevant in and of itself, and only matter if ...

Forgive me for sounding like a broken record, but “crypto values” like “decentralization” are merely a means to an end. All hypotheses and conjectures don’t matter. The only thing that does is - are these feature improving consumer experience and choice? Let’s take crypto’s #1 usecase, as an example - alternate store-of-value. Decentralization is certainly a key ingredient to this usecase. At the same time, a vast majority of consumer opt for custodial services. This is perfectly fine, we sho...

Forgive me for sounding like a broken record, but “crypto values” like “decentralization” are merely a means to an end. All hypotheses and conjectures don’t matter. The only thing that does is - are these feature improving consumer experience and choice? Let’s take crypto’s #1 usecase, as an example - alternate store-of-value. Decentralization is certainly a key ingredient to this usecase. At the same time, a vast majority of consumer opt for custodial services. This is perfectly fine, we sho...

I have discussed at length before across multiple tweets, posts etc. why and how blockchains are fundamentally unfair, here’s a recent post. Permissionless, yes; decentralized, maybe; but fair - no. Blockchain communities could in theory strive towards fairness and equal opportunity, but this will come at the cost of what makes blockchains unique. As discussed before, the only way to achieve fairness is through subjective means - taxation laws, welfare programs, antitrust regulations etc. The...

I have discussed at length before across multiple tweets, posts etc. why and how blockchains are fundamentally unfair, here’s a recent post. Permissionless, yes; decentralized, maybe; but fair - no. Blockchain communities could in theory strive towards fairness and equal opportunity, but this will come at the cost of what makes blockchains unique. As discussed before, the only way to achieve fairness is through subjective means - taxation laws, welfare programs, antitrust regulations etc. The...