2026-01-21 03:20:25

Here's the catch nobody talks about openly—when you're building in this space, playing by the rulebook feels like playing to lose. Expand your user base? Better brace for regulatory scrutiny. Scale operations successfully? Watch as compliance overhead multiplies. Launch something innovative? Prepare for the crosshairs.

It's the uncomfortable reality: growth and compliance pressure move in lockstep. Startups stay lean partly because staying below the radar keeps operational costs manageable. But the moment you gain traction, you're forced into a choice—scale and absorb massive compliance costs, or stay small and miss the wave.

Some projects sidestep this by going offshore or pivoting to decentralized models. Others simply accept the friction as part of the business model. But the core tension remains: in regulated industries, success and compliance burden aren't separate variables. They're two sides of the same coin.

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MEVSandwich

· 7h ago

This is why small projects can survive, while large projects can't. --- Offshore operations have been played out for a long time; only gamblers still dare to do this. --- So, success itself is original sin, it's hilarious. --- Honestly, this game can no longer be played by normal rules. --- Decentralization can't save it either; in the end, you have to accept your fate. --- Compliance costs directly eat into profits unless you have wealthy backers. --- Being low-key is the biggest competitive advantage, understand? --- Not pretending, not escaping, just toughing out this contradiction? Crazy. --- Walking in the gray area has become the only way to survive, it seems.

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BearMarketLightning

· 7h ago

This is the reality: either quietly get rich or be controlled to death; there is no third option.

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SchroedingerGas

· 7h ago

Honestly, this is the truth. If you grow big, you'll be targeted; if you don't grow big, there's no future. We're really caught in the middle. We're just playing a cat-and-mouse game with the rules; no one feels good about who wins. The offshore approach has been played out for a long time; sooner or later, we have to face it. Regarding compliance costs, it feels even more difficult than fundraising. Sometimes, developing a product costs three times more to handle legal issues. The contradiction lies here: if you want to win, you have to take risks; being conservative doesn't work. I don't know which to choose.

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