Industry Infighting: The Crypto Civil War
The Real Threat: Industry Infighting and the Crypto Civil War
The cryptocurrency landscape brims with innovation, but a storm cloud of fierce competition hangs overhead. Projects like Cardano (ADA), known for its methodical, research-driven approach, battle for dominance. However, a more insidious threat lurks beneath the surface – industry infighting. This article argues that these internal squabbles aren't just petty squabbles; they represent a full-blown crypto civil war that endangers the fragile ecosystem and paves the way for traditional finance to exploit these divisions.
Cardano in the Crosshairs: A Perfect Metaphor for Tribal Warfare
This is not another article advocating for a particular crypto, it just works the most apt example to drive home the larger picture. ADA, with its focus on peer-reviewed research, serves as a perfect metaphor for the broader problem. While some projects prioritize rapid iteration, Cardano embraces a more strategic and deliberate pace. This difference in approach often fuels toxic tribalism. Proponents of rival projects, blinded by short-term greed and a "my-coin-will-moon" mentality, view price fluctuations as the sole metric of success. They resort to misrepresentation (straw man arguments) and personal attacks (ad hominem) to undermine Cardano's technological advancements. This isn't healthy competition; it's a race to the bottom, fueled by misinformation and a complete disregard for the core ideals of crypto.
Echoes of a Divided Nation: Crypto's Partisanship Problem
These destructive squabbles bear an unsettling resemblance to the current US duopoly political system. Just as blind partisanship is exploited to sew division and maintain the status quo, infighting in crypto weakens the entire movement. Traditional financial institutions, much like entrenched political interests, thrive on this discord. They can swoop in, manipulate a fractured landscape, and ultimately preserve their dominance over a crippled crypto space.
Beyond Price Wars: The Fragile State of Crypto
The obsession with short-term price gains exemplifies a deeper issue – the crypto industry's vulnerability during its early developmental stage. Traditional financial institutions, with their established infrastructure and vast resources, watch from the sidelines, waiting for an opportunity to capitalize on internal discord. This infighting weakens the crypto space, making it more susceptible to manipulation and control from legacy financial players.
Building a New Future: Collaboration, Not Tribalism
The future of blockchain technology, with its promise to democratize access to financial systems, hinges on a unified front. As Cardano approaches its self-sustaining Voltaire era, fostering a culture of constructive criticism and collaboration becomes paramount. The industry must prioritize mutual respect and recognize the collective value of innovation. Petty rivalries only benefit the very institutions crypto seeks to disrupt.
Web 3.0's Broken Promises: A Call to Arms
Web 3.0 and blockchain were envisioned as a revolution against the status quo. Decentralization and democratization of financial power, governance, privacy assurance, freedom of speech, and ownership of data and creations were the cornerstones of this vision. The current system has failed us in all these aspects, and it's concerning that only a few projects seem to prioritize these core ideals in their development.
We, as a broader community that believes in the foundational principles of blockchain and crypto, need to take action. We need to collectively build new channels for news, information, and a social media platform that rewards cooperation and dedication to these core principles. We have a very narrow opportunity to build such online infrastructure and an even narrower window to change the toxic tribalism that's causing division, confusion, and virtually handing this revolutionary technology over to the very corrupt institutions and individuals it was developed to replace.
A Nation Divided: "A House Divided Cannot Stand."
The stakes could not be higher. We have this absolutely golden opportunity to restore and build upon the very ideals of our Nation. The Founding Fathers sealed their doom when they signed their names to the ledger of the US Constitution. The mere act of signing their name to a document was both a declaration of freedom and a declaration of war. The King of England was not going to be taking any prisoners if this "little rebellion" in the "New World" didn't pan out. Our remarkable advantage is that much like the aristocracy of yore, our current overlords are old and grey. They are so entrenched in their outdated models of everything from finance to governance they're virtually blind to the threat that a proper crypto revolution poses to their grip on power. Take a good look at our President, Congress, Senate, Treasury and Judicial bodies, how many of them could successfully set up a device as simple as a Roku in their own homes if a gun were pointed at their heads!? The overwhelming majority of politicians and corporate executives don't have a clue what "Web 3.0" is, nor "NFT's," "blockchain," "staking pools," "decentralized governance," "smart contracts" etc. If they actually understood the sheer disruptive power of a technology like Cardano, then Hoskinson would be public enemy number one! Yet they don't understand it. They don't understand anything except for dollars and cents and tragically far too many bright minds and big egos working in the space who accumulated wealth early on when they were in it for their ideals have forsaken those principles.
These idealists turned into the creatures they despised. They're so many of them out there. They're selling their principles and the integrity of their name to ensure that their investments go up. Meanwhile, to protect their newfound wealth they're launching viscious campaigns of slander and engaging in treachory to guard their swollen pockets. It's not difficult to spot these individuals when they're brazen enough to openly attack rival project developers. The infighting and dick swinging is dangerous enough on its own. More poisonous is the incessant media they fund and promote that always heralds an imminent explosive price movement for projects they're invested in while simultaneously leveraging an emerging caste of crypto soothsayers brandishing their impenetrablly esoteric craft of technical chart divining to spell the doom of various crypto assets.
Chart wizards are either plucked from pure obscurity or elevated to high priest when one of their 1,000's of predictions bears resemblance to the markets movements. These seers would be harmless in a vacuum but alas they're a part of a grander more sinister ecosystem. Each prediction sparks a tweet and chirp amongst their fellow precogs as their prophecies make objects emerge in the pixels of charts the little chrips become a deafening trill. It reminds me of arc and crescendo of cicada song. Soon, a "cup and handle" or "head and shoulders" take form in the moving lines, and more believers are born. The believers trigger more and more adherents to become members of their order that buy and sell when the tell tale omens arise as if by command of the oracles.
The Last Stand: The Future at Stake
By the time one is making "buy" and "sell" decisions based on the shapes of red and green candlesticks the chart wizards predict, they are totally divorced from the spirit that gave rise to crypto. They've fallen under the spell of the cunning forces seeking to profit from the obedient masses. It's a greedy sickness all too common and all too easy to fall prey to. If one finds themself rushing to make a trade following a series of trending tweets it's time to pause. Nearly all of us wish to use our cunning and knowledge to make money from money from this strange new market that produces overnight millionaires. Yet it's important to keep in mind that with the exception of those able to create genuine new value with their technical skills upon the blokchain, you are roughly the size of your wallet in this swelling sea. Most of us are plankton and minnows and any frenzied behavior is likely caused by much larger creatures, with larger eyes and brains, from mackerel to tuna, marlin to whales, steering the baitball towards the surface to be devoured.
Wall Street has entered these waters. Those with deep pockets, shallow consciences and access to information and resources you don't have. Thus, as a global community we no longer have the luxury of squabbles. The big cats are in the ring to stay. Their goal is simple, to get rich. They waited too long to get on board and certainly don't feel like paying spending a premium on this "magic internet money." That means they need to push out all the "vermin" holding onto to the good cheese. At this time they've successfully flushed a good amount of loot by teaming up with the "dolphins" and "whales" to churn the waters, make bait balls and gobble what they could. They have one tried and true means to shake out down those of us remaining. They need to divide and conquer.
It's as plain as day to anyone with eyes to see that the fraction of 1% holding 90% of the resources on this planet maintain their grip on power by sewing discord amongst the people. So long as we fight and bicker amongst one another they are safe and sound to keep what they have and continue siphoning more. The fight is not between individual projects; it's a battle for a future where individuals have control over their finances, their data, their vote and free access to quality information. Industry infighting is the real threat, and collaboration is the only path to victory. By rejecting tribalism and remembering the core ideals of Web 3.0, crypto can deliver on the revolutionary promise it holds. Let us never forget the motivations that drove the creation of this profound and powerful technology. If we lose touch with our roots and fail to maintain the integrity of our historical ledger we will lose everything that is of real value. If we keep those principles alive by making them central to discourse and directly support projects that uphold these values we'll collectively secure immense agency in shaping the future! Or as George Orwell so eloquently put it, "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."
