Just caught up w/ a former colleague who left crypto in early 2020. Back when we worked together, we only traded on CEXs and OTCs, and most of the flow was driven by miners. I talked about how much of the activity has now moved onchain, how AMMs work, how GLP style lending pools + Perps work, the rise of pump dot fun, and the insane amount of new stablecoins issuance by institutions. As I explained all this, it struck me how completely unrecognizable the industry has become to someone who stepped away just a few years ago. He was genuinely amazed by the progress, especially since trading onchain used to be just a gimmick. Lately I have seen old friends walk away, saying the environment has become too shady for ppl who want to do anything serious. Yes, scams like $MOVE still appear once a while, and it still hurts watching ppl try to get away. Even so, it's easy to forget that we have made tremendous progress in liquidity mechanisms, mass adoption, and the industry is gradually developing a stronger immune reactions against bad actors. The fundamentals of this space have never been stronger. Bringing the world onchain is no longer a distant dream. It's happening, and it's making the financial system we know more efficient, more transparent, and just... better on all fronts. Next, we are gunning for that 3% credit card fees. Think about how massive that is. Remember what brought us to this space in the first place. I am still very fucking optimistic.