The post ‘The world is becoming Internet-First’ — Venture Capitalist appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. The traditional economy is being phased out in advanced countries that are transitioning to an internet-first economy dominated by the tech industry and digital platforms, according to Balaji Srinivasan, a former executive at crypto exchange Coinbase and the author of “The Network State.”  “The legacy economy is being sunset in favor of the Internet economy,” Srinivasan said in an X post on Saturday. He shared a chart showing the price divergence between the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks, which are enjoying meteoric growth, and the remainder of companies in the S&P 500 index, which have remained fairly flat since 2005.  Magnificent Seven tech stock performance versus the remaining 493 companies in the S&P 500 index. Source: Balaji Srinivasan The S&P 500, a core economic benchmark, is a weighted stock market index of the 500 biggest companies by market capitalization listed on the US stock market. Srinivasan said: “Since the 2008 financial crisis, every transaction and every communication has moved online. But, we are still at the foot of the mountain. The next step is internet economies, communities, cities, and presidencies. The world is becoming Internet-First.” The Magnificent Seven includes consumer tech giants Apple and Microsoft, online marketplace Amazon, the parent company of Google, social media and augmented reality company Meta Platforms, high-performance computer chip manufacturer Nvidia, and electric car maker Tesla.  Technology and internet stocks dominate the US stock market. Source: TradingView Srinivasan popularized the concept of Network States, distributed online communities that he said will one day supplant traditional nation-states.  These network states will require internet-native money in the form of cryptocurrencies and represent a pivotal shift in the human story, much like the shift from agrarian to manufacturing economies during the Industrial Revolution. Related: Crypto isn’t Web 3.0, it’s Capitalism 2.0 — Crypto exec Out with the old and… The post ‘The world is becoming Internet-First’ — Venture Capitalist appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. The traditional economy is being phased out in advanced countries that are transitioning to an internet-first economy dominated by the tech industry and digital platforms, according to Balaji Srinivasan, a former executive at crypto exchange Coinbase and the author of “The Network State.”  “The legacy economy is being sunset in favor of the Internet economy,” Srinivasan said in an X post on Saturday. He shared a chart showing the price divergence between the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks, which are enjoying meteoric growth, and the remainder of companies in the S&P 500 index, which have remained fairly flat since 2005.  Magnificent Seven tech stock performance versus the remaining 493 companies in the S&P 500 index. Source: Balaji Srinivasan The S&P 500, a core economic benchmark, is a weighted stock market index of the 500 biggest companies by market capitalization listed on the US stock market. Srinivasan said: “Since the 2008 financial crisis, every transaction and every communication has moved online. But, we are still at the foot of the mountain. The next step is internet economies, communities, cities, and presidencies. The world is becoming Internet-First.” The Magnificent Seven includes consumer tech giants Apple and Microsoft, online marketplace Amazon, the parent company of Google, social media and augmented reality company Meta Platforms, high-performance computer chip manufacturer Nvidia, and electric car maker Tesla.  Technology and internet stocks dominate the US stock market. Source: TradingView Srinivasan popularized the concept of Network States, distributed online communities that he said will one day supplant traditional nation-states.  These network states will require internet-native money in the form of cryptocurrencies and represent a pivotal shift in the human story, much like the shift from agrarian to manufacturing economies during the Industrial Revolution. Related: Crypto isn’t Web 3.0, it’s Capitalism 2.0 — Crypto exec Out with the old and…

‘The world is becoming Internet-First’ — Venture Capitalist

2025/09/22 05:35

The traditional economy is being phased out in advanced countries that are transitioning to an internet-first economy dominated by the tech industry and digital platforms, according to Balaji Srinivasan, a former executive at crypto exchange Coinbase and the author of “The Network State.” 

“The legacy economy is being sunset in favor of the Internet economy,” Srinivasan said in an X post on Saturday.

He shared a chart showing the price divergence between the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks, which are enjoying meteoric growth, and the remainder of companies in the S&P 500 index, which have remained fairly flat since 2005. 

Magnificent Seven tech stock performance versus the remaining 493 companies in the S&P 500 index. Source: Balaji Srinivasan

The S&P 500, a core economic benchmark, is a weighted stock market index of the 500 biggest companies by market capitalization listed on the US stock market. Srinivasan said:

The Magnificent Seven includes consumer tech giants Apple and Microsoft, online marketplace Amazon, the parent company of Google, social media and augmented reality company Meta Platforms, high-performance computer chip manufacturer Nvidia, and electric car maker Tesla. 

Technology and internet stocks dominate the US stock market. Source: TradingView

Srinivasan popularized the concept of Network States, distributed online communities that he said will one day supplant traditional nation-states. 

These network states will require internet-native money in the form of cryptocurrencies and represent a pivotal shift in the human story, much like the shift from agrarian to manufacturing economies during the Industrial Revolution.

Related: Crypto isn’t Web 3.0, it’s Capitalism 2.0 — Crypto exec

Out with the old and in with the new, blockchain and AI are disrupting the legacy system

The legacy financial system and state governments are typically slow to embrace new technologies and often stifle technological innovation.

However, regulators and lawmakers in the United States are currently pushing for the research, development, and integration of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology to modernize the financial system.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released a joint statement in September teasing the shift to 24/7 capital markets to bring the legacy financial system up to speed with crypto, which trades around the clock.

The US government also tapped oracle providers Pyth Network and Chainlink to publish government economic data onchain for added budget transparency and accountability to the public.

Magazine: The one thing these 6 global crypto hubs all have in common…

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/traditional-economies-sunset-favor-internet?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Disclaimer: The articles reposted on this site are sourced from public platforms and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect the views of MEXC. All rights remain with the original authors. If you believe any content infringes on third-party rights, please contact service@support.mexc.com for removal. MEXC makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the content and is not responsible for any actions taken based on the information provided. The content does not constitute financial, legal, or other professional advice, nor should it be considered a recommendation or endorsement by MEXC.
Share Insights

You May Also Like

No L2s, No Mass Adoption. Period.

No L2s, No Mass Adoption. Period.

ETH Can’t Do It Alone ETH mainnet is powerful but let’s be honest, it’s pricey AF. $50 swaps, $100 NFT mints. Perfect for whales flexing, useless for billions of everyday users. That’s why Layer 2s (L2s) exist. They’re Ethereum’s highways: same security, but faster and dirt cheap. No L2s = crypto stays niche. With them, ETH finally goes global. Why Ethereum Alone Can’t Scale 2021 gas fees were brutal. People spent rent money on swaps. NFT mints sometimes cost more than the art. Ethereum nailed security, but it was locked behind insane fees. Rollups solved that by bundling transactions, compressing data, and anchoring it back to Ethereum. Think of ETH as the courthouse. L2s are the highways around it. Same rules, way more traffic can flow. Rollups Two main flavors run the show: Optimistic Rollups (Arbitrum, Optimism): “Innocent until proven guilty.” Transactions go through unless someone proves fraud. Efficient, but withdrawals to mainnet take ~7 days. ZK Rollups (zkSync, Starknet, Scroll): “Math doesn’t lie.” Validity is proved upfront with cryptography. Harder tech, but faster and more secure. Either way → fees drop from $20 to cents. That’s the unlock. Why L2s Matter for Mass Adoption Mass adoption = billions of cheap, everyday transactions. That’s impossible on L1, but normal on L2. DeFi: Swapping $50 shouldn’t cost $20. On L2s, anyone can farm, lend, and trade. Gaming + NFTs: $5 skins, collectibles, and in-game items actually make sense. SocialFi: Billions of likes, tips, and posts daily. Reddit already runs Community Points on Arbitrum Nova. Without L2s, Ethereum is boutique. With them, it becomes global infrastructure. It’s Already Happening Arbitrum: The DeFi king. GMX, Radiant, Uniswap all live here. Nova powers gaming + social. The BoLD upgrade decentralizes validation. Optimism: Playing the meta game. The OP Stack lets anyone spin up an L2. Coinbase’s Base, Zora, Worldcoin all sparks from the same match. Together = the Superchain. ZK Rollups: zkSync, Starknet, Scroll are still early, but building for instant, trustless scaling. Then came Dencun (2024). Ethereum introduced blobs, slashing L2 fees by ~95%. Overnight, “cheap” became “basically free.” The Messy Bits 👀 L2s are the backbone, but they’re not perfect: Sequencers = Central chokepoints. Today, one operator orders all transactions. Risk of censorship + MEV capture is real. Optimism is testing “shared sequencers.” Espresso + Astria are building neutral ones. Bridges = Speed vs. trust. Optimistic rollups force a 7 day wait. Fast bridges fix UX but add risk over $2B lost in hacks shows the danger. ZK rollups may cut this, but proofs are still heavy. Liquidity = Fragmentation risk. Superchain sounds , but liquidity could scatter across 20 OP chains. Imagine Uniswap split across Base, Zora, Optimism. Without cross-chain messaging, composability breaks. Governance = Growing pains. Arbitrum DAO controls ~$3B, but drama over 750M ARB transfers showed fragility. Optimism’s RetroPGF funds public goods after impact bold but unproven long term. The Road Ahead For L2s to truly onboard billions, three things must click: Decentralized Sequencers → no single chokepoint. Seamless Interop → bridging feels invisible. Invisible UX → normies don’t care what chain they’re on. When that happens, no one says “I bridged to Arbitrum.” They just say: “I sent crypto. It was instant. It was cheap.” Final Take Ethereum is the air. Without it, nothing runs. L2s are the engines. They move the people, the culture, the transactions. No L2s = crypto stays niche. With L2s = we onboard billions. They’re not a side quest. They’re the backbone of Ethereum’s future. Period. Key Takeaways Ethereum is secure but too expensive to scale alone. L2s bundle transactions and slash fees by 95%+. Arbitrum leads DeFi today, while Optimism builds the Superchain for tomorrow. ZK rollups are early but promise instant security at scale. Main challenges: sequencer centralization, bridge risks, liquidity fragmentation, DAO politics. Long-term success depends on decentralization, interop, and invisible UX. Bottom line: No L2s, no mass adoption. With them, Ethereum scales to billions. No L2s, No Mass Adoption. Period. was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story
Share
Medium2025/09/22 15:18
Share