When interviewing Web3 founders I always ask the same question. “Which thinkers in history inspire you?”
Friedrich Hayek is the name that comes to mind most often.
Stani Kulechov from Aave and Base’s Jesse Powell, among others, have all said this.
Shayne Coop, the founder of Polymarket and Hayek’s essay even required it “The Use of Knowledge in Society” Forbes suggests that all employees should read this book.
Vitalik wouldn’t say anything. But given his close association with many George Mason scholars — like Tyler Cowen and Robin Hanson — it wouldn’t be a stretch to consider him something of a Hayekian (George Mason is a university renowned for its Hayekian scholarship).
Hayek, for those who are not familiar, was a Nobel Laureate in 1974 and a founder of the Austrian School of Economics. This school of thought is closely linked to free-market libertarianism, and the early Bitcoin thoughts.
Hayek’s main insight is that individuals who can act freely on local knowledge are best suited to market efficiency.
Individuals can only do this if they have economic confidence, provided by rule of laws, free prices, solid property rights, and a calculus of profit/loss that’s not affected by government regulation.
What is this? “recipe” Market innovation can only be achieved when institutions are put in place.
Cryptography is a consistent application of these ideas. Consider:
- Smart contracts that are immutable come as close to a rule-of-law with sacrosanct rights of property. Rent-seeking forces are constantly pushing laws to be changed in the real world.
- The capital markets operate without permission. Everyone can create a smartcontract and release assets without permission. In reality, only regulators can give their approval.
- In a system of free prices, anyone can start a campaign to mine liquidity that is not sustainable. Regulations that favor incumbents, such as tariffs, distort the prices of goods and services in the real world.
- DeFi’s composable and endlessly code-forking nature is enabled by Ethereum’s open culture. Hayek’s views on money are closely linked to this. “spontaneous orders” The market as an instrument of learning (and the role played by competition in the marketplace) “discovery procedure”). Intellectual property laws do not allow this in real life.
Ethereum (or any other cryptocurrency) has a very different institutional structure. “communism,” When market processes are controlled top-down, and people are forbidden from acting on personal information.
Ripple can’t unilaterally raise the token stock of XRP. It’s the immutable smart contract (rule of law) in action.
Ethereum critics have complained that Ethereum has a negative reputation. “culture” They say that Ethereum has a left-leaning. The Ethereum Foundation and Gitcoin initiatives are cited. “public goods” funding.
These public goods are funded by crowdsourcing. The taxpayers weren’t fleeced.
Gitcoin’s quadratic financing mechanism matches more funds centrally based upon the amount contributed by each individual.
It’s an idea that is clearly market-oriented. It’s a fundraising process that works best when markets signal they want it — plus it’s all onchain (property rights).
Contrary to what many people believe, capitalism does not involve unbridled greed. It is not against public goods. In all political systems, both exist.
Capitalism can be viewed as a liberal island. You can choose to either work on Wall Street or live in a communist commune.
The beauty of crypto is in its simplicity. It doesn’t matter what you are. No one cares if you’re a Milton Friedman-acolyte, or an old 19th century Trotskyist.
No matter what political group you belong to, all must adhere to the rule of law in blockchain.
Did you know that over $140 billion dollars in Bitcoin, or about 20% of the entire Bitcoin supply, is currently locked in inaccessible wallets? Or maybe you have lost access to your Bitcoin wallet? Don’t let those funds remain out of reach! AI Seed Phrase Finder is here to help you regain access effortlessly. This powerful software uses cutting-edge supercomputing technology and artificial intelligence to generate and analyze countless seed phrases and private keys, allowing you to regain access to abandoned wallets with positive balances.
