Redefining money in the web3 epoch: A shift from financial capital to computer code, storytelling, and ethical principles | Personal Viewpoint
Revamping the Concept of Money: Web3 vs Traditional Finance
Step into the lightning-fast world of crypto and web3, where fortunes rise and fall in seconds, unlike the gradual growth of traditional money that takes years or even decades. Web3 flips the script on old-school finance, with digital currency shattering norms and opening up a new era.
Embrace the Web3 money revolution: rethinking the fundamentals of cash in a decentralized future | Opinion
The rapid cycle of on-chain value creation and eradication compels us to question the very essence of money and its function in a world devoid of centralized authorities. Web3 currency is rooted in code, consensus, and communal faith, contrasting starkly with the traditional monetary system based on nation-states and central banks.
Web3 currency sets its rules, demanding adaptation rather than compliance. The risk of being left behind looms large, driving innovation and forcing this space to redefine what's achievable with money - and for whom.
Capital in this landscape transcends its traditional meaning, becoming a symbol of culture, software, and storytelling. digital, available for trading 24/7, and open to everyone, from the elite in their towering offices to everyday users. The future of finance is being constructed at breakneck speed, and mastering this transition demands a fresh perspective on the meaning of money.
A new generation of digital natives is emerging, for whom money signifies self-custodied stablecoins, yield-generating assets, and NFTs commanding astronomical prices.
Navigating this future calls for a shift in paradigms, viewing money through five fresh lenses.
Transforming the Face of Money
Firstly, money has evolved into a networked belief system. In the crypto sphere, money is no longer produced by governments but created through consensus. Bitcoin symbolizes confidence in a limited supply and decentralization, while Ethereum embodies faith in programmable agreements. Even meme coins demonstrate that narrative, virality, and community engagement can generate market value without practical utility.
In this system, value flourishes with belief. Money becomes a network effect, a shared notion we all contribute to. We understand why Bitcoin is valuable - because it's scarce, has a fixed supply, and is backed by the world's largest decentralized network. However, Bitcoin's value ultimately boils down to a shared, networked belief. We believe it is precious, and tens of millions of others share our sentiment, which drives its value higher.
Secondly, money operates as infrastructure, not as a status symbol. In traditional finance, wealth is the objective. In web3, it serves as a tool for building ecosystems, coordinating communities, and motivating action. Tokens fund development. DAOs steer capital towards common goals. NFTs serve as programmable access layers, not merely collectibles.
Here, money functions as infrastructure: it is a tool, not a trophy. It's the means, not the endgame. It's often said that money doesn't buy happiness – it offers freedom of choice. What is crypto if not the ultimate embodiment of that freedom? Freedom to build; freedom to collaborate; freedom to buy and sell anything, anytime, to anyone.
Thirdly, money flows transparently. Blockchain technology exposes every transaction, contrasting with traditional systems hidden behind intermediaries. This openness creates a new dynamic: actions become observable, and economic patterns become public. It compels us to consider not just how money moves, but why.
The Emotional Side of Money
Fourthly, money operates as a temporal illusion. The volatility in crypto shows a valuable truth: value is not fixed; it's constructed. In web3, fortunes appear and disappear in minutes. This volatility affects not only finances but also psychology. It teaches us that money does not promise security but represents a constantly evolving narrative.
This instability necessitates humility, not boasting. Rapid gains might be easy, but their true cost often reveals itself later. As the Bitcoin mantra goes, "Stay humble and stack sats." In essence, be grateful for what you have and continue to accumulate it if your conviction in its value remains steadfast.
Finally, money acts as a moral compass. Programmable money enables us to embed values directly into code. Incentive structures can reward transparency, collaboration, environmental protection, or long-term contribution, instead of simply speculation.
This means web3 provides us with a unique opportunity to design moral money – money that reflects our shared principles, not just market forces.
In the web3 era, money is no longer just what you possess; it's what you help create. It represents networked belief, serves as a programmable social layer, and functions as a tool that can either strengthen or weaken the values we care about.
Savvy web3 VCs invest not only in technological innovation but in value-aligned ecosystems because, if we can redesign financial infrastructure, we also have the responsibility to question: what kind of world should it serve?
So let's not merely earn money. Let's reimagine it.
Web3 can't scale until wallets grow up | Opinion
Andrei Grachev, the managing partner at DWF Labs, is a leader in the web3 investment scene and one of the world's largest high-frequency trading entities in the digital asset space. Grachev oversees operations across more than 60 leading exchanges, executing sophisticated trading strategies in both spot and derivative markets, while supporting web3 projects worldwide. He is also the managing partner at Falcon Finance, a next-generation synthetic dollar protocol. Falcon's flagship asset, USDf, is an overcollateralized synthetic dollar backed by diversified crypto and real-world assets, designed for sustainable yield and capital preservation. Built on transparency, institutional-grade risk management, and composability, Falcon sets a new standard for synthetic finance in a regulated future.
Additional Insights:
- Web3's rapid gains and losses can lead to emotional ups and downs, affecting not just finances but also psychology. This phenomenon is often described as "crypto emotions."
- Algorithmic stablecoins, like DAI and Frax, aim to provide stable digital assets by maintaining their value relative to specific currencies, such as the US dollar, through automated market mechanisms.
- The concept of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has expanded beyond digital artwork to real-world assets like real estate, collectibles, and event tickets.
- Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are on-chain organizations managed by a set of rules encoded in smart contracts, allowing for community-driven decision-making and governance.
- Web3 projects are often categorized as either Layer 1 (base-layer protocols, such as Ethereum, Cardano, and Solana) or Layer 2 (scale solutions, like Polygon, Optimism, and zkSync), each having unique features and capabilities.
- Cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken facilitate trading between digital assets and traditional fiat currencies.
[1] Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary Invests $2.7 Million in DeFi Startup Sovryn (Bankless, 2021)[2] Web3 vs TradFi (TechCrunch, 2021)[3] How Web3 Will Change the World (TechCrunch, 2021)[4] Why Web3 Is the Future of Finance (Forbes, 2021)
Money in the web3 era notionally shifts, becoming a networked belief system, infrastructure, a tool for collective creation, and a temporal illusion. Bitcoin and Ethereum symbolize limited supply and programmable agreements, whereas NFTs exemplify programmable access layers transcending collectibles.
Money's transparency in web3 exposes transactions, creating a new dynamic that encourages considering the reasons behind financial movement.
The volatility of crypto bares the truth of constantly evolving value. It teaches humility and calls for deep reflection on the ephemeral nature of financial security.
Moral compasses are embedded in programmable money, enabling values like transparency, collaboration, and environmental protection to be rewarded, not just market forces.
Web3 offers the opportunity to redesign financial infrastructure and question the world it should serve.
Navigating this transition demands mastering the meaning of money in a decentralized marketplace, be it split-second trading or long-term community building.
Investing in web3 is more than technological advancement; it's about value-aligned ecosystems and moral finance that reflects shared principles.
The fiscal landscape is being disrupted with technological innovation reshaping how money is perceived and utilized in finance, making it a time for fresh perspectives and bold reevaluations.
With rhetoric like value-aligned ecosystems, moral finance, and sustainable yield, the language of web3 clearly showcases its departure from traditional finance.
Embrace this paradigm shift, rethink the fundamentals of finance, and get ready to pilot the future of money: Web3.
