Bankless · Monday, August 3, 2026
Spencer and Aleks of Blockchain Capital attribute the divergence between jaded crypto OGs and bullish institutions to the industry's maturation and fusion with traditional finance. They liken it to a niche band becoming famous, where early fans miss the 'magic,' while institutions see fundamental value and regulatory clarity as positive signs.
“And like now in 2026, it's like, oh, like your guys' blockchains are really cool. We're learning how to use them. But we kind of need some KYC on the tokens. And we kind of need some like, you know, inter centralized intermediaries for you guys to do all this cool stuff. And that's not tenable to me as like somebody who believes in like public permissionless access.”
“And so I think that some of that would Some of that sentiment would dissipate if some of the success that the industry has seen on a fundamentals basis was reflected in prices. But it's not today, or at least not relative to where prices were a couple years ago.”
“And like, I feel that. I've been along for that entire path as well, right? Like I love the crypto punk version of it, right? Like the rebel pirates that are creating something better, a better alternative. It's not being fused with the traditional financial system. It is distinct. It is parallel. It is parallel. it is already better in some ways.”