warning: this is just my opinion, and i want to open up a discussion about it ↓ i’ve been thinking a lot about where this cycle is headed, and i want to share a slightly contrarian view: institutions entering crypto is a net positive. they bring liquidity, legitimacy, and more stable infrastructure BUT there’s a risk: if this cycle ends up being dominated entirely by allocators, we might lose retail participation at the exact moment we need it most. before i go into it, i want to clarify that retail demand isn’t just about price appreciation: everyday users matter because they represent voters. voters elect politicians, and those politicians (once in power) shape the regulations that define the future of this industry. crypto is now deeply tied to politics whether we like it or not and politicians are paying attention. now here’s where it gets more complex: politics runs on opposition: > one party critiques the other, blames them for perceived failures, and campaigns on change. if crypto becomes tied to a previous administration’s policies, it risks becoming a political scapegoat. and so this is where retail matters again. if most of the wealth and influence in this cycle accrues to a concentrated group of institutions, and everyday people never feel left out of the story, the narrative surrounding crypto becomes fragile. and it’s much easier to turn public sentiment against an industry when the public doesn’t feel like it belongs to them. this is why storytelling HAS to become a core focus for the industry. we need broader narratives about what crypto is and why it matters not just in financial terms, but in human terms. we need to meet people where they are, explain real use cases, and show how this technology can improve their lives. if we fail at that, we leave the story of crypto entirely in the hands of politicians and institutions, and while institutions are valuable and necessary, we cannot rely on them alone. remember: capital brings depth to markets. people bring legitimacy to movements. we need both. liquidity can lift a price but only people can lift a law; and we need PEOPLE, otherwise this would all have been for nothing.