tlogs.eth

The purpose of crypto is to build a code-based order, because the rules-based order is unfortunately collapsing. That code-based order covers some of what international law once protected. It guarantees property rights, smart contracts, rule-of-code, privacy, secure voting, and user accounts across borders. Even in the face of debanking and denaturalization, the code-based order means you retain your onchain currency and onchain identity. It is true that the crypto networks that buttress the code-based order are supported in significant part by finance and lotteries. But all 50 states of the US are also supported by finance and lotteries. The question is whether the world gets something better, on balance, for that cost. As nationalism and socialism rise, the code-based order ensures that international capitalism continues. Anyone from anywhere has equality of opportunity on the Internet. You can sign a smart contract across borders with someone without knowing (or needing to know) their race, religion, accent, ancestry, or other likely irrelevant attributes. Similarly, as more companies leave failing states like Delaware and California…the code-based order will protect these corporate refugees. The entities themselves and all their contracts can now be put onchain. They can dock in country X and move to country Y at the press of a button. Redomiciliation becomes as common as incorporation. Moreover, as the politically disfavored emigrate from communist states, the code-based order also protects their property and identity via cryptography. And, if all goes well, it also adds a layer of unbreakable privacy. In short: the West is entering a period of failing states just as the East sees the rise of the all-powerful state. The balance to both of these is the code-based order that Satoshi laid the foundations for. That’s what cryptocurrency was built for. If and when your state fails, or turns against you, the Internet will be there for you.

The SEC just handed crypto its most important win of the year so far, but nobody’s really talking about it. Here’s what actually happened today, and what comes next.

Today is my last day at Anthropic. I resigned. Here is the letter I shared with my colleagues, explaining my decision.