This Time It's Different

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I remember the feeling.

It was mid-2018, and I was staring blankly at the screen.

My portfolio was down 90% with seemingly no hope of recovery. My stomach sank every time I checked it.

Bitcoin hit a peak of $19,780 near the end of 2017. But by the end of 2018, it was barely worth $3,000.

The crypto winter had taken hold and the market was littered with the remains of tokens that promised the moon but delivered only dust. Projects started disappearing and the space was filled with fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD).

Fast forward to today and we’re in the midst of another bear market—but this time, it's different. The crypto space has grown up over the past years and I couldn’t be more bullish.

I know, I may sound insane at first. But let me explain.

Think back to the early days of the Internet.

People were skeptical and saw the Internet as a complicated tool that only tech geeks played with. They couldn't see past the dial-up modems and pixelated images. “Why would I use email when I can just use my trusty fax machine?”

Then the Dot Com era came, and the Internet was no longer a nerdy pastime—it was a gold rush.

Everyone and their grandma wanted a piece of the pie. A frenzy of money poured into anything with “.com” in its name. The hype was intoxicating, and we were all drunk on optimism.

But every party must come to an end. The bubble burst, and the market came crashing down.

Companies that were once the darlings of Wall Street were reduced to rubble, losing a massive chunk of their value. Some companies evaporated completely.

Amidst the rubble, a handful of players dusted themselves off and kept building.

Companies like Amazon and Google, who were initially swept up in the Dot Com frenzy, buckled down and continued to innovate. Bit by bit, line of code by line of code. They understood that the Internet wasn’t a fad—it was the future.

The Internet gave birth to new industries, new ways of thinking, and new possibilities. It connected people all around the world and forever changed how we live, work, and play.

And that's what's happening with crypto now.

A lot of people are skeptical. They can’t see past the meme coins and immediately write crypto off as a scam.

But we're not just dealing with digital currencies anymore. We're seeing development that’s fundamentally changing the way we interact with money and the Internet.

From DeFi platforms to NFT marketplaces and web3 games, we're seeing crypto come to life in ways we could only dream of during the last bear market. They’re no longer concepts—they're realities that people are using every day.

In 2018, using a dApp (decentralized app) felt like trying to put together IKEA furniture without instructions.

Now, the user experience has improved significantly. We still have ways to go but wallets, exchanges, and other crypto apps have become more user-friendly and attracted a larger and more diverse user base. Today, you don't have to be a tech wiz to interact with blockchain technology.

Starbucks launched Odyssey, an NFT-based rewards program. Mrs. Fifty has never used crypto and she was easily able to buy the new NFTs using a credit card.

Reddit launched collectible NFT avatars and more 10.5 million people have one. Most don’t even realize they’re interacting with blockchain.

And those aren’t the only companies making moves into the space.

Major companies like Facebook, Microsoft, Nike, and more are exploring web3 and investing significant resources in it. This level of corporate adoption was a mere dream.

Yes, we're in a bear market and prices are down. But remember, markets are cyclical.

There will be plenty of ups and downs as the industry evolves. But with each cycle, we're laying down another layer of the foundation on top of another. The community is growing, the technology is improving, and the world is waking up to the potential of crypto.

I’ve been working in web3 for over a year now. I’ve been in contact with dozens of different web3 projects and I’m constantly impressed by everyone’s drive. Despite all the FUD, people are continuing to innovate and push the space forward, one line of code at a time.

The road to mass adoption is never smooth, but remember, sometimes the most transformative ideas are the ones that face the greatest skepticism.

Crypto isn’t dead. We're just getting started.

Peace,

Fifty Sat

P.S.

In next week’s newsletter, we’ll be talking about the Metaverse. Until then, hope you have a good weekend.

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