When I first got into crypto back in 2017, the space had an almost idealistic undertone. There was this shared belief that we were building something better, something revolutionary.
This went on through the years following, especially the DeFi time. Sure, there were coins launched purely for profit, especially during the BTC Fork Era, ICO boom, the Summer of DeFi, or the NFT Hype. But there was also a sense of purpose among the community - a drive to create real value. Fast forward to today, and it feels like much of that has been replaced by herd mentality and mimetic desire. "What pumps is good and that's what I want." It seems the industry has been dumbed down, catering to the lowest common denominator because that’s what gets attention. More and more memecoins are getting listed on huge exchange like Coinbase & Binance. I still remember a time when getting listed there meant something.
But why has this shift happened? And, more importantly:
Where is God?
I grew up as a Christian, and while I’ve explored various spiritual philosophies over the years, I found myself returning to Christianity and the belief in truth as God. What resonates most with me is the clarity it offers - a sense of knowing right from wrong, rooted in timeless values shared across many major religions.
When Nietzsche, a fellow German, wrote “God is dead”, he wasn’t introducing a new idea but rather summarizing the Zeitgeist of his time. He highlighted how scientific advancements and cultural shifts had eroded faith in absolute truths. Without God, he argued, everything becomes relative - morality, ethics, even the concept of right and wrong. Without a designer, there is no design, and thus no intrinsic meaning or order. Nietzsche’s response to this was to propose his own framework of values, famously explored in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, his philosophical “bible.”
However, the interpretation of Nietzsche’s ideas - particularly in Will to Power, a book largely compiled and forged by his sister - has had darker consequences. The Nazi regime, for instance, weaponized the book’s concepts like the Übermensch and the rejection of objective morality to justify atrocities. When “right” and “wrong” are relative, power becomes the ultimate arbiter.
Now, given our current scientific breakthroughs, especially in fields such as quantum physics, the reality of (a) god is far more likely than before, thus also having a defined "right and wrong." Whether god actually exists though, I don't want to discuss within this post - what's far more important right now is my belief that a constant definition of "right" and "wrong" exists.
Crypto and the Loss of Values
The current sentiment in the crypto space shows that many have forsaken right and wrong in favor of chasing quick gains. Memecoins are the perfect example. The argument often made is that technical/traditional crypto projects are overvalued and that memecoins remove the pretense of providing value through technology, focusing instead on community and virality. In a way, they argue that memecoins are more “honest” about what crypto really is: a gamble - a “get rich or die tryin’” machine.
There’s some truth to this. Over the years, many projects have been overvalued, hyped up by promises of technological breakthroughs that never materialized. If a token has a market cap of $100M but generates less than $1K in annual revenue and offers no real innovation, what’s the point? I get that frustration. But understanding these flaws doesn’t mean we should abandon ethics and values altogether.
Memecoins and Nihilism
If Nietzsche’s declaration that “God is dead” implies we must create our own morals, then the memecoin culture seems like a love letter to nihilism and hedonism. It says: "Nothing of real value exists in crypto, besides BTC and a few other coins. So why bother building when you can just meme your way to riches?"
But what happens when we reintroduce the concept of God - and, by extension, the idea of right and wrong - into the equation? Let’s not sugarcoat it: memecoins are often manipulated by insiders, making it nearly impossible for the average-joe to identifiy which will "moon". And with the vast majority — likely 99.99% — doomed to fail, they're an extremely risky investment, bound together by a string of greed. Most people who buy in will lose money, sometimes everything. The same critique can likely be applied to other non-meme tokens as well, which highlights a deeper problem within crypto as a whole and many projects aim to provide value. However, going all-in on these practices aka the meme thesis: Does that align with the values of God or truth?
Building with Integrity
As someone who builds in web3 and crypto, this question keeps me up at night because it’s about more than just “memecoins are bad.” It’s about the ethical framework that guides all my decisions in crypto and beyond. How can I navigate & build within a space dominated by greed and hype while staying true to what I know in my heart to be right?
For me, the answer lies in seeking God. It’s about resisting greed and striving for what’s go(o)d - building with integrity, valuing truth, and upholding principles of honesty and valor, even in a space that seems to reward the opposite.
There is a time and place for fun and memes; looking at Elon and the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is in my opinion a perfect representation of this. It's playful and memetic in nature, but backed up by incredible hard working humans who are driven by truth and courage.
Thank you for reading all the way through. I hope this post brought value to you and, perhaps, even sparked some reflection. This is something I’ve been contemplating for a long time, and it feels good to finally have it written down and shared. Thank God, Hive exists.
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