Speculation funds innovation. Though, that argument becomes a sort of all-purpose excuse after awhile, you know? Technically the hype cycle attract capital into the ecosystem. Maybe some of that capital hits something real by accident. That happened. Programmable money is amazing. The people in unstable economies using stablecoins to store value. That's something actually used in actual human life, in a very direct and obvious way. The problem is attention. Most of the attention is pursuing narratives. Which coin has the best story on this cycle. Which L2 is getting the hype. Which founder is hitting the circuit podcasting. None of that is utility. All of that is theater. Speculation and utility need of one another in the beginning, but they develop diverse interests in the long run. Speculation requires volatility, requires new stories, requires the feeling that everything may change tomorrow. Utility needs stability, predictability, boring reliability. Those two things are at odds, are in conflict. Not opponents exactly but pulling in different directions. The space has to make a choice sooner or later. Gradually, from what it rewards and what it ignores. Right now it's still rewarding to the narrative more than the product. That might change. But wishing that it can, and should, and actually building the culture to make it so, are two different problems. The technology is capable of more than this. That part I believe. Whether or not the community wants that more than it wants the next 10x, that I'm not so sure.
Speculation funds innovation. Though, that argument becomes a sort of all-purpose excuse after awhile, you know? Technically the hype cycle attract capital into the ecosystem. Maybe some of that capital hits something real by accident. That happened. Programmable money is amazing. The people in unstable economies using stablecoins to store value. That's something actually used in actual human life, in a very direct and obvious way. The problem is attention. Most of the attention is pursuing narratives. Which coin has the best story on this cycle. Which L2 is getting the hype. Which founder is hitting the circuit podcasting. None of that is utility. All of that is theater. Speculation and utility need of one another in the beginning, but they develop diverse interests in the long run. Speculation requires volatility, requires new stories, requires the feeling that everything may change tomorrow. Utility needs stability, predictability, boring reliability. Those two things are at odds, are in conflict. Not opponents exactly but pulling in different directions. The space has to make a choice sooner or later. Gradually, from what it rewards and what it ignores. Right now it's still rewarding to the narrative more than the product. That might change. But wishing that it can, and should, and actually building the culture to make it so, are two different problems. The technology is capable of more than this. That part I believe. Whether or not the community wants that more than it wants the next 10x, that I'm not so sure.

Speculation funds innovation. Though, that argument becomes a sort of all-purpose excuse after awhile, you know? Technically the hype cycle attract capital into the ecosystem. Maybe some of that capital hits something real by accident. That happened. Programmable money is amazing. The people in unstable economies using stablecoins to store value. That's something actually used in actual human life, in a very direct and obvious way. The problem is attention. Most of the attention is pursuing narratives. Which coin has the best story on this cycle. Which L2 is getting the hype. Which founder is hitting the circuit podcasting. None of that is utility. All of that is theater. Speculation and utility need of one another in the beginning, but they develop diverse interests in the long run. Speculation requires volatility, requires new stories, requires the feeling that everything may change tomorrow. Utility needs stability, predictability, boring reliability. Those two things are at odds, are in conflict. Not opponents exactly but pulling in different directions. The space has to make a choice sooner or later. Gradually, from what it rewards and what it ignores. Right now it's still rewarding to the narrative more than the product. That might change. But wishing that it can, and should, and actually building the culture to make it so, are two different problems. The technology is capable of more than this. That part I believe. Whether or not the community wants that more than it wants the next 10x, that I'm not so sure.

Speculation funds innovation. Though, that argument becomes a sort of all-purpose excuse after awhile, you know? Technically the hype cycle attract capital into the ecosystem. Maybe some of that capital hits something real by accident. That happened. Programmable money is amazing. The people in unstable economies using stablecoins to store value. That's something actually used in actual human life, in a very direct and obvious way. The problem is attention. Most of the attention is pursuing narratives. Which coin has the best story on this cycle. Which L2 is getting the hype. Which founder is hitting the circuit podcasting. None of that is utility. All of that is theater. Speculation and utility need of one another in the beginning, but they develop diverse interests in the long run. Speculation requires volatility, requires new stories, requires the feeling that everything may change tomorrow. Utility needs stability, predictability, boring reliability. Those two things are at odds, are in conflict. Not opponents exactly but pulling in different directions. The space has to make a choice sooner or later. Gradually, from what it rewards and what it ignores. Right now it's still rewarding to the narrative more than the product. That might change. But wishing that it can, and should, and actually building the culture to make it so, are two different problems. The technology is capable of more than this. That part I believe. Whether or not the community wants that more than it wants the next 10x, that I'm not so sure.