The Digital Economy Mindset
It's time to get into the digital economy mindset and leave tribalism behind
Bear market tensions are running high and there’s been a lot of beef between chains lately. Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson recently started feuds with Algorand and Ripple. Ethereum holders continue to ask, “who uses (insert chain)?” And everyone seems to be giving Solana shit these days…
The tribalism between chains is unsustainable and frankly unproductive. No one should get married to any one chain, and supporters of legitimate chains should be as supportive of each other as possible. Let’s be honest: if blockchain is truly going to become mainstream, we’re way stronger together.
The future of blockchain is interoperable. So, it’s time we start acting like it.
But to do so, we need to move beyond the notion that blockchains are networks competing to capture the highest amount of users.
Why?
Because this inherently implies that chains with strongest network effects will ultimately become the winners. Which of course leads to unhealthy competition that breeds tribalism. In fact, if you truly believe in an interoperable future, the network effect investment thesis might not be the best framework to adopt.
Especially when blockchain technology truly scales in adoption, the general public will likely have no idea what chain they’re using. Look no further than Starbucks, who plan to release NFTs called “journey stamps” and allow consumers to purchase them with credit cards.
All powered by Polygon on the backend – hidden from the public.
This is the strategy to wide scale adoption. Make blockchains as invisible as possible and focus on user experience. Not blockchain tribalism and a battle for network effect.
Will there be more successful blockchains than others in terms of partnerships and killer apps? Of course. However, whether that translates to real on chain value is still yet to be proven – especially if the general public has no idea they’re buying NFTs (“journey stamps”), using fiat to buy them, and without the need to download a web3 wallet and memorize a seed phrase.
So, instead of networks, let’s compare each individual blockchain as their own countries with their own economies.
Let me ask you something.
When you buy a product, download an app, or interact with a service, do you first try to figure out the country of origin? Or do you figure out whether it fits your needs and at a reasonable price?
I’d bet good money it’s the latter. This is exactly how the general public will interact with web3. And like how each country prides itself on certain products and services while having its own culture and vibe, the same could be said about blockchains.
Bitcoin is the “country” of free market capitalism with a focus on developing a financial system that is resistant to censorship.
Ethereum’s economy features the biggest DeFi protocols, most TVL, and the trendiest NFTs. But Ethereum, as a “country”, is congested, competitive, expensive, and up and coming crypto enthusiasts are currently priced out of their economy.
How about Algorand? Will it be the blockchain equivalent to Switzerland by providing the standard of the future of finance through its dApps and services?
And what about the countless chains that have yet to be dreamt up? What will their strengths be?
The list goes on, but there’s two key points here.
The first - it’s time for us to start viewing other chains as our allies, until proven otherwise.
The second - the key benefit of the digital economy is the freedom of choice provided to each of us. If we don’t like one economy, we can pick up and move to another that provides a better value prop.
It’s important to visit new chains to see if you like them. You need to keep your options open because one day you might need to pick up and move, and you should have a plan for that.
What does that plan look like?
A short list of chains, or “countries”, you wouldn’t mind “moving to”. Or maybe your situation won’t be so drastic in the sense that you have to move chains. Instead, you might want to have a “dual citizenship” or have a “vacation home” somewhere else within the coming digital economy to diversify.
But other ecosystems won’t be so welcoming if all you do is FUD them on Twitter, gov.
It’s time for us to get into the digital economy mindset and leave behind tribalism in our community. Because while you can always invest and enter positions in new chains, a much more cost effective plan would be to earn your crypto.
Think about it.
Only investing in crypto is like moving from the US to Europe and only accumulating euros by trading your dollars for them (maybe not the best move these days…). Wouldn’t you instead get a job and earn your euro?
Sure, investing can help you kickstart your position, but earning can help you accumulate more without additional capital.
And there’s plenty of ways to earn money in the digital economy.
There’s the obvious ones like DeFi, NFTs, trading, and tokenized assets like real estate. But there’s also the opportunity to sell services. You can earn as a content writer, developer, artist, graphic designer, community manager, marketer, consultant, and more.
Exchanging these services for digital assets you have conviction in and believe will appreciate in value, and especially in the next bull market, will be one way to accelerate your wealth generation – and ultimately financial freedom.
And if you’re good at any of the services listed above, why would you limit yourself to only one economy when you have unprecedented access to multiple at your fingertips?
So think twice next time you want to FUD another chain. It could close doors you didn’t even realize you had opened.
Disclaimer: This content is intended for educational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research and seek the advice of qualified professionals before making any investment decisions.