Crypto Industry's Past Misconceptions - The crypto industry spent its first 10 years focused on open-source code, assuming value capture would occur organically, which was largely true initially, creating a positive feedback loop [1] - The "fat protocol thesis" led to infrastructure development without clear monetization strategies or defensible moats, a problem the industry is now addressing [1] - Public goods funding, while providing infrastructure, inherently lacks financial incentives, unlike traditional open-source models that monetize through SaaS offerings [1] - The strategy of building infrastructure first and monetizing later, common in traditional tech, differs from the crypto industry's reliance on tokens with questionable value propositions [1] Understanding the Shift in Perspective - Individuals deeply involved in crypto between 2016 and 2023 were influenced by the idea that projects didn't necessarily need to generate revenue, making the current emphasis on profitability jarring [2]