Blockchain, Friendship & Values.

Values matter a lot to me, and when I see one violated, it can shut me down. I’m sorry for being a bit MIA recently. But more important, and related to values…

Thank you friends, for noticing, and reaching out.

I’m sharing this note because it is a great argument in favor of a technology, and an important lesson in intelligent optimism.

Ok, back at it.

The reasons you hate it may be exactly why it needs you

This afternoon I was giving some thought to an ongoing crypto project. It lead me down a path of thinking about what I love — and hate — about the space. Does crypto fit into what I’m doing? Do I fit into it?

You and I have had a few conversations and all of them come back to one thing: you seem to be a seeker.

I’ve been impressed by how observant you are. Small details. A quick study.

You notice. I noticed that.

The thing is, this crypto stuff — this ICO stuff — it’s neutral. I mean it’s a thing, like a credit card or a plane or a unicorn. Well, no, wait, I don’t believe it’s the unicorn people hype it to be. That’s self-dealing. Sure, using a credit card irresponsibly can harm a person, and an airplane can be flown into a building, but they’re not bad, per se. 

All the crap going on in the ICO space will be exposed in the end. Time tends to expose the scams and the scammers. 

That’s not why I’m writing.

You could literally do anything — have done anything — you set your mind to. It strikes me that you’re maybe searching for something good to do. Something worthy of your talent. Not everyone has the vision or the integrity you possess. If the space loses you, it loses one of the good ones.

Crypto is still out there. It’s good use cases haven’t gone anywhere. Here in the US and most other places we know, we have (relatively) reliable money supplies. In Venezuela the annualized inflation rate is 1.2 million percent. Not. A. Typo. We still have the banked and the underbanked. Few are helping. Most of those who help have a hand in the pockets of those they claim to help. The people who really need the help will get it, in time.

Finance is still controlled largely by a bunch of grey-haired white guys. That will change, is changing, maybe slower than we hope. ICOs have the potential to democratize access to capital, but maybe the initial lack of regulation was exploited before things clamped down.

The likely truth is somewhere in the middle.

You’re needed precisely because of your high standards. Maybe this is why the premise of Digits caught your attention in the first place. 

Back to where we started: I’ve recommended to my investors, and to myself, that crypto should be a piece of one’s portfolio (or work life), not 100%. But I think some exposure is good, especially when there is potential for something big, especially when it is still early enough to shape the future.

I hope thinkers like you are involved in some way. Integrity matters. You matter. 

I’m not certain why you were connected to those thoughts earlier today, but you were and I figured it might be worthwhile to share mine. I enjoyed seeing you the other day.