Jason Yanowitz: Crypto’s identity crisis in the mainstream, the urgent need to rebuild trust, and the shift from adversaries to partners with banks

Key takeaways

• Crypto has evolved from a fringe movement to a mainstream ideology, creating an identity crisis.
• The industry is reevaluating its stance on banks, moving from adversarial to potential partnerships.
• A trust problem is central to crypto’s current challenges, exacerbated by the lack of a clear adversary.
• The crypto market faces issues with broken assets and diminished trust.
• The median net return of tokens over the last five years is down 80%, highlighting industry problems.
• Trust is becoming a fundamental selling point for the crypto industry.
• The current state of the crypto industry is broken and faces existential challenges.
• Despite an increase in assets, the average token’s market cap is similar to July 2020 levels.
• The relationship between price and revenue in crypto has decoupled, impacting token prices.
• Investor trust issues are significant, with confusion over token vs. equity valuation.
• The crypto industry’s credibility is affected by major failures like FTX.
• Institutional involvement and regulatory issues present ongoing challenges for crypto.
• Token supply inflation impacts market cap trends, indicating potential market corrections.
• Revenue generation alone does not drive token prices, complicating market dynamics.
• The industry’s future growth depends on addressing the trust problem and asset performance.

Guest intro

Jason Yanowitz is the Co-Founder of Blockworks, a media, events, and data company focused on crypto and traditional finance. Prior to Blockworks, he built the business development team at Sisense, a data analytics startup that raised nearly $300M, and worked in venture capital at Intuitive Venture Partners. Since co-founding Blockworks in 2018 with Mike Ippolito, he has grown it into a profitable business generating over $30M in annual revenue through news, podcasts, events, and onchain data products.

The evolution of crypto’s identity

• Crypto has transitioned from a fringe movement to a mainstream ideology, leading to an identity crisis.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• The shift from a countercultural movement to mainstream acceptance presents new challenges.

• Crypto in many senses was an industry and a technology but it’s also kind of a political movement.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• The mainstreaming of crypto has led to an identity reevaluation within the industry.
• Understanding the evolution of crypto is crucial for grasping its current challenges.

• Now that it won, it moved from being a movement which is on the fringe to one which is in the mainstream.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• The transition has caused crypto to struggle with its identity in the mainstream.
• The industry’s ideological roots influence its current dynamics and challenges.

Reevaluating relationships with banks

• The crypto industry is currently in a phase of ideological reevaluation as it transitions from viewing banks as enemies to potential partners.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Historically, crypto viewed banks as adversaries, but this dynamic is changing.

• Crypto has always had it was us versus the banks.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• The potential for banks to become customers alters the crypto landscape.
• Understanding this shift is essential for future collaborations between crypto and traditional finance.
• The reevaluation of bank relationships signals a maturing industry.
• The change in stance towards banks reflects broader industry transformations.

• What happens when the banks actually start coming in and they’re actually the customers?

  — Jason Yanowitz

The trust problem in crypto

• The crypto industry is facing a trust problem, which is exacerbated by the lack of a clear enemy to rally against.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Trust issues are central to the industry’s current challenges.
• The absence of a clear adversary complicates efforts to unify the industry.

• What’s happening at the heart of crypto right now is a trust problem.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Addressing the trust problem is crucial for the industry’s credibility and growth.
• Major failures like FTX have intensified trust issues within the market.
• The industry’s future depends on resolving these trust challenges.

• We need something else to rally the troops.

  — Jason Yanowitz

Challenges with broken assets

• The crypto industry is facing a fundamental issue with broken assets and a lack of trust.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Asset problems are at the core of the industry’s current difficulties.
• Understanding the state of crypto assets is key to addressing market challenges.

• We have an asset problem and we have a trust problem.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• The industry’s credibility is affected by the performance of its assets.
• A lack of trust exacerbates the issues with broken assets.
• Addressing these challenges is essential for the industry’s recovery.

• That’s the core of what’s happening right now.

  — Jason Yanowitz

Declining token returns

• The median net return of a token over the last five years is down 80%, highlighting the industry’s problems.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Token performance metrics underscore the severity of industry issues.
• Historical performance data provides insight into the market’s decline.

• The median net return of a token over the last five years is down 80%.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• The decline in token returns reflects broader market challenges.
• Understanding these metrics is crucial for navigating the crypto market.
• The industry’s problems are evident in its performance data.

• That’s the problem with the industry.

  — Jason Yanowitz

Trust as a selling point

• The crypto industry is converging on the idea of trust as a fundamental selling point.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Trust is becoming central to the industry’s value proposition.
• Traditional finance professionals emphasize trust in their offerings.

• If you were to ask a fidelity product manager what are you selling they would say trust.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• The shift towards trust reflects a maturing industry.
• Prioritizing trust is essential for crypto’s growth and acceptance.
• The industry’s focus on trust aligns with mainstream financial practices.

• The whole industry is converging on this same idea of meeting trust.

  — Jason Yanowitz

Existential challenges in crypto

• The current state of the crypto industry is broken and faces existential challenges.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• The industry is grappling with significant issues that threaten its future.
• Institutional involvement presents both opportunities and challenges.

• We talked about the institutional bull bull market… that’s something that’s really broken.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Regulatory issues add complexity to the industry’s landscape.
• Understanding these challenges is crucial for stakeholders navigating the market.
• The industry’s future depends on addressing these existential issues.

• Still existential to the industry.

  — Jason Yanowitz

Market cap trends and corrections

• The average token’s market cap is essentially where it was in July 2020, indicating a significant decline.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Despite asset growth, market cap levels remain stagnant.
• Token supply inflation impacts market cap trends.

• The average token is essentially where it was in July 2020 pre two bull markets ago.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Understanding these trends is key to anticipating market corrections.
• The decline in market cap reflects broader industry challenges.
• Historical data provides insight into the market’s performance.

• If you look at it from the peak, the average token is down about 50% in market cap terms.

  — Jason Yanowitz

Price and revenue decoupling

• The relationship between price and revenue in the crypto market has decoupled.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Increased on-chain fees do not necessarily lead to higher token prices.

• It’s not just a revenue story… back in 2021 price and revenue… matched up pretty well.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Understanding this decoupling is crucial for navigating market dynamics.
• The assumption that revenue generation drives prices is challenged.
• Market complexities impact token price movements.

• We generated a ton of on-chain fees and the prices didn’t move.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• This decoupling reflects broader changes in the market’s dynamics.

Investor trust issues

• There is a significant trust problem among investors in the token space.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Investor confidence is affected by trust issues in the market.
• Confusion over token vs. equity valuation complicates investment decisions.

• There’s a trust problem investors have stopped.

  — Jason Yanowitz

• Understanding these dynamics is crucial for addressing investor concerns.
• The lack of shared understanding impacts market valuation.
• Trust issues are central to the industry’s current challenges.

• They never really understood what the difference was between a token and equity in the project.

  — Jason Yanowitz