ETH Embodies the Values of Crypto

Does your loved one suffer from ED? 

Every blockchain in crypto stands for something. These are not just tech platforms – blockchains are techno-political social structures, that are highly opinionated about what is Good. 

• Bitcoin thinks that the 21M hard-cap is the supreme Good. 
• Ethereum balances its Good optimizations across a variety of dimensions – credible neutrality, open source, user verification, and a big tent mentality. 
• Solana wants to go really fast. 
• XRP wants to dump on you. 

All of these things are different kinds of Good. Some are better than others. 

In crypto, there are some who attempt to transcend tribal warfare, and try and look at things “neutrally” and “call balls and strikes.” I think this is a noble effort, and this practice can help move the space forward. But also, don’t be fooled – this is simply another tribe just like all the others, with their own ideology and belief system. 

Every ecosystem in crypto has their own set of values that they prefer. However, I'd argue that Ethereum offers the broadest spectrum of values that compose a well functioning blockchain ecosystem, whereas all other chains only offer a specific, more narrow, set of priorities.

Ethereum is the complete rainbow, and other ecosystems often attempt to unbundle Ethereum by optimizing for a specific color. Solana can produce a brighter, stronger purple than Ethereum’s complete rainbow. Celestia is more purple than Ethereum’s purple is. Bitcoin’s orange is more orange, etc.  

Attempting to unbundle Ethereum has been a highly profitable endeavor for the founders and VCs that have tried to individually produce brighter colors than what Ethereum’s broad spectrum is capable of offering. 

This is fine, and rational. I do not dislike the fact that this happens. The balance between coordination and defection incentives is the force that keeps the world progressing forward. Because of its competition, Ethereum is better. 

Ethereum Derangement (ED) 

There’s a line between accepting (and even encouraging) Ethereum competition, and full blown Ethereum Derangement (ED). 

Roughly 15-20% of the crypto industry has contracted ED.

Signs of ED include:

• Owning zero ETH, despite it being the most legitimate asset in crypto after BTC
• Chronically funding Ethereum competitors like its your life mission 
• Holding Ethereum to a double standard, where it is always insufficient or incomplete compared to a smaller, newer competitor 
• Concernooorism that sounds rational and noble ("just trying to help") but magnifies perceived flaws such that it becomes impossible to say something ETH positive without following up with a corresponding Concern
• Not being capable of articulating the bull case for Ethereum or ETH 
• When Ethereum has congestion, you believe that Ethereum is antiquated technology that will never scale, but when Ethereum has low gas fees, Ethereum is a ghost chain
• BTC Treasuries are a sign of institutional adoption while ETH treasuries are a sign of an over-leveraged bubble
• Love to apply REV to ETH but ignore it for BTC
• Thinking that SoV can only apply to BTC, or that SoV doesn’t exist as a concept

I’m not averse to people investing in and supporting non-Ethereum efforts; this is futile and weak and ignorant of rational economic incentives. 

I am averse to people who discount, discredit, or delegitimize the incredible role Ethereum has played in building this industry.

Ethereum is special.

It has a founder who resisted the temptation of the ring. It has consistently refused shortcuts in favor of principles: decentralization, credible neutrality, and censorship resistance. Unlike other ecosystems, the EF has never king-made apps or individuals – it funds research that will alter the arc of human history, transparently, for the benefit of all. Ethereum alone has built a multi-client culture to avoid single points of failure, pioneered the social layer as a governance backstop, and institutionalized funding for public goods at scale.

Above all, Ethereum is an incredible Schelling point – the place where the world’s best developers, researchers, and builders still gather to push the frontier forward.

For all intents and purposes, Ethereum is crypto. Ethereum is the embodiment of so much of the values and ethos that attract people to this space, and why people think that crypto is actually Good and not a Grift.

Ethereum is owed its due.

So to those working outside of Ethereum, by all means don’t stop what you’re doing. That is not the intended message here. But to those who see Ethereum as the enemy, or as the valuable golden goose that you wish to unbundle, or simply see the diamond logo with disdain… These are choices, and it doesn’t have to be this way. 

You don’t have to have ED. Ethereum is Good, and our support for its mission is also Good. You don’t have to give your life up to work on Ethereum, but I think supporting Ethereum and seeing the diamond logo with a positive valence, rather than a negative one, is good for one's psyche and is net beneficial to the total market cap of crypto.  

And for those who have ED, and like having ED. That’s just sus.