- Ethereum developer Péter Szilágyi has criticized the cryptocurrency market, calling it a “casino for dum-dums”
- He has expressed concerns that the market focuses on “number go up” rather than building global financial infrastructure
- Szilágyi’s comments have prompted responses from notable figures like Erik Voorhees
An Ethereum core developer has criticized the state of the cryptocurrency market, labeling it a “casino for dum-dums.” Péter Szilágyi took to X to complain that the entire market was now based on the concept of ‘number go up’ rather than building the infrastructure for a global financial future, noting that all crypto has achieved so far is “a huge value transfer.” Szilágyi’s comments prompted responses from crypto luminaries such as Erik Voorhees, but there is plenty about his core message that rings true.
No “Contribution to Humanity”
Szilágyi’s comments came in the form of a long-form X post, which criticized what the crypto market has become from the ideals it set out with:
I often wonder if I’m in the wrong industry.
Take SpaceX for example. They send a rocket to Mars? Humanity advances. They fail to send one and blow it up? Humanity learns a lesson and advances. All outcomes lead to progress.
In contrast, crypto is a damn casino for dum-dums…
— Péter Szilágyi (karalabe.eth) (@peter_szilagyi) August 5, 2024
The developer compared the $2 trillion crypto sector to space exploration, saying that in contrast to such endeavors, crypto offers nothing to humanity:
In contrast, crypto is a damn casino for dum-dums (apologies to the select few). Number go up? Yay, when lambo. Number go down? Lives get wrecked. Where’s the contribution to humanity?
Szilágyi argued that crypto has become so synonymous with quick wealth that “everyone’s in it for value extraction” and asked, “How about we make a few useful things along the way?”
It’s easy to see where Szilágyi is coming from: when the crypto market dropped this week, of the 12 stories put out by one high-ranking crypto news outlet within 24 hours, 11 were about the price drop, often repeating the same information. Price drops will naturally make headlines, but when they’re taking up 91% of the daily news output it’s saying something.
Only Way Out is to Build
Not everyone agreed, however. Crypto veteran Erik Voorhees replied to point out various things that crypto is building:
Stablecoins
Defi lending (aave/compound)
DEXs
Privacy coins
Many good wallet apps
Amazing financial intelligence systems like Dune or Messari
High throughput blockchainsThere are great things built in crypto. You yourself may be getting distracted by the casino, but see…
— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) August 5, 2024
Szilágyi replied, rightly in this author’s opinion, that he wasn’t saying that nothing was being built, but that “the speculative aspects outrank the true values way too heavily and *we* seem to like it because it makes money.”
The only way to counter this is for someone to create a breakthrough app that bridges the gap between early adopters and a mainstream audience, which doesn’t seem to be happening soon: the only crypto apps to ever top the charts are the exchange apps during peak bull run times because everyone wants to get rich.
