Working in Web3 is exhilarating, but it can also be exhausting. This letter is for those who have lost or are wavering in their commitment to contributing to the Web3 future.
Like many involved in Web3 at a deeper level than mere speculation, almost every day for the last ten years, I have fantasized about the future that Web3 might one day bring to fruition.
This future is where all data, including our identities, is self-sovereign and kept secure. It’s where high-quality information flows freely and to the benefit of its originators in perpetuity. It’s where inefficiencies and ecological misalignments no longer exist in our financial, logistics, healthcare, governance, and commerce systems. Most importantly, it’s where we can balance the scales of luck (genes, geography, inheritance) with meritocracy so that hard work and determination can change your destiny no matter what your background might be.
Web3 has not brought me massive wealth. I’m from humble beginnings, and I can assure you that the saying, “you must have money to make money,” is still quite applicable to crypto. Still, I wake up each day ready to spend my time building rather than speculating, regardless of whether or not my contributions are rewarded. I understand that we are in a battle for the future, and it will require everyone who’s prescient and capable of contributing to see it through.
Change is always difficult and messy — those who benefit the most from existing systems and institutions will fight the hardest to keep it from happening. The onus is on the visionaries to educate others about the shared benefits that the future will bring. The truth about wealth is that it is created, not transferred, and if we play it the right way and we’re willing to put in the time, this game is not winner-take-all, it’s winner-makes-winners-of-us-all.
