Over the past few days, a co-founder of a well-known venture capital firm in the crypto ecosystem publicly announced online that he has lost interest in the crypto ecosystem and will be moving to other ecosystems.
Many articles online expressed their melancholy and regret over this.
Seeing this co-founder's departure and the sadness expressed in these articles reminded me of an article I wrote in the past.
As I recall, it was probably the year before last. For a period of time, several well-known venture capital firms in the crypto ecosystem successively published their views on the development of the ecosystem at that time. I happened to have read a lot of their articles during that period, so I wrote an article expressing my thoughts on their ideas. In that article, I very openly expressed my agreement with many of the viewpoints expressed at the time (of course, I do not agree with all of them), especially my understanding and recognition of some of the underlying values of the crypto ecosystem. I also mentioned that I don't quite agree with the views and values of certain so-called well-known venture capital firms. The venture capital co-founder who recently left the crypto ecosystem, and the venture capital firm he co-founded, are the well-known venture capital firms I mentioned in that article that I don't quite agree with. I spent some time carefully studying the projects this venture capital firm invested in, especially the infrastructure and basic architecture projects in the crypto ecosystem. I found that the core value and value anchor they focused on when investing in those projects ultimately boiled down to one thing: efficiency. This approach would be perfectly acceptable in other technology ecosystems. In the crypto ecosystem, I would also agree with it for application-layer projects. However, I find it difficult to agree with it for infrastructure and basic architecture projects within the crypto ecosystem. In my view, infrastructure and basic architecture are the foundation of the entire crypto ecosystem and the cornerstone upon which the entire system relies. The primary element pursued by the foundation and cornerstone of the crypto ecosystem is not efficiency, but decentralization and the most valuable things for humanity that decentralization guarantees. As Vitalik pointed out in his recent speech: It is freedom. This pursuit, especially in the face of the extreme pursuit of efficiency driven by AI, and at a time when human freedom is being eroded, is exceptionally precious and important. After discovering this venture capital firm's style, I spent some time re-examining all their past and recent investments. I found that their pursuit of efficiency could even override other factors; they were willing to sacrifice other things for efficiency. I think this is probably the subtle influence of values, guiding things in an invisible way. With such values, it's natural for him to leave the current ecosystem and gradually lose interest when he discovers that he can no longer find more "efficient" large-scale projects (especially infrastructure) within it. All good things must come to an end. Ultimately, how far people and fellow travelers can go is determined by their values. Once values diverge, separation and going their separate ways are inevitable. Therefore, I'm not surprised at all that someone like him is leaving the crypto ecosystem. Judging from his values and fundamental nature, he and his venture capitalists are destined to be mere passersby in the crypto ecosystem, unlikely to be sustained builders or deep cultivators. Therefore, I don't think there's anything to regret or feel sad about regarding someone like him leaving the crypto ecosystem.
JinseFinance
Huang Bo
Coindesk
dailyhodl
Cointelegraph