Regulators as secret crypto shills
2024-03-27 11:37:00 +07:00 by Mark Smith
Another half baked mid-week observation for you. Maybe it will spark some ideas even if it isn't articulted in the most elegant way.
The way things are built in the crypto space is sort of interesting, even if it's a bit worrying, because it can lead to all sorts of scamy behaviour. Contenders for new layer 1s start out as personality or meme coins. This is to get some traction and money flowing through the network. The developers then attempt to add much needed core features like security and decentralisation amoung others. If they don't succeed they can always turn the project into a layer 2.
The point is the process is very difficult, fraught with difficulties, but can result in robust software. That software tends to be relatively well suited to building protocols, which can be used by many.
This is in contrast to how software is typically build for more traditional web companies. These tend to favour centralisation and don't tend to be conducive to creating open protocols.
It occurred to me that in a way the US and EU regulators that are trying to impose laws to curb tech giants are basically imposing a specific development philosophy onto companies. Their focus is on curbing monopolistic behaviour, rather than say decentralisation, or censorship resistance.
I wonder if it's the case that eventually they will be imposing crypto style architectures and protocols. The certainly don't seem to be down with traditional web businesses at the minute.
How ironic that they don't allow crypto then, when in a way, these are perhaps the companies that are trying hardest to be the most fair to participants. At least that's the case for the layer 1s.