The crypto space has become something of a paradox. What started as a genuine rebellion against centralized financial systems has morphed into something almost unrecognizable.

Now everyone's obsessed with revenue extraction: "Maximize those fees." Institutional validation gets treated like gospel: "See, JP Morgan endorsed crypto." And when the big players finally show up, it's treated as the ultimate win: "The institutions are here."

Here's the uncomfortable truth though—it's pretty backwards when you think about it. This movement was born from cypherpunks who explicitly rejected the establishment. The whole premise was about building something that didn't need Wall Street's blessing.

Yet at every new cycle, the early believers tend to shift their tune once there's money to be made or status to gain from mainstream acceptance.