Jesse Walden, managing partner at Variant Fund, has predicted that the original “cypherpunk” principles guiding early smart contract platforms will likely diminish over the next decade as institutional adoption emphasises speed and regulatory compliance.
In a blog post dated September 30, Walden reflected on how the first era of blockchain development was driven by Bitcoin’s foundational values—censorship resistance, open-source innovation, permissionlessness, and the vision of creating a democratic, equitable internet powered by a shared global computer.
Walden noted that many of the leading use cases for these platforms—such as stablecoins, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and decentralised physical infrastructure networks (DePIN)—do not necessarily require decentralisation or permissionlessness. He further explained that these applications only need to leverage the decentralisation of the underlying blockchain for purposes of openness, interoperability, and efficient settlement.
The cypherpunk movement emerged in the 1980s as a reaction to growing concerns about government surveillance, censorship, and restrictions on free speech associated with the rise of the internet.
Walden acknowledges that while cypherpunk blockchains are not disappearing, it may mark “the end of the beginning.” He emphasises that the commercialization of crypto brings certain unavoidable compromises, such as relaxing strict decentralisation to facilitate quicker access to crypto wallets and applications for users. However, he believes this shift is not entirely negative.
Drawing a parallel to mainstream music, which often becomes “corny” as it gets repackaged for commercial purposes, Walden highlights a few pioneering artists who successfully navigate the balance between maintaining core principles and appealing to a broader audience. He notes,
“That mix of determination and pragmatism was admirable, as it reaches the largest possible scale and has the most impact on advancing culture.”
He adds,
“If you feel the values that initially attracted you to crypto are being diluted by the mainstream market, I understand. But try to view it differently—because in terms of impact, the commercialization of crypto likely signifies that the real opportunity is just beginning.”
Meanwhile, Ripple recently announced plans to introduce smart contracts to the XRP Ledger (XRPL) mainnet, marking a significant enhancement to the Layer 1 blockchain’s capabilities. This upgrade will boost the network’s programmability, enabling developers to create customised applications on the platform. The company emphasised that developers can deploy smart contracts without requiring a formal amendment process or any approval. Ripple also assured that these contracts are built on advanced security standards, making them secure, efficient, and easy to implement.
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