Had a chat today with some friends who just got back from Silicon Valley. The usual topics came up—like the Cambrian explosion in the AI space versus the lackluster state of the blockchain sector. They asked me what I thought, and I said: It’s true, the blockchain industry is currently lacking innovation and feels more like a casino. Exchanges should take some responsibility for this. But on the other hand, the core of the blockchain industry is still solid: decentralization, privacy protection, permissionless systems, libertarian ideals—Satoshi Nakamoto and Vitalik are still here. In the short term, it’s definitely not as booming as AI, but the blockchain industry still has strong foundational forces and meets the demands of the era.