Now is the time to build bridges...!

Dear Sovryn Core team and Community

How are y’all? I have been following this week’s event with curiosity and compassion. We will find out the truth (at least a good and complete enough version) in a matter of weeks or months. This is the power of on-chain analytics! It took years until the Big Short movie was possible, because of the opacity of TradFi – which is our “enemy” if you see this as a zero-sum game. Do you want to continue playing a zero-sum game? Do you really think this is going to change the world, transcend nation states and usher in network states? Here is my take…

Now is the time to build bridges. From Bitcoin Maxi to Multi-Chain believer, we can all agree that we need a trustless Bitcoin bridge for BTC to become the global reserve curreny replacing the #petrodollar. Can you hear yourself saying in your head now “Impossible, can’t be done”? Well, “it always seems impossible until it’s done”. To get to this outcome, we need to build bridges…into other DeFI protocols, other projects…everyone can agree that we need to out-collaborate CeFi actors purporting to the world that “this is crypto”.

More institutional adoption of Bitcoin will mean more regulation first, and the next generation of Celsius, FTX and Blockfi. Erik Vorhees is currently being lifted on a bigger stage by an idea whose time has come imho: cross-chain liquidity and swaps of native tokens – Thorchain comes to mind (Disclosure: I hold zero RUNE), a first credible attempt of creating the global plumbing infrastructure of Balaji’s vision of a global #defimatrix – where any tokenized asset can be traded with any other, by an AMM.

So, my dear Sovryns, let me ask you this question: are we warming up to the notion that collaboration with others outside of our niche and silo is essential? I think it is! Why?

I am getting deeper into the #refi movement every day (which by and large solves different problems than Bitoing and Sovryn) and what I see there is this: accelerating cross-pollination, collaboration and co-creation – actors moving towards a #shellingpoint. Once AI gets embedded at scale with with impact in these DAOs, they might become a first instantiation of Max Tegmark’s notion of #escapevelocity. These networks of networks could have the potential to out-collaborate pretty much anything, and become unstoppable.

What I see in these DAOs is a lot of LOVE, which is the opposite of FEAR. What I see in most other web3 projects is FEAR and I would include Sovryn here to some extend. To me it seems that we can’t even properly collaborate with #RSK who we are maximum dependent on for our mere existence! I see fear of making the detailed roadmap that surely exists public, because it might give competitors an asynchronous advantage, because they won’t publish theirs. I can hear fear that a Bitcoin deposited in Thorchain’s pool is ‘lost Bitcoin’ for Zero. That’s exactly the zero-sum game mentality that will not win, not in the next (infinite) ‘game’ humanity is starting to play, and it won’t lead to that trustless Bitcoin bridge we all yearn for. “Problems cannot be solved with the same mindset that created them.” Einstein

I am relatively new to this space, so I don’t have any specific answers or solutions. What I do have is nearly five decades of seeing patterns at all systemic levels: self, relationships, organisations, society and nature. And one thing I am 100% sure about: football club supporter mentality in crypto is a giving Gensler & Co one penalty kick after the other, without a goalie! Worse, some of the players don’t even play football (soccer) but American Football: with padded jerseys to protect their own bones and on a pitch with entirely different rules…

To round up (I am not pointing at anyone here to be clear, it’s rather a general call to arms) I’d love to see more tweets about getting people like Erik Vorhees on Sovryn Tea to explore how DeFI can make CeFI obsolete, than bashing SBF and trashing veganism (Iam not!). You build a new system by building, not criticising the existing one…and that new system can only be built on bridges…both on-chain and in our minds and hearts.

How does this resonate? Where do you agree, where disagree? What bridges would you like to see Sovryn building?

Stay Sovryn,
Marcus Aurelius

6 Likes

I’d love to see a Monero bridge so that people can get loans from their monero.

At the moment I just want one bridge and that is the PowPeg that will come online on Jan 17, 2023. Those that hold other assets in other chains can always sell for Bitcoin and bring that Bitcoin to RSK or not. Bitcoin and Rootstock don’t need bridges aside from the PowPeg, those that hold altcoins can always exchange their shittokens in the same centralized exchanges they got them from.

Maybe Multichain could to bring liquidity and USD token from ETH/ other chains