Last week Jackson Palmer, the co-creator of Elon Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency Doge went on a Twitter tirade to condemn the industry. He labeled it “a coordinated scam to move unsophisticated money into the hands of the super-rich.”
Ignoring the obvious irony that he created a coin that has been central to attracting ordinary people to the space, (not his fault but still), here Nick Saponaro, co-founder and CIO of the decentralized payment ecosystem, Divi, breaks down some of Jackson’s points:
First A Quick Note on Nick…..
He was not super-rich when he got into the industry and, while he’s not a billionaire, he has made $millions from participating in the space. His story isn’t unique in this regard and believes this pigeon-holed tirade is myopic, reductive, and fails to acknowledge all the good crypto can and is doing.
Jackson says that crypto is "Inherently Right-Wing.”
Nick responds:
“Unless taking back control of your money or protecting your income against inflation is right-wing, I don't see this technology as holding any outwardly political nature. Crypto, from a technical perspective, doesn't discriminate based on geography, class, race, or orientation. It is not inherently right-wing to enable effective philanthropy at levels never previously seen before. I don't see the desire to have democratized, private access to finance and the internet as inherently right-wing either.”
Jackson asserts that crypto is “Controlled by a Select Group of Elites.”
Nick responds:
“This statement is laughable at best. All markets are manipulated to some degree. I would argue that crypto is one of the least, especially when considering the stock market manipulation by actors that hold inordinate amounts of power. How about the world’s largest companies, like Amazon, effectively paying $0 in taxes? I would argue that the traditional finance system has been co-opted by the elites to benefit their bottom line far more than cryptocurrency has.”
“Having said that, I do have concerns about big tech and traditional finance institutions engaging with the technology to pursue their own selective incentives. But being a free market with a significant retail network effect, I have faith that the distributed nature of this technology will draw it down a different path.”
Jackson Says That Crypto Obviates the Safeguards the Traditional System Puts in Place to Protect People.
Nick responds:
“Is personal responsibility purely a misnomer? Because the average adult doesn't know what they're doing, should it be handled by a third party? Give me a break. This level of ignorance and passive interaction with finance is why we are in the position we are in now. Crypto is a protest of the results of the traditional system as much as it is a solution. This same passive, almost docile behavior is the same reason we have no privacy online, why all our data is sold, and everything we do is tracked by some multi-billion dollar social media entity.”
Nick On Healthy Skepticism:
“I am one of the few skeptics who really broaches difficult questions like taxation, fundamentals, cybercrime, etc. However, those who dismiss this industry with pigeon-holed arguments that only confirm their own bias will end up on the wrong side of history.”
Nick Concludes:
“There are so many beautiful outcomes as a result of the technology being built by the developers and business people in this space that are completely ignored by his argument. We've seen lives changed, families fed, businesses built, and freedom captured by participating in crypto.”
