Tribalism in Cryptocurrency — Crypto Projects between Hype and FUD

Time moves forward, prices fall and rise continuously, development progresses and the cryptocurrency community — remains unchanged — ­ sadly not for the better. Let’s not deny it: Tribalism has spread and cryptocurrency stakeholders can barely still be called a community. Instead, we can witness an enormous amount of sub-communities that are focused on a single cryptocurrency each, hyping it and declaring it as the ONE crypto that is going to revolutionize everything and being openly hostile against other cryptos and their communities, labeling them as a scam and thereby devaluing the other community.

Bull vs. Bear — Who’s going to win?

Who’s responsible?

Now, this is not a phenomenon that developed overnight, on the contrary. The development of this tribalism happened gradually and over time, and has even been discussed before. Even though the warning signs were clear as day, too little time has been spent discussing and dissecting this phenomenon that could ultimately lead to the demise of cryptocurrency or — at the very least — the online communities that have made up the heart and soul of cryptocurrency since its inception in 2009.

What seems to lie at the core of the problem? How come these severe forms of tribalism have formed, and how come they have manifested so quickly? The answer, as per usual, can be found in the world of $$$. Different actors in the cryptocurrency community have deviated so violently from one another as a result of deviating financial incentives. People invest in their favorite crypto and while they start to feel a very strong attachment, more importantly they feel the need to somehow become active and nudge the candle sticks into the right direction. It is at the core of our psychology to do something, instead of just waiting and seeing.

Now, we have determined that financial incentives are at fault. However, there is still a factor that’s missing in our equation. Financial incentives on their own do not make up the whole picture. Instead, the tribalism is furthermore driven by the belief that only one cryptocurrency will prevail. That there can only be one winner in this whole crypto game that we are all playing. After all, that is why other crypto projects are so easily criticized and dismissed as worthless, that is why every project has been labeled a scam by some, and why it is so hard to find true and honest criticism, that showcases the true strengths and weaknesses of a project.

So what?

Unfortunately, this form of tribalism that has manifested is detrimental to the success of cryptocurrencies. Firstly, it reaffirms the stereotype of the “immature” cryptocurrency market and delegitimizes the industry as a whole — which is exactly the opposite of what aspiring cryptocurrency projects are currently trying to achieve — for the benefit of the whole sector.

Secondly, the tribalist behaviours slow down certain communication channels within the community (read: communities) as people are turned away from certain projects which are unfairly hit with blind FUD, instead of constructive criticism. This poses a huge danger, as it becomes impossible to distinguish legit projects from actual scams (hence the thousands of people that fell for BitConnect).

Lastly, and just as noteworthy is that crypto tribalism among the community deflects attention away from actual successes of various different cryptocurrency projects. The last year has shown tremendous developments from a whole bunch of amazing cryptocurrency projects. Many different cryptos have achieved milestones which represent the foundation of potentially revolutionary technologies and real industry innovations. Blindly dismissing these successes just because it is not the one you invested in delegitimizes cryptocurrency as a whole.

Is Cryptocurrency Doomed?

It becomes rather clear and to be frank astonishingly obvious how detrimental the current path that the cryptocurrency community as a whole is undertaking, has become. This, rather unparalleled, development is damaging and needs to be stopped. While the situation can appear to be hopeless, it is not. By becoming aware of the issue, we’ve taken the first step. Now all that remains to be done is to counteract the negative behavior we encounter. Let us come together and counter blind tribalism, pure hostility and adversity and instead foster mutually beneficial discussion. Because no matter why you are in crypto, be it purely for financial reasons, or for the revolutionary technology behind it: Ultimately, it is only together that we can prevail and see the success of cryptocurrencies.