How Did Crypto Lose Its Way? And Can It Ever Recover?

When Bitcoin emerged in 2009, it promised a new kind of financial system. One that was decentralized, transparent, and free from the control of governments and big banks. It was a vision of empowerment, giving people the tools to take control of their own money.

But today? Well the landscape looks very, very different.

Instead of a utopia of financial freedom, we’ve essentially got a wild west of speculative trading and worthless memecoins. ‘Financial gurus’ shilling garbage online, rug pulling their own audiences almost daily.

So, what happened?
How did we stray so far from the original vision?
And is there any way to get back on track?

In the beginning, cryptocurrency was all about breaking free from the traditional financial system. Bitcoin’s creator, the ever mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, envisioned a world where people could send money directly to each other without intermediaries like banks or governments. It was a response to the 2008 financial crisis, a way to create a more transparent and fair system.

And for a while, it actually seemed like that vision was gaining momentum! Bitcoin gained popularity among tech enthusiasts, libertarians, and those living in unstable economies. It was a tool for financial independence, a way to opt out of a system that many felt was broken.

But as crypto grew, so did its problems. What started as a movement for financial freedom slowly turned into something else entirely. Something all too familiar.

Somewhere along the way, the crypto space lost its focus. Instead of becoming a tool for financial independence, it morphed into a gamblers playground. The volatility of cryptocurrencies made them a magnet for traders looking to make quick profits. People began buying and selling crypto not because they believed in the technology, but because they wanted to get rich fast.

And people did! People still do!

This frenzy reached its peak just recently with the latest wave of memecoins on the Solana blockchain. Not unlike Doge or Shiba Inu, instead now they’re so rampant that even a complete novice could create a coin in less than an hour. These coins, complete jokes, became multi-million-dollar assets driven by hype and social media.

And let’s not forget NFTs!

Non-fungible tokens, promised to revolutionize ownership and creativity in the digital world. Instead, they became a place for speculation and absurdity. Once Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs were selling for $150k+, you had to ask yourself: “What the f$*k are we doing?”

While there are legitimate use cases for NFTs—like supporting artists or proving ownership of digital assets—most of the market is dominated by overpriced JPEGs. People like to pretend that “this artwork is amazing”, to justify a ridiculous purchase, but let’s be real: The vast majority are garbage.

Ironically, since then, the crypto space has become more centralized over time - not to be confused with regulated, which we’ll get to in a moment.

Large exchanges like Binance and Coinbase now control a significant portion of the market, acting as gatekeepers to the decentralized world. Even decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, which were meant to eliminate intermediaries, are often controlled by a small group of developers or whales.

At the same time, the lack of clear regulations has allowed scams, fraud, and manipulation to thrive. From rug pulls to Ponzi schemes, the crypto space has become a haven for bad actors. While regulation is often seen as antithetical to crypto’s ethos, the absence of it has hurt the industry’s credibility and scared away many potential users.

So, was this the vision?
No. Not even close.

The original vision of cryptocurrency was about empowerment, not exploitation. It was about creating a fairer, more transparent financial system—not a speculative free-for-all. While some aspects of the crypto space still align with this vision, I think it’s fair to say the overall trajectory has been disappointing, to say the least.

So how did this happen? How did we stray so far? Our human nature. We’re greedy.
Greed and speculation are hardwired into us. When people saw the potential to make life-changing money, the original vision took a backseat.

Then there’s the lack of education. Many people entering the crypto space don’t understand the technology or its purpose. They see it as a way to get rich, not as a tool for financial freedom. And you can’t blame them. So many projects prioritize short-term gains over long-term value, or any real purpose. What we’re left is is hundreds and thousands of coins that don’t do anything, and whose creators have no intention of doing anything with them.

And before you walk away from it forever, t’s not too late to get back on track!

But it will take effort from everyone in the crypto community.

Especially those of us that have been around for a little while.

First and foremost is to recognize garbage when you see it, and not spend your money on it. The point of cryptocurrency was the underlying technology, and as members of this community, we need to support it! At this point, even calling a memecoin cryptocurrency feels wrong, given how little they have to do with the technology.

Then there’s the education factor. The more people understand the technology and its potential, the less likely they are to fall for scams or speculative nonsense. Of course it’s fun great to invest and it’s even better to make a profit, but it’s the projects with great fundamentals that are the most likely to turn that profit.

Then there’s policy and regulation. While you’re less likely to have a direct impact on this as an individual, you can vote for the policy makers who will. Crypto is becoming a bigger issue every year politically, at almost every level of government as well. So when you can, vote for those who want to push this technology in the right direction!

Crypto has veered off course, but that was the choice of the communities within the ecosystem. It still belongs to those communities, and they’re still in control. The investors, the creators, the entrepreneurs; everyone has their part to play. If we want an online casino, we’ll get an online casino. If we want to fundamentally change the financial system for the better, we can do that too.