Author: RICHARD CHEN, GP 1confirmation; Compiler: Jaleel, BlockBeatsEditor's Note: In this article, RICHARD CHEN incisively discusses the cultural war currently facing the cryptocurrency industry and analyzes the two major camps in the cryptocurrency industry-"Encryption Computer School" and the “crypto casino faction,” and explains how this divide came to be. The article is not limited to analyzing the current situation, but also puts forward specific solutions, suggesting that the industry shift from a zero-sum game to creating more positive-sum experiences. Drawing on Steve Wynn's successful experience in the Las Vegas casino business, the author points out what the cryptocurrency industry can learn from, which is to focus on experiences other than gambling, providing new perspectives and thinking for the future development of the cryptocurrency field. . BlockBeats compiled the original text as follows:
There is no doubt that for any OG in the encryption industry, said the industry’s culture has changed significantly over the past year.
A culture war has begun to emerge among the builders of the crypto community. The war was between the early purists (the crypto-computer faction) and the later tourists (the crypto-casino faction). I’ll explain where the two political factions stand and how we got to this conflict today, and then outline a nuanced path forward for how the crypto industry can resolve its culture war.
Cryptocomputer school
People in this camp believe that among industry founders Satoshi’s ideal is to disperse power from corrupt institutions to the people.
They tend to be early entrants into the crypto industry. The 2013 cohort were largely monetary libertarians who were attracted to Bitcoin as a safe haven against reckless monetary policy. For these die-hard Ron Paul gold bugs, Bitcoin will be the liquidity sponge that soaks up the excess of Federal Reserve currency printing.
Translator's Note: "Ron Paul gold bugs" refer to those who firmly support the views of former U.S. Representative Ron Paul because of his opposition to the gold standard. Known for his support and criticism of the U.S. Federal Reserve System. His followers are known as "Ron Paul gold bugs". These individuals generally believe that a gold standard or similar financial system provides a more stable and reliable store of value, particularly in combating currency debasement and central bank monetary policy. In this context, Bitcoin is viewed as a "liquidity sponge" that absorbs the extra liquidity in the economy created by the Federal Reserve's excessive money printing. In other words, for these "Ron Paul gold bugs", Bitcoin is a tool against the traditional financial system and central bank policies, especially policies that, in their view, can lead to currency devaluation and economic instability. The generation of 2017 (my generation) are mainly techies who may not be as ideological as the previous generation, but are also attracted by crypto as a attracted by a new computing paradigm. Ethereum showcases the possibilities of decentralized applications (dApps) that allow you to not just read and write data, but own them. With it came the concept of web3, and the disintermediation of big tech companies and the gatekeepers of the internet.
Today, these two groups represent the silent majority who still believe in Satoshi’s vision and are optimistic about new use cases and products that will push the field forward. Yet, at the same time, they are afraid to say anything negative about the current hot Ponzi schemes promoted by influencers for fear of being attacked by online mobs. Therefore, they remain silent.
Crypto-casino faction
People in this camp cynically believe that crypto is nothing more than decentralization ized casinos and want to keep it that way. The purpose of the construction was to add more rooms to the casino. It’s about finding new creative ways to hyper-financialize everything and speculate on it—whether that’s speculating on your friends’ net worth using your phone or speculating on shitcoins using Telegram bots.
Most of them are people who entered the crypto industry in late 2021 and come from trader backgrounds and financial backgrounds. They are a very vocal minority who specialize in cultivating interactions on Twitter. As a result, they dominate online discourse and create tensions between early purists and later "tourists," just as nativists resent immigrants who don't integrate and change culture.
Most of them are still very young. My hypothesis is that this is a “second order effect” of a decade of zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) and the failure of the traditional financial system on Millennials and Gen Z. Young people increasingly feel they need to get rich quick to pay off student loans and afford home mortgages. When people feel like they're permanently stuck in the rat race, they turn to casinos to try to gamble their way out.
How did this happen?
Casinos are very useful for guidance. This is because degens are early adopters. They have the risk tolerance to become beta testers of unproven financial products. It’s easy for outsiders to overlook degens, but they are the lifeblood of crypto. They were the blue-collar workers in the trenches, trying their hands on every new product.
During the cryptocurrency bear market, no new users entered the space. The app struggled to add users and was forced to focus on its existing strong user base. This is okay in the short term as trading volume is mainly driven by strong users. For example, the top 2.2% of OpenSea’s users are responsible for more than half of its trading volume.
Problems arise, however, when projects become cynical and believe that mainstream adoption is impossible. With the mindset that crypto will never move beyond early degen, the motivation is to accelerate the degradation of blockchain technology and design zero-sum applications like casino table games. So we see Ponzi economics, multi-level marketing schemes, and the unsavory parts of finance.
Ponzi schemes have short-term product market adaptability, because there will always be thousands of crypto native degens as the core group, and they will be involved in every new Gamble on Shiny Speculation App. This creates a culture of financially engineered zero-sum money play, with influencers emerging to lure unsuspecting retail users into buying, only to sell off later. This is why so many people are desperately cultivating interactions on Twitter and becoming influencers, because only then will the casino odds be in their favour. In casinos, influence is a profitable business model.
Outside of casinos, catering only to degen is off-putting to anyone not in the degen bubble. I don’t blame the average consumer for hating cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Every time they hear it in the news it's about greed, Ponzi schemes, and terrible people on the internet. Designing zero-sum applications discourages more people from entering the crypto space and using on-chain products.
We need to consider ways to grow the crypto user base like Bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin ETFs are a breath of fresh air in the space, as trillions of dollars in retirement account savings that previously had no access to cryptocurrencies can finally have access to Bitcoin for the first time.
Having said that, how do we actually achieve mainstream adoption?
Inspiration from the casino
I met Steve Wynn in October. Tell me about his experience growing a hotel and casino business. One of his unique insights at the time was to focus on experiences other than gambling. Las Vegas used to be a place where people came just to gamble and left with little other reason to stay.
This may sound crazy considering that every Las Vegas casino today offers concerts, shows, celebrity chef restaurants, luxury shopping, and more. But when "The Mirage" opened in 1989, it was bucking the trend, and its success quickly forced other casinos to invest in high-quality facilities and entertainment, not just gambling.
In the 1990s, Steve Wynn was instrumental in transforming the Las Vegas Strip from a gambling-centric destination to a world-class entertainment and leisure destination It played an important role. Good hospitality makes the Las Vegas experience less of a zero-sum game and significantly increases the number of tourists who visit Las Vegas each year for a variety of reasons.
Obviously, the crypto industry can learn a lesson from this. We need less zero-sum table games and more positive-sum experiences.
Prediction markets are a good example. Degens love prediction markets because they enjoy betting on extreme risk options on binary outcome events, either winning it all or losing it all. Just like they can gamble on Meme coins and win 10x or lose all their money. At the same time, countless studies have shown that by removing bias and introducing “stake in the game,” prediction markets are more accurate than mainstream media and experts.
People who use prediction markets don't necessarily have to place bets on them, but can use them as a news source for geopolitical events, just like people don't have to do it solely for gambling And the same goes for visiting Las Vegas. Even Trump now regularly posts his Polymarket odds on Truth Social.
There are many other examples. Use Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) to implement WiFi mesh networks or vehicle performance data. Use airdrops to incentivize restaurant loyalty or better fitness results. Using NFTs eliminates the need for up-and-coming creators to pass through Hollywood’s gatekeepers. Crypto Degens are early adopters of all of this, but the value they bring to society is positive sum.
JinseFinance
Coinlive 
Bitcoinist
Cointelegraph