More Than Money - The Daily Gwei #224
Yes, many people really are in it for the technology.
Ethereum isn’t a perfect system - far from it - but what Ethereum offers to people above all else is a community of people who are in this space for more than money. Now, that may sound idealist and truthfully it very much is, but it’s basically a prerequisite to be an idealist if you’re a pioneer who really wants to change the world using this technology.
As Scott mentions above, this idealism; this want for something more than money - this is Ethereum’s key advantage over other systems in the crypto space. It’s why Ethereum has attracted and retained some of the smartest minds in the space and it’s a major reason why I believe that Ethereum will continue to have the most vibrant long-term aligned community far into the future. Honestly this has been the strongest part of my investment thesis for ETH (both my time and money) and informs how I approach a lot of other investments too - essentially I ask myself a few questions around this including: how much brainpower does this ecosystem have? As a whole, does the community care deeply about its ideals (decentralization, censorship-resistance etc)? Do actual products get shipped instead of just theories and research papers? Is the community purely speculative and fleeting or are they fundamentals-based participants who will stick around when the going gets tough? There’s more than this but I’ll leave it at that for now!
The above isn’t to say that other communities outside of Ethereum aren’t growing, aren’t vibrant or are just full of greedy profit maximalists but there are many projects out there that fit into this category. Being a profit maximalist isn’t necessarily a bad thing but if you’re an idealist who doesn’t care about money beyond having enough to sustain yourself then Ethereum is home for you and Ethereum is where you have a real shot at changing the world. As an idealist you also want to be around as many like-minded people as you can find rather than be stuck in a community that just talks about price movements all the time. Now, don’t me wrong, the Ethereum community loves to talk about price movements too (I’m guilty of this myself) but it is far from the core focus.
For those of you who know me at least somewhat well, you’re probably aware of the fact that I’m an extreme idealist. I know it’s a meme but myself and many others that I know are actually in this for the technology and care deeply about the long-term sustainability of the Ethereum protocol and ecosystem. These people also put their money where their mouth is by funding public goods via Gitcoin Grants, investing in strongly-aligned Ethereum-based projects, supporting these same projects in any way that they can and just generally spreading awareness about them.
The above may read like I’m tooting the Ethereum communities horn a bit too much and maybe you’re right to think that. Though I would push back a little on that and say that I think it’s critically important for everyone to revisit the reasons why they are here in the first place from time to time. Is it money? Is it for the technology? Something else? The answers to these questions will dictate where you will want to spend most of your time in this ecosystem.
Obviously I’ll be sticking with Ethereum because after all, Ethereum has changed so many people’s lives already, do you really want to be against the commitment those people now have to Ethereum?
Have a great day everyone,
Anthony Sassano
Join the Daily Gwei Ecosystem
All information presented above is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice.