In honor of today's vote in the Senate on landmark crypto legislation later this afternoon, here is my history of crypto vibes that led to this moment:
Genesis Block.
Nobody cares. Bitcoin is fringe libertarian experiment. The default mainstream position is apathy but also the media thinks it's vaguely illegal and for criminals.
New Toy.
A few early adopters pay attention. Most of tech still laughs. Early crypto venture funds launch.
Web3.
DAOs will probably save democracy and Ethereum gas fees are . . . quite high. NFTs sell for six figures.
Peak Attention.
More eyes than ever. SBF is on the cover of magazines. CEOs say “blockchain not token.” The crypto "skeptic" sees opportunity and emerges as media darling.
Villain Era.
Dark times for like, three years 😬😪
Rebirth.
Faster, cheaper crypto rails. Stablecoins become indispensable infrastructure. Legacy fintechs integrate crypto rails. BlackRock’s ETF goes live. Bitcoin crosses $100K and your state pension owns the ETF. Regulators move from rhetoric to frameworks. Doesn’t feel like 2017 or 2021 it feels inevitable 🙌