The World's Perspective

Bitcoin was launched in 2009. Now it's 2024. That's a full 15 years that have passed.

Yet people still talk about blockchain with Bitcoin as the central reference point. Most people don’t even know the difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum. They don’t know the difference between Ethereum and Ether. Because of this, they don’t understand why Ethereum is considered a platform, and they make sweeping claims that blockchain has no real value. But in a fast-moving tech industry, how significant is 15 years? Back in 2009, we were just starting to see early versions of smartphones.

Source: 2009년 최고의 스마트폰 '톱10' - 지디넷코리아

That’s when Bitcoin came out. And shockingly, people still don’t recognize what a transformation it was. People who’ve never worked in this space—who don’t even understand the core differences—continue to make uninformed comments about blockchain.

Today, the leading Layer 1 blockchain projects that drive global trends are tech companies. Without real technology, you simply can’t survive in the Layer 1 space anymore. Aptos and Sui were born from the team behind Facebook’s Libra. Then there’s Near Protocol, Binance Chain, Avalanche, Solana, Cardano, Ripple, Ethereum… Countless blockchain companies aren’t just creating value through speculation.

But public perception remains stuck in the past, where people still can’t distinguish between tokens and coins.

Some people are still mentally trapped in the ICO era, when tokens were indiscriminately listed. Others are stuck in the NFT craze. Although the foundation of this technology is entangled with financial logic and vested interests, it’s ultimately the tech-based organizations that sit at the top of the pyramid. If you keep your eyes shut to the evolution of technology and stay rooted in the past—seeing this entire space as nothing more than “madness”—you’ll never be able to grasp the whole picture.