The Algorand ad that broke crypto
Algorand is irrelevant, yet they can't stop talking about Algorand Foundation's newest ad
An argument I used to find really unconvincing is that Algorand is being suppressed somehow. That [insert Solana/Ethereum/other chain holders/founders/influencers] are so concerned about the superior technology of Algorand that they are purposely taking down the chain because it’s such a threat. Or, that those actors are being paid by Solana/Ethereum/other chain to promote said chain, and thus hammer on Algorand.
From day one I’ve thought it strange that Algorand wasn’t more widely used — after all, it’s fast, cheap and secure, and projects built on it actually seem to work. For some reason despite its strong technology, it always seems treated as an after thought. Figuring out why has always been one of the big questions I’ve been trying to answer in crypto.
But that said, I never found the above arguments convincing. One, I’ve never had a single chain reach out to me to promote them. I’ve gotten weekly if not daily emails from scam crypto companies about sponsorship since I had 100 subs, but never a chain itself. Not one.
And secondly, I’ve never seen evidence of such a thing surface, either to promote a chain specifically or hammer on another chain. Gala Games did sponsor On-Chain Gaming, and the details leaked after their partnership blew up. So I think by now some evidence would have surfaced.
With all that said, the latest ad from Algorand Foundation seems to have touched a nerve. And the vitriol around it has made me think: Wait… are they trying to kill Algorand?
The reaction from anyone in the Algorand community was a “hell yeah!” The video depicted in real world terms what we’ve known all along: That the more popular chains fail on the metric most important; actually solving problems in the real world. Using ETH to pay for something would be enormously time-consuming and expensive; on Solana, it would fail often. We know Algorand actually works.
How do we know that? Because it’s happening now. A PayPal style app called HesabPay is doing that right now in Afghanistan. An airline is minting its tickets as NFTs on TravelX. And an entire real estate platform called Lofty is using it. Oh, and the Red Crosses mobile emergency wallet is powered by Algorand.
While AlgoFam’s reaction is positive, the rest of the cryptosphere was anything but. People who have been tanking Algorand for the past several years suddenly think Algorand is being too mean.
Instead of complaining, to quote the founder of Twitch: Have you tried solving the problem?
The reaction is crazy to me because the ad, while meant to be humorous, is actually pretty spot on. ETH and BTC need layer 2s or networks built on top because the underlying chain doesn’t do what you would need it to in order to work in the real world. And Solana, built on lies in the first place (such as lying about initial supply), has had tons of down time and has a ridiculous transaction failure rate.
An analogy I’ve made for a long time goes something like this. Let’s say you have three pet food stores. At one pet food store, it takes three hours to buy your pet food and the fee to do so is more than the cost of the food. At another, you try to buy the food and the transaction fails over and over, and some days it’s just unexpectedly closed for maintenance. And a third, it goes quickly and there are almost no fees. I think most would think it obvious that the first two would go out of business pretty quickly. But in crypto, it doesn’t seem to work like that. Why? That is something I’ve been exploring on my channel for far too long without a very good answer beyond memes and vibes.
The commercial only illustrated the above analogy, and shows the thing that’s baffled me since I started really paying attention to crypto. It’s the finger pointing to the emperor’s lack of clothing.
The reaction to this commercial, including from people who generally should have a somewhat neutral stance like the owner of the garbage Milk Road newsletter, surprised me. It seems like Algorand can’t win. It’s a zombie chain that no one cares about, but also it’s a big deal that it’s calling out other chains. So which is it? Is it irrelevant, or so powerful it ought to be responsible enough not to call out the flaws of its competitors?
I’ll also note, I haven’t seen one defense of the underlying message. All ad hom attacks.
So you know what? Good. Algorand should go on the attack. Enough is enough. It’s superior technology. So is Hedera and Sui Network. I like all three of these chains. In fact, I think the three should team up and go on the offensive together.
If crypto is all vibes and memes, then let Algorand create some vibes of their own.
It’s time for this stuff to finally make some damned sense.
Be sure to check out
Want to maximize your safety in crypto? Check out Ledger:
Fracctal Monsters: Check out this play to earn game built on the Algorand blockchain today.
Non-Fungible Domains: Turn your long complicated wallet address into an easy to remember .algo address for a one-time, affordable fee.