Crypto Face/Off

The author argues that crypto is a new environment rather than a financial vessel, and that the industry's push toward pragmatism, centralization and yield is eroding its core value of trust minimization. The essay ties this to the film Face/Off, comparing crypto's identity crisis to the swapped identities of Sean Archer and Castor Troy. It draws on Marshall McLuhan, including his 1960s observation that official culture tries to make new media do the work of old media, and his "Emperor's New Clothes" image of antisocial people who see environments clearly. The piece claims that a minority of users is quietly opting into crypto through participation rather than optimization.