In the early days of cryptocurrency, it carried a dual revolution of technology and politics. The Cypherpunk movement advocates decentralization, privacy, and financial autonomy, with the goal of breaking away from the control of traditional financial institutions and governments over funds. However, as the industry gradually merges with traditional finance, a discussion has quietly begun on whether decentralization still has a future and whether cypherpunk is just an ideal .
Table of Contents
ToggleTraditional Finance x Crypto Technology: The Rise of Fintech Crypto
A tweet from professional risk manager Santisa sparked heated discussion. He pointed out that the current encryption technology is gradually being absorbed and integrated by traditional finance (TradFi), forming a "financial infrastructure built on the encryption track."
These technologies give traditional transactions unprecedented capabilities, such as provable reports, interoperability, and one-block settlement. These innovations not only improve efficiency, but also provide a smoother and more secure experience for billions of users around the world.
He lamented: "This is not the ideal future depicted by Cypherpunk. It is no longer centered on individual rights , nor does it exist to resist centralized structures ."
But it is undeniable that this is indeed a great progress for the world, a realistic choice to replace utopian dreams with rational technology.
Cypherpunk ideals: from core beliefs to marginal culture
As a former crypto believer, Santisa said frankly: "When most people can subscribe to Netflix instantly with just a credit card, who would be willing to spend time setting up a P2P sharing network? Similarly, when TradFi can provide efficient and secure financial services, most people will no longer insist on self-custody and censorship-resistant financial tools."
However, he did not completely deny the future of Cypherpunk. He said that just like file-sharing technology, which accounts for less than 1% of global Internet traffic, it still exists: " Cypherpunk applications may also follow a similar niche path. "
Even if 99% is used to settle debts in physical assets, we can still do something cool and Cypherpunk with the remaining 1%.
Why has Cypherpunk failed to go mainstream?
The Cypherpunk ideal is difficult to mainstream, not only because of its high requirements for personal responsibility (such as keeping private keys and understanding the risks of self-custody), but also because its design itself is not "human" enough. Although anonymous transactions, censorship-resistant mechanisms, and trustless architectures are of great significance, they are too complex and unintuitive for most users:
The core selling point of financial technology is " convenience ", which is the part that the Cypherpunk movement has always found difficult to compromise with.
Just as the era of file sharing was replaced by streaming platforms, encryption applications are rapidly moving towards platformization, serviceization, and even "centralization." Although this compromise deviates from the original intention of Cypherpunk, it greatly lowers the user threshold and further promotes the large-scale adoption of technology.
A transformation of technology and belief: Crypto is dead, long live crypto
Santisa ends the article with the words “Crypto is dead. Long live crypto.”, announcing the decline of the Cypherpunk ideal, emphasizing that the Cypherpunk dream is still alive, but no longer mainstream.
This seemingly contradictory statement actually reveals a trend that is taking shape: "The encryption we knew in the past, as a symbol of the decentralized revolution, has indeed gradually become history. However, the new generation of encryption technology, as the underlying infrastructure of financial instruments, is moving towards the mainstream and integrating with the existing system, becoming an invisible but indispensable existence."
This may not be a betrayal , but a transformation . As Santisa said: “The era of fintech crypto is beginning.”
It focuses on efficiency and scalability. From on-chain settlement, cross-border payments, digital identity to tokenization of physical assets, these applications may no longer advocate anonymity and anti-establishment, but they have actually improved the global financial infrastructure.
Concept repositioning, technology waiting to be implemented: Is Cypherpunk really dead?
Perhaps the Cypherpunk ideal cannot become mainstream under the convenience paradox; perhaps Cypherpunk will still bear fruit on Ethereum ; perhaps centralization and decentralization will coexist and realize a dual-track system with both risks and benefits. But the seeds it planted will continue to influence today's technological design: "open source code, censorship resistance, user sovereignty", etc. These values have never disappeared.
In the future, the Cypherpunk spirit may evolve into an iterative fringe culture like hacker culture, driving a minority of people to continue to pursue ultimate freedom; on the other hand, it will become the root and soul of the new encryption era, waiting for the next awakening and breakthrough.
Risk Warning
Cryptocurrency investments carry a high degree of risk, their prices may fluctuate dramatically, and you may lose all your investment. Please assess the risks carefully.
Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Invest, and Eric Balchunas, ETF analyst at Bloomberg, discussed topics such as Solana developers have far surpassed Ethereum, the relaxation of US regulations, and the opening of crypto ETFs for staking at the "Solana Ship or Die" conference held on May 24. Wood further revealed that Ark is not only launching the "Solana Ecosystem Venture Capital Fund", but is also preparing the world's first "active crypto fund", which is expected to attract more traditional asset management companies to participate in the future and accelerate the integration of Web3 and traditional financial markets.
Table of Contents
ToggleBalchunas Online Poll: Solana Wins Big Over Ethereum and XRP
Balchunas opened by saying that although this was his first time participating in a Solana event, he has been paying close attention to the crypto industry over the past two years. Balchunas also shared the poll data he initiated on Twitter (X), asking netizens which one they would choose among Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The results are:
- Solana: 46%
- Ethereum: 38%
- XRP: 16%
Balchunas said:
"From a consumer perspective, this makes perfect sense."
The number of Solana developers surpasses Ethereum, because the focus on "ordinary users" is the key
Wood went on to add that Solana has demonstrated "anti-fragility" characteristics throughout the bull and bear cycles, and in July 2024 last year, the number of developers surpassed Ethereum, becoming the most popular platform among developers. She stressed:
“Ark has always advocated following the developers. Ethereum is increasingly leaning towards institutional applications, but Solana continues to attract general users with low transaction fees and rapid optimization.”
Crypto ETF staking returns may be promising, but regulatory relaxation remains the focus
Regarding whether the Solana spot ETF will be launched in the U.S. market, Wood expressed great anticipation, but whether U.S. regulators can allow crypto ETFs to support staking mechanisms remains the key. However, if the U.S. also opens up crypto ETF staking in the future, the returns will be more attractive.
She pointed out that the crypto ETF launched by Canadian asset management company 3iQ allows the SOL and ETH in the ETF to be pledged. The following is Wood's disclosure of the annualized returns of SOL and ETH in the current 3iQ crypto ETF:
SOL: 6-8%
ETH: 2-3%
From rejection to discussion of options, the new SEC policy shifts
Balchunas mentioned that Grayscale once said that the atmosphere of the meeting with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has become much more relaxed, from the past when it had always refused to discuss feasible solutions together now. Wood also believes that "the withdrawal of the lawsuit is the first step. The entire regulatory atmosphere is changing."
Wood continued the previous topic and emphasized:
“If even BlackRock wants to launch the Solana ETF, it should mean that there is real opportunity in this market.”
Solana is expected to be included in the technology ETF, and other institutions will also deploy Solana
Wood said that although Solana is not like a stock, as a digital asset, it will be included in technology or financial technology (FinTech) ETFs in a similar way to stocks in the future. She said:
"In the future, not only Ark will participate, but other large asset management companies may also follow suit."
Solana has low fees and good user experience, even Kraken is interested
Wood shared that in the past, when buying Bitcoin, it was very troublesome to create a wallet yourself, and the handling fee was 1.5%, which was simply unacceptable to traditional financial players.
In comparison, Solana has features such as low transaction fees and fast transactions, which makes it obviously more attractive. Even the exchange Kraken has chosen to issue tokenized stocks of NVIDIA and Tesla on Solana. It shows that Solana has become the blockchain platform of choice for general consumers.
Ark launches Solana Ecosystem Venture Capital Fund, and may launch active crypto funds in the future
Wood announced that Ark will also build an innovation center in Florida and launch an early-stage blockchain venture capital fund focusing on the consumer-oriented Solana ecosystem. In the future, we will also launch "active crypto funds" that use on-chain analysis to create excess returns.
Crypto assets are insurance mechanisms, Web3 reshapes the global financial system
Wood shared: “I just talked to a friend from Pakistan, and he said that only 300,000 people there have securities accounts, but 50 million have crypto wallets.” She pointed out that this is the actual impact that blockchain is having.
She further believes that crypto ETFs will become a bridge for general users to advance to Web3, and crypto wallets are the ticket to decentralization. She said:
"If something goes wrong with traditional finance, this is your insurance."
Risk Warning
Cryptocurrency investments carry a high degree of risk, their prices may fluctuate dramatically, and you may lose all your investment. Please assess the risks carefully.
