Robin

I think we'll look back at this time of crypto as one where some lost the plot and those that prioritized delivering the best product & user experience came out ahead because demand drives everything, including attracting validators to bootstrap network security and creating sustainable security budgets. Find me a network with a ton of demand that hasn't figured out a viable way to monetize... Many missed this point when social media networks were getting started. The most important thing was the product and Facebook prioritized that above all. Ultimately becoming king in the space... Great products are ones users are willing to pay for. I used to think that users paying high fees was a strong signal that the product was there - that demand for crypto was strong and, eventually with lower fees, there would be even more demand. But it is unrealistic to assume crypto grows without becoming more accesible to users. In a similar way, the Internet too was once slow and expensive. Users were willing to pay because the Internet hit a powerful nerve and unlocked potent demand to socialize, communicate and transact. That justified capex spend to roll out cellular towers and lower the cost unlocking yet another demand curve. Blockchains have been stuck in that initial slow and expensive phase but their evolution will be no different than the internet. The difference now is that there are growing set of alternative networks where users can transact with very low fees and the products are equally or more delightful to use. That's Solana and other next-gen L1s (Aptos, Sui, Sei etc). I'll keep saying it: utility, not scarcity, drives value. Without organic demand you can't have sustainable network economics and, therefore, a long term viable security model. A ghost chain is one that has no organic demand for blockspace and lack of products. True demand for blockspace will be stimulated by mainstream use cases not a few beta testers with a lot at stake willing to subsidize high costs (sounds a lot like universities and governments subsidizing computers and internet costs in the early days). There's one important transition happening in crypto this cycle. Crypto is entering a phase where there will be growing divide between the have and have-nots in terms of usage at scale. Last, I don't think Ethereum is dead. Far from it. It has the largest mindshare of developers. No chain is perfect today. To assume any is misses the point of how big the challenge and opportunity is to build decentralized trustless networks at scale. However, I have been impressed by the growth and agility of Solana. That network is not perfect either. Ultimately, it is a very exciting time in crypto especially for users who are finding a growing number of exciting and innovative products on-chain. We must constantly think bigger and think mainstream. Those that do will be rewarded and those that resist will fade, perhaps slowly, but eventually into oblivion eclipsed by those networks that prioritize the user experience. That picture will become clearer this cycle...