Ken Chan’s Shocking Confession: Layer-1 Wars Achieved Nothing
This week, Asian cryptocurrency communities were rocked by a startling admission made by Ken Chan, a former co-founder of the derivatives system Aevo. This confession, which began as a post on X, received more attention than expected. Local news outlets have introduced it to Chinese communities. Additionally, it has received millions of views because of the extensive sharing by Korean traders.
I am NOT building a new financial system. I built a casino.
Chan
Chan’s revelation unravels a personal philosophy, not just a critique. He donated to Gary Johnson’s 2016 presidential campaign as a starry-eyed libertarian. He claims Ayn Rand’s works politicized him. Bitcoin’s cypherpunk ethos fits this perspective. However, eight years in the industry undermined that idealism. Chan describes how Layer 1 battles poured funds into Aptos, Sui, Sei, ICP, and other networks. He claims that this investment tsunami did not advance financial system reform. He bluntly says, “We do not need to build the Casino on Mars.”
Chinese and Korean Communities Split Over Chan’s Crypto Critique
Responses in Chinese have been mixed. Some gave a forceful pushback. They claim that within the same eight years, some people achieve the pinnacle while others leave the stage. They believe that Chan‘s time wastage is her own fault. However, there were others who went further than Chan.
The entire crypto circle is foolish, no exceptions. After more than a decade, what blockchain product has the average person actually used?
one commenter
Similar exhaustion was repeated in Korean comments. A trader claims that cryptocurrencies have no practical applications outside of stablecoins. A different merchant was blunter.
At the bottom of crypto, there’s no one creating new value for society—just scammers swarming to suck money from retail investors.
A Korean trader
Chan’s Crypto Warning Sparks Fears of a Lost Generation in Asia
Chan’s warning that the industry’s toxic mindset will cause the younger generation’s social mobility to disintegrate over time is perhaps the most stunning. East Asian societies are strongly affected by this issue. Real estate and steady work, two traditional routes to riches, are getting harder to get. An alternative was promised by cryptocurrency. But according to Chan, it might be making the issue worse.
Without directly responding to Chan’s post, Korean analyst KKD Whale provided a similar analysis. KKD Whale concerns what people have amassed within the industry, whereas Chan wonders what the industry has created. They both reach the same unnerving end.
The era of standing alone with just one core skill is passing,
KKD Whale
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