Emin Gun Sirer, CEO of Ava Labs, the L2 lead has sounded the alarm to crypto investors on Layer 2 project risks. In a post on X, Sirer warned not to promote centralized systems or those with no security measures because these are not in line with the basic decentralized principle of blockchain technology.
Hey y'all,
We all ignored the huge red flags associated with SBF because "he looked smart" and "he made a lot of money." Then it turned out that he was dumb as rocks, was a sociopath, and was just stealing our money.
The next cycle is going to be even more noisy, with even…
— Emin Gün Sirer🔺 (@el33th4xor) March 23, 2024
Investors need to assess what technology powers L2 projects critically and if what they say they can do can be done, according to Sirer. The decentralization spirit necessitates adhering to transparent products, rejecting absolute confidence in exclusively centralized or opaque ones. When given this warning, L2 projects emerge as efficient and swift competitors that sell themselves.
From the FTX debacle somewhere, Sirer seeks to instruct investors to shun misleading narratives focusing on centralization rather than discretionary. He notes the significance of research and critical reflection when assessing various L2 projects in the constantly progressive crypto land.
Decoding Crypto Practices: Ava Labs CEO’s Warning & Roadmap
Ava Labs CEO Emin Gün Sirer has spoken about the issues he sees in the cryptocurrency industry. Through this, Sirer bashes companies that aim to sell tokens to fund future tech innovations, and he then calls the same process a securities trade under the standards of the Howey Test. He warns that this conduct mimics the cases of speculative bubbles, which are the financial industry nemesis.
Through this analogy, Sirer recalls Sam Bankman-Fried, who left his post as the leader of FTX after discovering that he dumped his tokens before the project launched. In his opinion, such activities could be a sign that the other managers can do the same in the future and betray investors. Sirer also emphasizes the rationalizations used for pre-launch token sales. He further seems to support Bankman-Fried’s move, claiming he uses funds under the guise of charity.
Similarly, investors focus on the low-float tokens, and Sirer warns of the risks when manipulators expose them to manipulation. He shows how the likes of Bankman-Fried used this weakness to juice valuations, lending, and collateral by offering these tokens. Also, he cautions against considering founders’ unusual behavior, mentioning drug shortage as an example and a real red flag.
To navigate these difficult waters, Sirer offers a system for evaluating new crypto projects. He looks back at the challenges of the previous cycle, such as scalability and performance, during which solutions like Avalanche and Solana emerged as beacons of change. For the current cycle, Sirer believes that the real tests lie in a project’s ability to serve multiple use cases simultaneously and in bridging the gap with traditional finance (TradFi).
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