In the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, there exists a hidden yet profound principle: a project's founder's attitude towards Bitcoin (BTC) often largely determines the project's long-term development and the heights it can reach.
This is not only because Bitcoin, as the pioneer of blockchain technology and market cap leader, holds an unshakeable status, but also because the founders' understanding of it reflects their depth of understanding of decentralization, freedom, and economic philosophy.
Bitcoin: The touchstone of blockchain.
Bitcoin was born out of the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Through decentralized design and a peer-to-peer trading model, Satoshi Nakamoto challenged the authority of traditional financial systems. As the first successful blockchain application, Bitcoin is not only a testing ground for technology but also a symbol of ideals—trustless systems, immutable ledgers, and censorship-resistant monetary freedom. Its success proves the core value of blockchain and provides inspiration for countless subsequent projects.
However, Bitcoin is not perfect. Its slow transaction speed, limited scalability, and high fees have led many new projects to attempt to 'surpass' it. Thus, the founder's attitude toward it becomes a watershed: is it viewed as a starting point that needs improvement, or as an opponent that needs to be overturned? This choice often determines the project's genetics and development path.
Three typical patterns of founder attitudes.
1. Awe and Inheritance: Believers of Bitcoin.
Some founders see Bitcoin as 'digital gold' and the ultimate benchmark of blockchain. For instance, Ethereum's founder Vitalik Buterin, while creating a smart contract platform, has always maintained respect for Bitcoin, considering it the cornerstone of the spirit of decentralization. The goal of Ethereum is not to replace Bitcoin but to complement it and expand the application scenarios of blockchain. This attitude has allowed Ethereum to achieve tremendous success in technological innovation and community support, becoming the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
2. Critique and Surpass: Reformists.
Some founders hold a critical attitude towards Bitcoin's limitations, hoping to 'surpass' it through new technologies. For example, Solana's founder Anatoly Yakovenko focuses on high throughput and low-cost transactions, attempting to solve the performance bottlenecks of Bitcoin and Ethereum. This attitude has driven technological breakthroughs but may also lead projects away from their decentralization roots. Although Solana performs excellently in terms of performance, it has faced controversies due to multiple outages and centralization concerns.
3. Confrontation and Denial: Radicals.
Another type of founder denies Bitcoin, considering it outdated and useless, even publicly declaring a desire to 'eliminate' it.
Typical cases that once denied Bitcoin: BCH and Roger Ver.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) forked from the Bitcoin network in August 2017, aiming to solve Bitcoin's scalability issues by increasing block size. Its main proponent, Roger Ver, insists that Bitcoin has deviated from the original intent of 'peer-to-peer electronic cash' due to the adoption of SegWit and Lightning Network, and that BCH is the true 'Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin.' He has publicly stated, "If you bought BTC in 2019 because you thought it was Bitcoin, you were deceived; what you really wanted was BCH."
However, this denial of Bitcoin did not lead to the rise of BCH. The BCH community was plagued by internal strife due to ideological differences, and another hard fork in 2018 resulted in the birth of Bitcoin SV (BSV), further weakening its power. The price and influence of BCH plummeted, far less than Bitcoin.
Other failed cases that denied Bitcoin.
- EOS: Founder Daniel Larimer once claimed he wanted to surpass Bitcoin and Ethereum, but due to overly centralized design, he lost community trust and has faded from the mainstream.
- Ripple (XRP): Ripple Labs attempts to bypass Bitcoin's decentralization value by collaborating with banks. XRP is questioned as a 'centralized token,' limiting its market position.
Zhao Changpeng and Sam Bankman-Fried: Two attitudes, two fates.
To further validate this principle, we can compare Binance's Zhao Changpeng and FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried as typical cases. Both were shining stars in the cryptocurrency exchange field, yet their attitudes and approaches towards Bitcoin were starkly different, ultimately leading to vastly different fates for their projects.
- Zhao Changpeng (CZ): Revering Bitcoin, expanding steadily.
Zhao Changpeng founded Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. Its success cannot be separated from his respect for Bitcoin and pragmatic attitude.
CZ never denies Bitcoin; instead, he regards it as the cornerstone of the industry, not only vigorously supporting BTC trading pairs on the Binance platform but also continuously promoting the core value of Bitcoin across various social media.
He mentioned in a tweet on November 8, 2022: "Never use the tokens you create as collateral... Binance has never used BNB as collateral nor taken on debt." This cautious attitude reflects his emphasis on decentralization and risk management.
During the FTX collapse, Zhao Changpeng briefly announced a plan to acquire FTX but later retracted it, citing that 'the issues were beyond our control or ability to assist.' This move, while controversial, demonstrated his determination not to risk undermining Binance's foundation.
In the end, although Binance pleaded guilty to regulatory issues in November 2023 and paid a $4.3 billion fine, CZ himself was sentenced to four months in prison for violating anti-money laundering laws, he retained control of the company, with personal wealth still amounting to tens of billions of dollars, and Binance continues to lead the industry.
- Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF): Disdain for Bitcoin, radical profit-seeking.
Unlike CZ, SBF's attitude towards Bitcoin is more utilitarian, even showing disdain. He publicly stated that Bitcoin has no future as a payment network, believing its inefficiency and high energy consumption make it unsuitable for modern needs.
FTX's positioning was not to serve the Bitcoin ecosystem but rather to attract speculators through high-leverage derivative trading and marketing gimmicks (such as sponsoring stadiums and celebrity endorsements). This strategy allowed FTX to rise rapidly in the short term, with a valuation reaching $32 billion at one point.
However, SBF's disregard for the concept of decentralization ultimately led to disaster. In November 2022, FTX exposed a liquidity crisis due to misappropriating customer funds to support its sister company, Alameda Research's risky investments. A tweet from Zhao Changpeng (announcing the liquidation of FTX's FTT token) accelerated its collapse, but the root cause lay in SBF's management errors and disregard for risk.
Ultimately, FTX went bankrupt, SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison, his personal wealth was wiped out, becoming one of the biggest scandals in crypto history.
Why is attitude so important? Because it embodies the philosophical foundation of blockchain: decentralization.
Bitcoin represents decentralization and economic sovereignty; founders who recognize it can inject soul into their projects.
Validation of history.
- Ethereum rose by inheriting the spirit of Bitcoin.
- BCH and EOS declined due to their denial of Bitcoin.
Conclusion.
In the crypto world, technology can iterate, and marketing can package, but the founder's attitude towards Bitcoin is a reflection of the project's soul. The contrast between Zhao Changpeng and Sam Bankman-Fried vividly illustrates this principle: founders who revere Bitcoin can lead their projects steadily forward, while those who deny or belittle it often self-destruct.
As Satoshi Nakamoto left a declaration in the genesis block: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks," Bitcoin is a call for freedom. Whether the founders can understand this declaration may be the watershed moment for the project's fate.