Are cryptocurrencies all about greed? (yes)
This week Binance one of the worldās largest cryptocurrency and blockchain infrastructure providers invested $200m in the venerable Forbes (and Iām not dwelling too much on the financial details, but letās point out that a SPAC is also involved ā oh my!).
Why do I write about this?
Because in 2020, Binance did sue Forbes over its reporting that ā(Binance) elaborate corporate structure is designed to intentionally deceive regulators and surreptitiously profit from crypto investors in the United States.ā (Quite a plain and lucid take on Binance business model if you ask me.)
But this newfound love for Forbes is not surprising, itās the old internet/media playbook. As soon a newly fangled internet business is robust enough and starts to reach critical mass, it needs to find mainstream legitimacy. On the other side, incumbent businesses always succumb to FOMO (the fear of missing out). Itās Time Warner and AOL all over again.
This circles back to my ongoing exasperation about web3 āvisionaryā and ārevolutionaryā narrative: this is the late 2000s all over again except for more greed.