Cryptocurrency Ecosystem: The Only Ecosystem Serving Retail Investors for 50 Years

Recently, Haseeb Qureshi, a partner at the well-known venture capital firm Dragonfly in the crypto ecosystem, gave an interview. The conversation covered his insights and views on various aspects of the crypto ecosystem and crypto investment.

Many of the viewpoints in this conversation are valuable, and the transcript can be found in the reference link after the text.

In today's article, I would like to share some of the points that I find particularly compelling.

"The bear market is like a mirror that clearly shows who comes with sincere intentions and who persists silently. Every bull market attracts a group of successful Web2 entrepreneurs with substantial funds, but those who ultimately remain are often those considered 'alternative' or 'crazy'; they are the ones who truly build valuable projects."

I not only particularly agree with this but also cherish it.

When I look at projects, in addition to considering some new teams that have emerged on the trend, I also pay special attention to teams that nearly collapsed during past bear markets but still persevered.

In fact, many successful project teams are not those that succeeded from the start; they are the ones who faced multiple failures but did not give up and eventually found their opportunity at some point.

In any ecosystem, it is relatively easy to find entrepreneurs, but it is much harder to find teams that have experienced repeated failures yet continue to try their best.

Once such teams successfully build their products, they are likely to become the pillars of the ecosystem.

"Over the past 50 years, most technological innovations have reinforced state power. Think about the internet and artificial intelligence; they have, to some extent, enhanced the government's control capabilities. But cryptocurrency is fundamentally disruptive. Most people believe that technology should ultimately be 'tamed' by the government. However, the uniqueness of cryptocurrency lies in its core value of not being tamed… If we look at what Snowden revealed, we find that the internet has actually strengthened government surveillance capabilities. In contrast, cryptocurrency may be the only significant technological innovation in the past 50 years that truly serves individuals rather than the state."

This is what fascinates me most about cryptographic technology and the crypto ecosystem, and I believe it is a core characteristic that distinguishes it from other information technologies.

It is precisely because cryptographic technology provides individuals with the opportunity and space to remain untamed that we can freely exercise our abilities and seek our opportunities in this free ecosystem.

I enjoy this state of freedom.

I even believe that the casinos in the crypto ecosystem are relatively fairer to retail investors than those in real life:

I am not saying that there are no scams or frauds in this ecosystem, but rather that in the crypto ecosystem, we at least have a plethora of on-chain monitoring tools that monitor the movements of "whales" and "insiders" in real time. At least we can see how the scammers operate.

In contrast, in real-life casinos, we cannot even see the shadow of the dealer's hole card.

From this perspective, the crypto ecosystem is much friendlier to retail investors than the environment in real life in many ways.

"The cryptocurrency industry attracts a wide variety of participants, from day traders seeking short-term gains to professional hedge fund practitioners, as well as entrepreneurs of innovative projects and venture capitalists supporting innovation. This industry often exhibits characteristics of zero-sum games, like a 'player versus player' (PVP) game. Long-term participants may face psychological challenges, easily developing cynical attitudes, falling into nihilistic thinking, and wandering in periodic false booms while bearing the psychological pressure of quick monetization."

This passage is particularly well-written, as it profoundly captures the experiences of long-term participants who are repeatedly tormented and battered through cycles of bull and bear markets.

This phenomenon is especially evident in the current market.

No other sector has remained as hot as meme coins since they hit rock bottom in the bear market of 2022.

No other asset class has spread like meme coins from the bear market of 2022 to nearly every new emerging sector, ecosystem, and narrative:

From the initial spread in the Ethereum ecosystem to later layer two expansions and Solana, from classic Ethereum meme coins to inscription meme coins and AI agent meme coins, from the initial crypto narrative to later pet narratives and political ecosystems.

As a result, many participants have grown weary and fatigued, beginning to feel pessimistic about the ecosystem and its prospects.

But as stated in the first quote, we should recognize that even in the most noisy and restless times, there is still a significant group of builders working silently and striving.

These individuals are the future and hope of this ecosystem. The products and applications they build are the foundation and pillars of the crypto ecosystem.

It is precisely because there are still many such people persevering in this ecosystem that I am not at all pessimistic about its future, even believing in its bright prospects during the lowest points of the bear market.