It’s Time to Ditch the Degen and Save Web3

The bull markets created a problem. Not just in the losses we’ve now seen in our portfolio values, but in the mindsets that were created during these times that are now having a destructive effect on projects today.

Too many of us became enamoured by the ‘degen’ approach — hard and fast bets on projects without care for what they were or who was behind them. The market surge was all we needed to make profit and the vast majority of these bets were little more than glorified ponzi schemes. They also set the precedent of constant hype updates from teams that had little intention of ever delivering. What was important was keeping excitement levels up so the rollercoaster could continue climbing for a bit longer before its inevitably rapid descent.

The problem with this ‘degen’ mindset is that it amounts to little more than gambling. People aren’t investing, they are betting. They aren’t interested in seeing a project thrive, but only what they can carve off and take away from it. This comes with unrealistic expectations and loud, often rudely expressed opinions that amount to bullying project teams and their communities. Even those seeking to give ‘constructive advice’ are usually only doing it so they can find an exit point.

When everything becomes about profit, the soul of Web3 erodes until you begin to see what is left behind — pump and dumps, rug projects, derivative rip-offs, insider trading and scams of every kind. Not only this, but an entire generation of ‘investors’ that — if we’re honest — have gambling addictions that might be damaging our own lives and are certainly toxic to the space as a whole.

Enough is enough. Web3 can’t be defined any more by this kind of ruthless, profit-scraping and ultimately destructive mentality. Project teams and communities can no longer be bullied by those who are lashing out because their latest bet (in a long string of bets) loses out — as gambling always does, in the long run. We need to ditch the degens and ensure that our communities aren’t swayed by those who merely speak the loudest.

There are a few ways that we can help move Web3 away from the degen mindset, or at least ensure that genuine projects can focus on building towards their vision:

1. We need to do a lot more Due Diligence and not rush into every project that we hear about online or see rising up the rankings. We need to take the approach of real investors, looking at teams and fundamentals and checking how they align with their stated mission and purpose. Stop gambling in Web3 and start investing with a longer time horizon.
2. Step back from the arguments about floor price, first week deliverables, team comms and ‘that other project which does this better’. There is a lot of room for constructive discussion, communities certainly shouldn’t just be echo chambers, but know that for the most part these criticisms come from a gambler’s perspective hyper-focused on instant profits.
3. Contribute things of value to the communities you have bought into. You are part of the long-term success of any project. This means different things depending on each project and our own talents, but there’s always something to contribute. If nothing else, we can make a difference by being kind and bringing one another into shared experiences and the joy of a common journey.
4. Understand there are real people behind the PFPs — even those we might strongly disagree with have their own reasons, many of them unconscious, for taking the approach they do. It’s too easy to get sucked into the idea that we somehow have to ‘win’ every argument, or hurt the feelings of other people online in order to prove a point. We can be better than this.
5. Have a long-term plan for what you want to experience and receive from your involvement in Web3, because this will also help consider what you can contribute to it. We need a clear plan for every holding we buy into — they are investments after all — and understand what value means for us by being part of that project. But beyond that, we should also have a broader plan about why we’re involved in Web3 at all…

If the way we approach Web3 is purely about profit margins, then we’re going to have a bad time. Even those few who can be successful at that (particularly during a harsh bear market and challenging macro-economic environment) will ultimately lose out because they begin to see everything as transactional… and miss the connections that can be made and the creativity that can result from them.

The degen mindset is deeply dehumanising and we need to stand up to its toxic influence.

For the most part, that starts with ensuring that we don’t personally succumb to such behaviours — and seek to improve ourselves when we do. It also means that we do our best to help create communities, not destroy them, and bring a supportive and creative mindset to whichever Web3 neighbourhoods we choose to call home.

Even if just for short periods of time, if we ditch the degen mindset and seek a more uplifting approach, we can make a positive impact wherever we go. By doing so, we can help save Web3 and allow it to become the truly revolutionary space it wants to be.