Cryptocurrencies: From the Promised Revolution to the Manipulated Farce
In the beginning, when the Bitcoin whitepaper emerged as a digital manifesto for economic freedom, many of us believed we were witnessing the birth of a revolution. A new system where power would shift from the hands of banks and governments to be distributed among ordinary people, connected by a decentralized, transparent, and fair network. It seemed like the start of a new era.
But the promise was lost. What was supposed to be decentralized turned into yet another structure of concentrated power. A few wallets hold the majority of the tokens. Large exchanges, funds, and “whales” move the market according to their interests, transforming the supposed freedom into a new kind of prison – even more chaotic, even more volatile.
Meanwhile, brilliant projects with solid purposes, like Nano, which sought instant and fee-less transfers, or Decred, which attempted to implement a truly community-driven governance model, fell into oblivion. Many of these projects were abandoned or cast aside because they didn’t play the hype game, the empty marketing, the “to the moon” at any cost.
And then came the memecoins – coins created without any foundation, with funny names, dog mascots, and absurd promises. The market was overtaken by a cult of quick profits, where the more useless the project, the more attention it attracts. Investors became gamblers. The market turned into a casino, manipulated by influencers and pump and dump schemes.
It’s ironic, almost comical, that what was born as an alternative to the traditional system is increasingly resembling it – or perhaps even worse. The difference is that here, the illusion of freedom further masks the concentration of power.
There may still be hope. Perhaps, in the forgotten corners of this network, there are devs and idealists still building with purpose. But for now, the crypto-revolution seems to have been sold for clicks, memes, and empty coins.
