FTX的破产给投资者和消费者造成了数十亿美元的损失,除此之外,这件事情还产生了另外一个深远影响,那就是加密货币行业失去了公众的信任。为了应对这种影响,创业者和其他从业者必须反思为什么会发生这种情况,以及我们应该如何避免重蹈覆辙。我们必须努力淘汰肆无忌惮或者不负责任的从业者,同时继续拓宽Web3的边界。我从2015年进入加密货币行业。我认为要挖掘区块链技术的潜力,必须做到五件事情。
第一,我们需要能够保护用户和促进创新的法律框架。目前通过执法进行监管的现状必须终结。1996年的《电信法案》(Telecommunication Act)为以负责任的方式发展创新创造了条件,政策制定者和行业领导者可以合作制定类似的法律。新规定必须区分技术和基于技术提供服务的公司。以互联网为例,我们不会监管网络时间协议或者超文本传输协议(即网络)。但我们会监管PayPal等平台、康卡斯特(Comcast)等互联网服务提供商以及亚马逊(Amazon)等利用这些协议的法人实体。对于FTX破产这样的灾难,政策制定者必须了解问题的关键不在于去中心化,而是加密货币公司的中间环节过于集中,向公众隐瞒了它们的决策和财务健康状况。
第二,我们要牢记区块链技术为什么能够具有颠覆性,并集中精力开发可以发挥区块链优势的产品和解决方案:区块链使任何人在任何地方都能够点对点地转移、存放和管理个人财富和资产。对于那些致力于为所有人开发更好的网页和更包容的金融系统的创业者,我们应该大力支持。区块链是第一个价值型数字媒介,就像互联网是第一个信息数字媒介一样。我们的数字经济需要一种数字原生资产,可以用于支付、储蓄和用于其他金融工具。该领域的下一批创业者应该专注于创建简单易用的Web3应用,吸引大量用户,并且要解决更多的实际问题,而不是晦涩难懂的交易应用和神神秘秘的金融票据。开发普通人想要、需要和能够理解的产品。
第三,打破对经营集中化公司的加密货币创业者的英雄崇拜。现实情况是,FTX这样的中介平台不应该主导整个行业。毕竟,Web3的吸引力在于其非许可性和去中心化,这意味着任何人可以在任何地方持有数字资产,进行点对点管理,并且对资产的治理拥有发言权。比特币(Bitcoin)最先实现了这一点,以太坊(Ethereum)和去中心化金融(DeFi)应用则发挥了巨大的推动作用。FTX确实提供了出色的用户界面和体验,但它应该提高透明度、改善风险管理和加强治理。FTX这样的公司作为进入行业的通道,确实为这类资产以及整个Web3行业做出了贡献,并且能够继续发挥作用。然而,进入行业的通道不应该定义整个行业。目前,币安(Binance)的加密货币交易量占整个行业的一半。我们可以称赞它能够存活下来,但这种程度的集中值得所有人警惕。
第四,我们需要支持希望利用公共区块链开发Web3的企业。许多大公司曾经花费数年时间,对许可链和其他封闭系统进行修补,现在都已经改用以太坊和其他公共基础设施。虽然这些平台未能提供价值,却让大公司顺利接受了这项技术。现在,我们应该开发更多的通道,让大公司可以利用这些公共基础设施来进行实际的商业应用。非同质化代币(NFT)就是很好的起点,它们能够让大公司对Web3有“清醒的认识”,并为促进创新开辟道路。Web3领域的企业创新可以令用户和开发者受益,也能够为投资者带来回报。毕竟,如果有数百家公司使用这项技术,它们可能也需要持有标的资产来运营一个节点,或者支付“汽油费”等。
最后,我们必须承认,虽然自我托管对某些人来说是Web3的特征,但却是其他人采用Web3的巨大障碍。这意味着这个领域的用户需要值得信任的服务提供商。并非所有人都可以直观地理解Web3的技术工具,而且许多用户在持有自己的资产时都会有合理的担忧。Web3音乐平台Audius的创始人罗尼尔·拉姆伯格最近对我表示,FTX的问题应该“促使人们投入更多时间/资源,改善完全自我身份、去中心化的数字资产管理工具的实用性”,但他承认,虽然“现在加密货币用户能够拥有自主身份,但这样做的实用性门槛过高,许多主流用户很难做到。”Web3创新者正在开发更易用的工具,但个人尤其是企业依旧需要值得信任的代理人和合作伙伴。我们应该通过储备金证明要求等行业标准、合理的法规和社会共识与合作,支持良性企业发展,换言之,我们应该淘汰糟糕的企业,支持敢对权力说真话的企业。
Web3应该使“太大而不能倒”的中介平台边缘化。FTX让我们明白了比特币的发明者中本聪(Satoshi Nakamoto)希望规避的情况:一个中心化组织,利用其影响力在监管松散的市场承担过多风险。最终,付出最大代价的是散户。我们需要走出这场危机的阴霾,作出新的承诺:我们不仅要基于开放协议开发安全、简单、去中心化的工具,还要集中监管受管制的金融中介,无论它们使用哪种技术。(财富中文网)
本文作者亚历克斯·塔普斯科特(Alex Tapscott)是畅销书《区块链革命》(Blockchain Revolution)的作者之一,也是区块链研究所(The Blockchain Research Institute)的联合创始人和Ninepoint Digital Asset Group的董事总经理。
译者:刘进龙
审校:汪皓
FTX的破产给投资者和消费者造成了数十亿美元的损失,除此之外,这件事情还产生了另外一个深远影响,那就是加密货币行业失去了公众的信任。为了应对这种影响,创业者和其他从业者必须反思为什么会发生这种情况,以及我们应该如何避免重蹈覆辙。我们必须努力淘汰肆无忌惮或者不负责任的从业者,同时继续拓宽Web3的边界。我从2015年进入加密货币行业。我认为要挖掘区块链技术的潜力,必须做到五件事情。
第一,我们需要能够保护用户和促进创新的法律框架。目前通过执法进行监管的现状必须终结。1996年的《电信法案》(Telecommunication Act)为以负责任的方式发展创新创造了条件,政策制定者和行业领导者可以合作制定类似的法律。新规定必须区分技术和基于技术提供服务的公司。以互联网为例,我们不会监管网络时间协议或者超文本传输协议(即网络)。但我们会监管PayPal等平台、康卡斯特(Comcast)等互联网服务提供商以及亚马逊(Amazon)等利用这些协议的法人实体。对于FTX破产这样的灾难,政策制定者必须了解问题的关键不在于去中心化,而是加密货币公司的中间环节过于集中,向公众隐瞒了它们的决策和财务健康状况。
第二,我们要牢记区块链技术为什么能够具有颠覆性,并集中精力开发可以发挥区块链优势的产品和解决方案:区块链使任何人在任何地方都能够点对点地转移、存放和管理个人财富和资产。对于那些致力于为所有人开发更好的网页和更包容的金融系统的创业者,我们应该大力支持。区块链是第一个价值型数字媒介,就像互联网是第一个信息数字媒介一样。我们的数字经济需要一种数字原生资产,可以用于支付、储蓄和用于其他金融工具。该领域的下一批创业者应该专注于创建简单易用的Web3应用,吸引大量用户,并且要解决更多的实际问题,而不是晦涩难懂的交易应用和神神秘秘的金融票据。开发普通人想要、需要和能够理解的产品。
第三,打破对经营集中化公司的加密货币创业者的英雄崇拜。现实情况是,FTX这样的中介平台不应该主导整个行业。毕竟,Web3的吸引力在于其非许可性和去中心化,这意味着任何人可以在任何地方持有数字资产,进行点对点管理,并且对资产的治理拥有发言权。比特币(Bitcoin)最先实现了这一点,以太坊(Ethereum)和去中心化金融(DeFi)应用则发挥了巨大的推动作用。FTX确实提供了出色的用户界面和体验,但它应该提高透明度、改善风险管理和加强治理。FTX这样的公司作为进入行业的通道,确实为这类资产以及整个Web3行业做出了贡献,并且能够继续发挥作用。然而,进入行业的通道不应该定义整个行业。目前,币安(Binance)的加密货币交易量占整个行业的一半。我们可以称赞它能够存活下来,但这种程度的集中值得所有人警惕。
第四,我们需要支持希望利用公共区块链开发Web3的企业。许多大公司曾经花费数年时间,对许可链和其他封闭系统进行修补,现在都已经改用以太坊和其他公共基础设施。虽然这些平台未能提供价值,却让大公司顺利接受了这项技术。现在,我们应该开发更多的通道,让大公司可以利用这些公共基础设施来进行实际的商业应用。非同质化代币(NFT)就是很好的起点,它们能够让大公司对Web3有“清醒的认识”,并为促进创新开辟道路。Web3领域的企业创新可以令用户和开发者受益,也能够为投资者带来回报。毕竟,如果有数百家公司使用这项技术,它们可能也需要持有标的资产来运营一个节点,或者支付“汽油费”等。
最后,我们必须承认,虽然自我托管对某些人来说是Web3的特征,但却是其他人采用Web3的巨大障碍。这意味着这个领域的用户需要值得信任的服务提供商。并非所有人都可以直观地理解Web3的技术工具,而且许多用户在持有自己的资产时都会有合理的担忧。Web3音乐平台Audius的创始人罗尼尔·拉姆伯格最近对我表示,FTX的问题应该“促使人们投入更多时间/资源,改善完全自我身份、去中心化的数字资产管理工具的实用性”,但他承认,虽然“现在加密货币用户能够拥有自主身份,但这样做的实用性门槛过高,许多主流用户很难做到。”Web3创新者正在开发更易用的工具,但个人尤其是企业依旧需要值得信任的代理人和合作伙伴。我们应该通过储备金证明要求等行业标准、合理的法规和社会共识与合作,支持良性企业发展,换言之,我们应该淘汰糟糕的企业,支持敢对权力说真话的企业。
Web3应该使“太大而不能倒”的中介平台边缘化。FTX让我们明白了比特币的发明者中本聪(Satoshi Nakamoto)希望规避的情况:一个中心化组织,利用其影响力在监管松散的市场承担过多风险。最终,付出最大代价的是散户。我们需要走出这场危机的阴霾,作出新的承诺:我们不仅要基于开放协议开发安全、简单、去中心化的工具,还要集中监管受管制的金融中介,无论它们使用哪种技术。(财富中文网)
本文作者亚历克斯·塔普斯科特(Alex Tapscott)是畅销书《区块链革命》(Blockchain Revolution)的作者之一,也是区块链研究所(The Blockchain Research Institute)的联合创始人和Ninepoint Digital Asset Group的董事总经理。
译者:刘进龙
审校:汪皓
The implosion of FTX has led to billions of dollars of losses for investors and consumers but it also has an important long term implications: Loss of public trust in the crypto industry. In response, entrepreneurs and others must ask how this happened and what we can do to prevent it from happening again. We must commit ourselves to address unscrupulous or irresponsible actors while continuing to push the boundaries of Web3. I have been in this industry since 2015 and here are five things that must happen if blockchain technology is to reach its potential.
First, we need a legal framework that can protect users and still promote innovation. The status quo of regulation by enforcement must end. Policymakers and industry leaders can work together to come up with something akin to the 1996 Telecommunication Act, which created the conditions for innovation to thrive responsibly. Any new rules must distinguish between the technology and the companies that build services on top of it. Take cues from the Internet—we don’t regulate network time or hypertext transfer protocols (aka the web). Still, we do try to regulate platforms like PayPal, Internet service providers like Comcast and other corporate entities like Amazon that use those protocols. In the case of disasters like FTX, policy makers must understand the key issue is not decentralization but too much centralization in crypto corporate intermediaries that conceal their decision-making and financial health from the public.
Second, let’s keep in mind what makes blockchain technology disruptive and focus our efforts on building products and solutions that play to its strengths: that it enables anyone, anywhere to move, store and manage their wealth and assets peer to peer. Let’s support the entrepreneurs trying to build a better Web and a more inclusive financial system for everyone. Blockchains are the first digital medium for value, in the same way that the Internet was the first digital medium for information. Our digital economy needs a digital native asset class for payments, savings, and other financial tools. The next wave of entrepreneurs in this space should focus on building simple, accessible Web3 applications that appeal to a broad swath of the population and solve more real-world problems, instead of arcane trading apps and esoteric financial instruments. Build products that regular people want and need and can understand.
Third, let’s end the hero worship around crypto founders who run centralized companies. The reality is that middleware like FTX need not dominate the industry. After all, what makes Web3 so compelling is that it is permissionless and decentralized, meaning anyone, anywhere can own digital assets, manage them peer to peer, and have a say in their governance. Bitcoin was the first to make this possible, and Ethereum and DeFi applications have turbocharged it. To its credit, FTX offered a great user interface and experience, but it needed greater transparency, better risk management and stronger governance. Companies like FTX served and may continue to serve as important on-ramps to this asset class and the wider world of Web3. However, the on-ramps to an industry must not define the industry. Right now, Binance accounts for half of all cryptoasset volumes. We may sing its praises today for surviving, but concentration like this should worry everyone.
Fourth, we need to support enterprises who want to build in Web3 using public blockchains. Many big companies have spent years tinkering with permissioned blockchains and other closed systems and are ready to make the leap to Ethereum and other public infrastructure. Those platforms failed to deliver value, but they got those companies comfortable with the technology. Now, let’s build more onramps for them to use this public infrastructure for real-world commercial applications. NFTs are a good start as they can “red-pill” a big firm on Web3 and open the doors to further innovations. Web3 users and builders will benefit from more corporate innovation in this area, but so will investors – after all, if hundreds of companies are using this technology they’ll likely need to own the underlying asset too to run a node, pay for gas fees and so forth.
Finally, we must acknowledge that, while self-custody is a feature for some, it is a significant impediment to Web3 adoption for others. That means users still need trusted service providers in this space. The technology tools of Web3 are not intuitive to everyone, and many users have a justified apprehension when it comes to holding their own assets. Roneil Rumburg, Founder of Web3 music platform Audius recently told me the FTX issue should “lead to more time/resources spent towards improving the usability of fully self-sovereign, decentralized tooling for managing digital assets,” though he acknowledges that while “it’s possible to be a self-sovereign crypto user today, the usability bar for doing so is still so high that it’s out of reach for many mainstream users.” Web3 innovators are making more accessible tools, but individuals and businesses especially will still need trusted agents and partners. Let’s support good actors through industry standards like proof-of-reserve requirements, sensible regulations, and social consensus and collaboration—in other words, call out bad actors when they appear and support those who speak truth to power.
Web3 was supposed to make “too-big to fail” intermediaries irrelevant. With FTX, we got exactly what Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto sought to route around: a centralized organization that used its clout to take excessive risks in a loosely regulated market. In the end, retail paid the heaviest toll. We need to emerge from this crisis with a renewed commitment not only to building safe, simple, decentralized tools on open protocols but also to regulating centrally controlled financial intermediaries, no matter what technology they use.
Alex Tapscott is a the co-author of the bestselling Blockchain Revolution, co-founder of The Blockchain Research Institute and managing director of The Ninepoint Digital Asset Group.