Dialogue with Andre Cronje: Reasons for Leaving, Views on Fantom, DeFi, and Regulation
With improvements in technology and accessibility, cryptocurrency will become an unstoppable force.Written by: Revelo Intel
Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow
In this episode of The Defiant, Camila Russo discusses DeFi, Fantom, regulation, and the challenges of becoming a niche celebrity with Andre Cronje, co-founder of Fantom.
Please read on for more information.
Andre's Background
Andre entered this field because he believed it was primarily a scam. The first thing he did was start his own code review blog to learn the technology, but at the same time, many projects were launched claiming to have solved certain problems or challenges.
Andre initially had an opposing view of the industry, and even today, he still believes that 99% of projects are garbage. However, for that 1% of legitimate projects, he has stayed in the industry for five years.
Whenever Andre has to deal with any traditional systems, such as banks, regular regulation, and taxes, he remembers the luxury and freedom that people gain as blockchain natives.
Another issue is that the speed of token changes is much faster than the underlying technology, leading to a significant disconnection in the overall market. The main reason for this is driven by greed-fueled financial factors.
Andre believes this is more related to the public nature of DeFi rather than its underlying technology. Even if Andre leaves, he has not stopped writing backend code and continues to improve Primitive.
Andre always keeps communication with the team. It took him a long time to realize that there is a critical point beyond which one is no longer a core contributor.
Fantom
Fantom launched its mainnet in 2018. At that time, the company had achieved high speeds but did not market itself like many other teams. The only suitable option at that time was to conduct an Initial Coin Offering (ICO).
Andre stated that with limited resources, they spent too much time incorrectly pursuing other areas, causing Fantom to disappear for a while.
As DeFi became popular, Fantom's advantages began to become more apparent, becoming the first blockchain with true finality, meaning that all other blockchains at the time used the longest chain rule.
Fantom made significant breakthroughs in quantum computing while also making great progress in artificial intelligence, suddenly knowing how to destroy most of the cryptography in blockchain technology.
Theoretically, machines with this capability are enhanced by quantum computing and AI, and all of these can propose a new longest Bitcoin blockchain.
When DeFi began to gain significant popularity, people started to see many improvements in user experience (UX) and user interface (UI). Gas monetization allowed adaptive developers to earn rewards for the Gas spent on their contracts, thus providing them with a more sustainable source of income.
Comparison of Blockchain-based Applications with Web2
- Blockchain eliminates intermediaries, whether that intermediary is a bank, lender, or advertiser, removing them from the equation.
- Over time, business scenarios will become more robust.
Views on Regulation
There are two types of regulation that are mixed, including cryptocurrency regulation. FTX is a standard company that happens to be at the intersection of cryptocurrency, and they should become a regulated cryptocurrency company.
There is a distinction between trying to re-regulate decentralized cryptocurrencies and trying to regulate centralized cryptocurrencies.
This does not mean that all anonymous individuals are bad, but the culture of anonymity makes it easier for bad actors to infiltrate. Credentialing is important.
The current positioning is incorrect, and regulators are over-intervening, pushing aside future opportunities for voices in the industry.
Development of DeFi
Many people say DeFi is declining, but that is not the case. By certain standards, these metrics are linearly growing, and according to all indicators, DeFi is growing better.
There has been a slowdown in capital acquisition, but Andre believes it will grow as people see more real-world assets entering the market.
Real-world assets will become a narrative. It will happen, but only after the first regulatory strike occurs.
Traditional auditors must use sufficient capabilities on-chain to bring data into their existing reports for people to see its impact at scale.
There is still a lack of some infrastructure, and there is much work to be done in the future options space.
Andre proposed some infrastructure, but he feels regretful because no one has adopted them.
More currency is being used for stablecoins, which is starting to allow for more cross-border settlements.
The blockchain does not yet have enough functionality to unlock the next generation of applications. Only a few teams like Avalanche, Fantom, and Solana are making some layer-one improvements.
Q&A
Q: As a public figure, what prompted you to step back?
This is related both to becoming a public figure and to the highly public nature of this field itself. In traditional finance, if something happens behind the scenes, there is an opportunity to handle it. There is a chance to privately contact regulators and disclose what is happening. The super public nature of blockchain is a big issue because once it happens on-chain, everyone knows.
This is a combination of public nature and urgency, and the highly public nature of these applications and blockchains will incentivize all economic behavior. Do not take feedback into account and create other avenues for that feedback. Andre recognized what problems he needed to solve and what problems others needed to solve. Staying rational is always difficult, and not everyone can survive.
Q: Where do you foresee these applications standing in the industry?
The only meaningful construction at that time was financial primitives. I hope to see some games and some social systems within two years. Everything on the internet can now be replicated in a decentralized world with different business models. Andre hopes to see some unique decentralized primitives that currently do not exist. Blockchain has only disrupted business models, and it has not yet fully realized its potential.
Q: What would cryptocurrency look like if U.S. users could not easily access it?
Andre believes that with improvements in technology and accessibility, cryptocurrency will become an unstoppable force.
