Cypherpunk Values May Phase Out As Institutional Adoption Grows

According to Cointelegraph, the original cypherpunk values that inspired the first smart contract platforms are likely to phase out over the next decade as institutional adoption drives the need for speed and compliance. Jesse Walden, managing partner of Variant Fund, discussed this shift in a blog post dated September 30. He explained that the first decade of blockchain development was driven by Bitcoin's cypherpunk values, which emphasized censorship resistance, open source, permissionlessness, and the vision of building a democratic and equitable internet on a shared world computer. However, Walden noted that current smart contract platforms are increasingly driven by values such as performance, cost, profitability, and legal compliance, rather than the noble ideals of the past. He pointed out that many popular use cases for smart contract platforms, including stablecoins, real-world asset tokenization, and decentralized physical infrastructure networks, no longer require decentralization or permissionlessness. Instead, they only need to leverage the decentralization of the underlying blockchain for openness, interoperability, and settlement. The cypherpunk movement began in the 1980s as a response to concerns about government surveillance, censorship, and limitations on free speech on the emerging internet. Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto is often considered to be aligned with cypherpunk values due to the uncensorable and permissionless design of the Bitcoin network. Walden believes that while this is not the end of cypherpunk blockchains, it is “probably the end of the beginning.” Walden explained that the commercialization of crypto comes with unavoidable compromises, such as relaxing strict decentralization to make crypto wallets and apps more accessible to users. He compared this to how mainstream music often becomes repackaged for commercial purposes, yet a few pioneering artists manage to balance their principles with mass market appeal. Walden suggested that this mix of determination and pragmatism is admirable because it has the most reach and impact, taking culture forward on a large scale. He encouraged those who feel that the values that initially attracted them to crypto are being diluted by the mainstream market to see it in a different light. According to Walden, the commercialization of crypto likely means that the real opportunity is just beginning.