At this point in time, many people will wonder, "Am I too late?" In response to this common anxiety, Dragonfly partner Haseeb shared his experience. On the one hand, he encouraged newcomers to seize the huge opportunities that have not yet been developed in the crypto industry, and on the other hand, he redefined the concept of "moat" that entrepreneurs often talk about. He reminded: " The key is never timing, but execution. "
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ToggleHaseeb: It’s not too late to join now , the crypto revolution has just begun
Haseeb admitted that when he first joined the crypto venture capital industry in 2018, there were already legendary institutions such as Polychain, a16z, and DCG in the market, and the market seemed to be unable to accommodate another crypto VC. He was worried that he had missed the golden time, just like Marc Andreessen's anxiety when he saw the rise of AOL and Cisco when he arrived in Silicon Valley in early 1994, and believed that the Internet/blockchain industry was gradually heading towards sunset.
But a few years later, the two had the same realization in different time and space: " The entire industry is just getting started."
He stressed that it is not too late to enter the market now, and the entire crypto industry is still insignificant compared to its size in the next 20 years:
Bitcoin's market value is still only one-tenth of gold's, and the number of on-chain users is far less than 1% of the world's population. The United States has not yet passed any crypto-related laws, and no major central bank in the world holds crypto assets.
He added, “Welcome to join the crypto world. From here, there will be countless changes waiting for you to participate and write history.”
The moat is just a war of words, you should ask yourself "how to resist" competitors?
In another article discussing the competitiveness of crypto startups, Haseeb made a sharp point:
Most products don’t have a moat. With the rare exception of traditional companies like Google or Salesforce, for most crypto entrepreneurs, instead of pursuing illusory “barriers”, it is better to ask yourself: “ How does this product defend against competition? ”
He pointed out that what really makes a product continue to occupy the market is often:
Continuous innovation and rapid feature release
More flexible pricing strategy
Stronger execution efficiency
More accurate aesthetics and decision-making judgment
Haseeb said that even if these do not constitute moats in the traditional sense, they are still effective mechanisms for maintaining competitiveness.
From Google to Salesforce: Being “defensible” doesn’t mean being irreplaceable
So do the giants in the market really have moats? In response to this, Haseeb had a wonderful conversation with Bread , co-founder of MegaETH, and Haseeb clarified that the two traditional industries he cited as examples are not impeccable, but have relatively strong "defense capabilities":
Google's moat lies in its massive data and cross-product ecosystem (such as Gmail, Maps, and GSuite), which allow users to be deeply bound.
Salesforce relies on enterprise customized processes and proprietary language (APEX) to create a lock-in effect with high switching costs.
But he also emphasized that these so-called "moats" will essentially still be replaced, and AI, for example, has the potential to completely reshape these platforms. However, what he wanted to express is:
The real concept of a moat is that the quality of a product has deteriorated (e.g. Google search , Salesforce user experience), but they continue to dominate the market .
Haseeb clarifies, “A true moat is one that protects your market position even if you do nothing.”
Rather than waiting, take action now
Whether you’re a recent graduate in 2024 or 2025, or someone considering a career in entrepreneurship or crypto, Haseeb’s words provide a key guide:
Opportunities will not wait until you are ready, nor will they disappear completely because you are one step late. In addition, the key to success is not to build a moat, but to continue to do better than others.
This is a race that is still at the starting line, and it is also a long march for innovators and experimenters. The world has not yet taken shape, and everything is still possible.
Risk Warning
Cryptocurrency investment carries a high degree of risk. Its price may fluctuate drastically and you may lose all your capital. Please assess the risk carefully.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov was interviewed by former FOX anchor Tucker Carlson on June 10 this morning, publicly discussing his detention in France last August. He still has no idea what crime he committed, and hinted that political forces may be involved in the whole incident. In addition, he emphasized that Telegram has invested a lot of resources in compliance for a long time, but he is quite confused by the actions of the French authorities.
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ToggleDurov was suddenly arrested at Paris airport, the reason is still unknown
Durov first said that he was detained by the police when he arrived at the Paris airport on August 24 last year, and he had no idea what was going on. He laughed and said:
"The French authorities seemed to be studying Telegram as some mysterious organization and asked me some questions about the operation of the Telegram system. It was shocking."
According to the indictment released by the French prosecutor at the time, Durov was charged with six counts, including suspected conspiracy, refusal to cooperate with the prosecutor's investigation, money laundering, organized crime, failure to truthfully declare the provision of cryptocurrency services and assisting in the dissemination of illegal content. If convicted, Durov could face up to 10 years in prison.
Telegram claims to be extremely compliant, but the French authorities want to charge it with crimes
Durov pointed out that Telegram is an international company that complies with international laws, invests millions of dollars in compliance every quarter, and is backed by audits from the Big Four accounting firms. He stressed that the French authorities' accusation that Telegram is not compliant is not true:
"We have never ignored any 'need to comply' requests. The problem is that they did not follow the formal procedures to request our information."
He criticized the French authorities for over-interpreting the legal provisions and trying to accuse him and Telegram, which he said was unreasonable.
( Bye France? Telegram founder Durov: Leave if the ideas don’t match )
The French prosecutors deliberately handled the case in a high-profile manner, and the TON community strongly supported Durov
The host Carlson bluntly said that the whole incident seemed to be "deliberately humiliating Durov" and questioned:
"The founder of a technology platform was treated like this, and why are those groups that usually hold up signs to defend human rights and freedoms silent?"
Durov added that his lawyer said that usually prosecutors and investigators handle cases in a low profile and rarely make public announcements. However, this arrest operation was not only high-profile, but also issued a press release, which is completely unprecedented.
After the incident, the TON community launched a petition, with more than 9 million Telegram accounts signing in a short period of time to express support and urge the French authorities to release Durov as soon as possible.
Telegram does not rule out withdrawing from certain countries if the national system does not guarantee freedom of speech
Shortly after the incident broke last year, Durov made his position clear:
“If the systems of certain countries cannot guarantee Telegram’s freedom of speech, we will consider withdrawing from the market completely.”
According to data, Telegram's monthly active users have exceeded 1 billion, making it one of the world's largest communication social platforms. Durov emphasized that the core value of Telegram is to defend freedom of information, which should not be sacrificed by political interference.
Risk Warning
Cryptocurrency investment carries a high degree of risk. Its price may fluctuate drastically and you may lose all your capital. Please assess the risk carefully.
The recent successful IPO of stablecoin issuer Circle is undoubtedly a major milestone for the overall crypto market, but it has also triggered a heated debate within the crypto community about "value distribution". DeFi players who have supported USDC for many years but have not received any returns have questioned: "Do they really have a share in this victory?"
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ToggleWho created USDC but is now forgotten?
DeFi analyst Ignas said on X that he felt "a little uncomfortable" with Circle's successful listing. He pointed out that it was the crypto-native community and DeFi users who adopted USDC early on. They were the first group of people to support stablecoin infrastructure, but now they have not been able to share any results:
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and even various airdrops have always rewarded early users, which is the core value of the crypto world. But USDC has no holding interest (base yield), no $CRCL stock allotment, no airdrop, nothing.
Ignas believes that although Circle’s success has brought glory to the crypto world, for the DeFi community, it is just “standing on the sidelines and watching others get dividends.”
( Why Ripple's acquisition of Circle could be the "end of Ethereum and DeFi"? )
Is moving from on-chain to traditional finance a betrayal of the crypto community?
Circle entered the traditional market (TradFi) through stocks ($CRCL), and ordinary investors can only buy through securities accounts, which makes Ignas believe that the entire crypto value is being "sucked away". He is worried that the prosperity of USDC will instead cause funds to flow from the chain to the traditional financial system, forming an outflow of value.
Even so, he admitted that Circle’s success is not a bad thing for the industry as a whole:
Payment applications will become more popular as a result, and the supply of stablecoins will also expand, thereby boosting on-chain transaction activities and the valuation of the underlying public chain.
He said helplessly, “In the future, I will tend to support stablecoin projects that are willing to leave rewards to early users, such as Ethena, MakerDAO, Frax, etc., rather than Tether or Circle.”
DeFi protocol listing boom? ETF and SPAC become the channel
Daily Degen news writer @rektdiomedes responded to this, saying that this " imbalance in value distribution " problem will eventually be solved:
In the future, DeFi protocols will pass on value to native users and token holders in different ways, which may be through token valuation repricing, listing of protocols through special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), or even launching ETFs.
He gave examples, including that Frax is considering going public through SPAC, and Aave may enter the traditional financial market through ETFs within one or two years.
In other words, even if current native users are marginalized in Circle’s listing, in the long run, this wave of compliance will drive the overall DeFi protocol into a broader capital channel.
Tether buys coins regularly: a way of giving back unexpectedly wins praise
Interestingly, some people also mentioned Tether’s alternative “reward method”. @happysubstack pointed out that althoughTether has always been opaque and has not given users direct profit sharing, at least they have returned part of their profits to the crypto market, such as buying large amounts of Bitcoin , which indirectly stabilized the market price.
This point was also recognized by Ignas, who even asked: " So, is Tether actually better than USDC for the crypto field? "
In the absence of a direct feedback mechanism, Tether’s strategy has instead sparked a positive response from the community, highlighting Circle’s gap in returning value to users .
Next stage: The battle of stablecoins returns to "user-centricity"
This debate is not just an emotional reaction, but also reveals that the crypto industry is heading towards a critical fork in the road: " Should stablecoin issuers serve the traditional market or focus on the crypto-native community? "
The DeFi community has always attached great importance to the issue of "how value is distributed", highlighting that they support not only the stablecoin itself, but also the values behind it - whether the benefits and disasters are shared, whether it is transparent, and whether it still belongs to this on-chain world.
As Circle steps onto the stage of traditional capital markets, the battle for the right to speak on stablecoins is just beginning.
Risk Warning
Cryptocurrency investment carries a high degree of risk. Its price may fluctuate drastically and you may lose all your capital. Please assess the risk carefully.
