MariaShen

Social crypto apps are built for society's shift from broadcast to swarm.

In politics: centralized campaigns gave way to individual accounts (~250K+ X followers), podcasts (Rogan), viral videos, memes.

In media: labels & studios lose power to unpredictable TikTok virality (Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams re-entered charts via TikTok).

AI is accelerating this transition by amplifying narratives, lowering content creation barriers, generating real-time reactions.

Crypto enables swarms to coordinate toward specific goals through programmable incentives. With crypto, swarms become intelligent, goal-seeking, and durable.

Beyond DeFi, consumer crypto use cases will shape information flow and social coordination.

Crypto isn’t just money. It’s a new form of swarm coordination via incentives and markets:
- Markets for creator time & attention will democratize access to key swarm nodes
- Prediction & opinion markets will shape what is seen as “true”
- Token incentives will drive swarm behavior way past just defi; this will drive information dissemination, coordinated online behaviors, and more.

We are transitioning from a broadcast society to a swarm society. This transition is accelerating.

In finance, gated info & institutional control gave way to Reddit swarms (Gamestop) & memecoins.

In politics, centralized campaigns are replaced by individual accounts with distribution (X accounts with ~250K+ followers), podcasts (e.g. Joe Rogan), viral videos, meme flows.

In media, labels & studios lose power to unpredictable TikTok virality (e.g. Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams re-entered charts via a TikTok video).

This shift is will only accelerate with AI.

AI will amplify narratives, allow more people to participate through lowering the barrier for people to create compelling content (e.g. high production value videos), and create more real-time reactions to things as they unfold live because they can react faster than humans.

Crypto will play a key role moving forward.

Crypto isn’t “just money”. Because crypto is programmable, it is a new form of swarm coordination through incentivization & markets.

For example:
- Markets for creator time & attention will democratize access to key nodes in the swarm
- Prediction & opinion markets may determine what is "true" in a post-fact world and shape public opinion.
- Token incentives will drive swarm behavior way past just defi; this will drive information dissemination, coordinated online behaviors, and more.
- AI agents with wallets & their own agendas will incentivize behaviors that suit their goals.

With crypto, swarms become intelligent, goal-seeking, and durable.

It’s nearly impossible to recreate Ethereum’s launch conditions.

That’s why ETH’s decentralization remains so defensible.

Here’s why:

1. Fair launch
- Anyone with internet connection & some BTC could join.
- ~31,000 BTC raised from ~8,900 people across 130+ countries.
- Everyone paid the same price: ~$0.31/ETH.

2. PoW bootstrapped decentralization
- In 2014, mining was still accessible.
- Anyone with a mid-range GPU could mine early ETH solo or in pools.
- Issuance was permissionless; ownership widely distributed.

The window that made this possible has closed.

More assets on Ethereum is good for $ETH

Ethereum is the only safe place for institutions to store trillions of dollars.

1. Ethereum's decentralization is nearly impossible to replicate -- community funded (not VC funded), started as PoW

2. Few systems in the world have the reliability of Ethereum - 100% uptime over 10 years and 16 upgrades

3. Ethereum’s L1+L2 design offers regulatory safety. Institutions can deploy compliant, KYC-enabled L2s without compromising on decentralization or security.

If Ethereum were a country...

it would have the strongest national security,
airtight property rights,
an incorruptible rule of law immune to U.S. or China,
and the most open market on Earth.

Social tokens (BitClout, FriendTech, etc) promise to “align incentives” between fans and creators, but they get the model wrong.

Because once you attach money, the relationship shifts.

The problem:

Following a creator is win-win.
Fans get insight, inspiration, entertainment.
Creators get attention and audience growth.
No pressure. No expectations. Just pure fandom.

Now add money.

Suddenly it’s not “I love your work.”
It’s “I invested in you. Where’s my return?”

Admiration becomes accountability.
And when the price drops, respect turns to resentment.

The solution:

Yes, build markets around creators.
But don’t monetize the fans.
That’s the wrong layer.

Fans give love, not liquidity.

The market should price attention, not affection.

Ethereum gives us financial civil rights in a digital age:

1. Universal property rights
2. Rule of law enforced by code, not violence
3. Open to anyone, anywhere

No permission. No discrimination.

Reminder: Ethereum has 100% uptime through 16 upgrades.

That’s not just an engineering flex.

It’s why we trust it to secure billions.

Ethereum is reliable & credibly neutral.

Ethereum is the only foundation for a truly free global economy.

Ethereum is the only truly free economy in the world.

– Strongest property rights on the internet
– Rules that don’t change mid-game
– No borders, no gatekeepers
– Credibly neutral, fully permissionless

Ethereum is a network of unalienable rights.

1/ “Credible neutrality” is Ethereum’s secret weapon.

It’s not sexy. It’s not easy to explain. But it’s why Ethereum matters and why it can outlast everything else.

Here’s what it means, and why it’s so powerful:

Core EIP commits hit an all-time high in April 2025!

They fuel upgrades like Pectra & other foundational changes.

Work on scaling & upgrading Ethereum has never been more intense, driving toward a faster, more scalable future.

data from http://EIPs.wtf

Core EIP commits are key to Ethereum and hit an all-time high in April 2025.

They drive upgrades like Pectra, boosting scalability & efficiency. April 2025 hit a record 83 commits—the most ever—paving the way for a faster, stronger Ethereum.

data from http://EIPs.wtf