Conversation

SBF
@SBF_FTX
Replying to
@SBF_FTX
25) We were talking to them at the time, and said that we were only comfortable working with them if they cut out the transmining. They promised they were discontinuing anything that encouraged fake volume. We were skeptical. As it turns out, that skepticism was unwarranted.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
26) BitMax did, in fact, turn off their transmining, and the fake volume went away. And after doing that, they started to build. They launched more features, improved their tech, and listed projects.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
27) And one remarkable thing about BitMax is that it doesn’t just list random projects: it’s quietly started to list _good_ projects. Their projects have performed well, and it’s not all a “market making” mirage--that’s what happens when you choose good teams.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
28) And, on top of all of that--they’re really good to work with. We’ve had a long series of good interactions with them, and we’ve heard similar stories from others.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
29) The exchange started in many ways as a marketing ploy--which I guess is obvious from the name. But over the last year they’ve successfully combined the userbase they got with an increasingly great product.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
30) FCoin and BitMax both started out as large marketing plays--not unlike liquidity farming today. But they diverged after that; one went under while the other ended up as one of the better exchanges in the space.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
31) DeFi is now facing that choice. The growth so far has been almost entirely hot air and marketing bubbles. But the same could be said about Apple in some ways. And, obviously, Juicero. What will happen when the hype fades? What industry will we leave behind?
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
32) DeFi Summer could burst, leaving an embarrassing mess behind. Or it could mark the beginning of the true decentralization of finance. To get there, we have to build good products, and leave behind a space we're proud of when the smoke and mirrors fade away.
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SBF
@SBF_FTX
33) And to be clear, some of the current projects _are_ building out the space. Compound is a clean, functional product with cool use cases. Balancer extends Uniswap in an interesting way. Just because someone made a great marketing play doesn't mean there isn't substance.
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Baptiste Vauthey
@thabaptiser
Replying to
@SBF_FTX
and
@SBF_Alameda
Sadly, if the DeFi yield farming + very high valuations comes crashing down, I think it will leave a very bad taste in people's mouths, regardless of how cool the project is. One needs only to look at what happened after the 2017 pump and crash. Lots of people left crypto.
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