Three Types of People in the Encryption World: Developers, Believers, and Speculators

For many outsiders, cryptocurrency is merely a corner of the internet filled with scams. However, for those who delve into it, cryptocurrency represents a new realm full of opportunities. This digital world, built on open-source software, has the potential to break the monopoly of traditional finance and tech giants.

So, why is it generally believed that cryptocurrency is full of scams? If that's really the case, why are there still people flocking in one after another? What attracts their curiosity? Or is cryptocurrency essentially just a huge scam?

This article will introduce a "encryption industry concentric circle" model, which helps to explain why many outsiders believe this industry is full of scams. This model can assist newcomers to encryption in better understanding this field and identifying different types of participants — which ones are worth paying attention to and which ones need to be wary of.

Encryption Concentric Circle Model

This model simplifies the encryption industry into four concentric circles. The core developers are at the very center, surrounded by other industries, with encryption believers and speculators in the middle.

Core Developers

Let's start with the most core circle. Core developers are the builders and thinkers of this industry, starting from the most fundamental encryption principles. They have a deep understanding of the problems the world currently faces and how cryptography and blockchain technology can solve these problems and have a fundamental impact on the future. They understand the philosophical, technological, and ethical value that this technology can bring to the world.

In this circle, you will find the anonymous founder of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. He launched the Bitcoin blockchain and then gradually faded out of the public eye because he knew that a decentralized Bitcoin would have more vitality.

You will also see Ethereum's founder Vitalik Buterin. Vitalik is a "monk" of the digital age, proficient in encryption, philosophy, mathematics, and cryptoeconomics. He is dedicated to creating public goods and social systems that promote global well-being. Despite his considerable wealth, Vitalik lives a simple life, traveling with just a backpack.

The work of core developers is often thankless and arduous. The open-source software they build often does not receive the attention and rewards it deserves. Bitcoin core developers are working hard every day to improve Bitcoin. Ethereum core developers publicly discuss their next steps every week, as well as how to better serve society with their technology.

These people came to this field because they believe in a beautiful vision, they see a better future, and they need to personally participate in making it a reality.

Core developers are the idealists at the center of the encryption world, their leadership creates the allure of the encryption world, and they tirelessly work for the future of the encryption world.

Encryption Enthusiast

Encryption believers form the second layer circle.

These are the most devout followers of the encryption world. They believe in the future vision that the core developers are building and continue to move forward based on the foundation laid by the core developers.

This community includes not only regular users but also application developers, DAO members, and companies that build interconnected products and services ecosystems around these new protocols.

Ethereum is a foundational protocol on which we all develop. Applications like Uniswap, Aave, or Maker are built on the smart contract layer of Ethereum. Various DAOs are also organized using Ethereum. Some companies have formed around Ethereum, such as venture capital funds, news agencies, or media companies.

This circle is made up of settlers, not tourists.

They are citizens of the encryption world, building infrastructure in this new realm, testing early products, gradually freeing themselves from dependence on traditional banks by managing their own encryption assets, and establishing new digital identities in this open and free metaverse. These settlers are pioneering new frontiers here with open-source software and the spirit of open source.

For example, Rune Christensen saw the demand for a decentralized dollar and established MakerDAO before the concept of DAO had risen. Today, there are billions of DAI stablecoins in circulation, providing people in many countries with a tool to combat the devaluation of their national currencies.

For example, Hayden Adams, with the help of a $10,000 grant from the Ethereum Foundation, developed Uniswap almost independently, which is a publicly free asset exchange system.

There is also Cami Russo, who experienced hyperinflation in Argentina and understands the real needs of products in the encryption industry. After studying journalism, she founded the crypto media The Defiant.

Anthony Sassano is another prominent encryption believer. He creates videos every day to introduce important events that have occurred in the Ethereum ecosystem over the past 24 hours to the world.

These individuals are responsible for communicating the industry's progress to the outside world. Core developers and application developers often struggle with self-promotion because their attention is focused on building the future. The encryption industry relies on the surrounding community to accomplish this.

The reason this community exists is that we all come here for the same reason: to believe that the existence of cryptocurrency is to build a better and freer world, which is a necessary step for humanity to move towards the future.

This encryption world is difficult for many outsiders to see or understand.

One important reason for this situation is that some speculators have created a barrier between cryptocurrency believers and the outside world.

Encryption Speculators

Between the encryption believers and the outside world, there exists a group of speculators who make it difficult for the outside world to hear the true voices of the pioneers from the encryption industry.

Speculators often shape grand images through self-marketing. They adopt polarized strategies and styles that have proven to be very effective in the political arena. Cryptocurrency speculators are not foolish people - they know that the forefront of encryption contains immense wealth, and they come here purely to seize profits.

Encryption speculators are a significant reason for the poor reputation of cryptocurrency. They tend to be louder and more exaggerated than ordinary encryption practitioners. They promote themselves rather than the technology. They usually do not care about the technology being built, only about how to profit from it, regardless of how unsustainable or unethical that approach may be. They deliberately design malicious products with the intent to deceive naive encryption newcomers.

They create paid Telegram channels, claiming to share "insider information", but in reality, they're just setting you up. If you accidentally fall into their trap, they will create complex DeFi projects that are actually just a means to transfer money from your pocket to theirs.

Most speculators appear during bull markets, copying popular projects of the time. In 2017, they created fake ICOs, while in 2021, they launched shoddy NFT projects with outsourced teams. Speculators keenly seek every possible opportunity for profit and then flock to it.

They have some common characteristics:

• Arrogant personality, boastful, sometimes aggressive.
• Form a small fervent community around these individuals, creating some form of cult of personality. Followers repeat meaningless slogans, recite carefully prepared lines, and then promote tokens to others. They suppress dissent, being a common blend of real people and bots in modern social media.
• A fundamentally unsustainable product or system that may seem good at the moment. A shiny but hollow new encryption product will inevitably collapse in the end.

We cannot directly stop speculators. When we insist that the value of decentralization is above all else, this is the price we must pay.

The core value is that everyone has the right to use, which cannot be sacrificed.

Just like the internet, anyone can use encryption technology; it is a public infrastructure in the currency and financial sectors that anyone with an internet connection can access. Over time, as more and more people use it, this infrastructure will become increasingly useful, and the financial world of DeFi will continue to improve.

Unfortunately, this permissionless characteristic also means that it is difficult to prevent speculative scams. Permissionless financial innovation has freed us from the constraints of traditional finance, but it also means that it is hard to stop others from engaging in unethical profit-making.

Although we cannot directly stop them, we do not have to coexist with them.

We use education to fight against them. As an industry, we really need to better engage the public before the speculators. This is not easy compared to mass marketing that utilizes exaggerated strategies. Understanding how the encryption industry works is much more difficult than simply believing some charismatic people promoting their tokens.

The good news is that most people now have basic judgment skills, able to stay away from junk information and viruses on the internet. Ultimately, the field of cryptocurrency will be no exception. Over time, people will gradually learn to distinguish between true and false, avoiding the traps of speculators.