# Cypherpunks Dey Still Dream Better Pass Stablecoins ![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/uploads/covers/6926f4a7365f42f013759b58/c1cef7a8-6735-46cd-b547-e9d281373dfb.png align="center") **Na Pepper, Head of Marketing at Alephium drop this one** *The matter wey dem talk for here na the author's own view and e no necessarily be the official position or opinion of Alephium.* --- I dey use stablecoins well-well. I dey even hold am, I dey spend am through crypto card, and I don dey do am for years. Make I talk my mind, I no see myself say I go stop am anytime soon. I even commot cap as I dey watch as Linx protocol post 91% USDT utilization rate, that one make am one of the biggest standout dApps wey dey for Alephium. All these things dey possible because stablecoins dey work well well. When I first enter crypto around 2017 ending, stablecoins don dey become dey popular as a way wey dem dey carry bring new people enter DeFi. People wey wan continue to dey think and trade in terms of fiat money find am easy well well. E also reduce volatility for liquidity providers and e quickly make room for plenti financial products wey for no work — or no for grow reach where dem reach now — if to say na only native crypto assets dem dey use. I dey tell you all this because I no wan make you think say this talk na attack on stablecoins. No be am. The question na really weather stablecoins dey follow the original cypherpunk vision for crypto. For Eric Hughes' *“A Cypherpunk's Manifesto,”* wey him publish for 1993, him no dey imagine say crypto go become just faster payment system for central governments, traditional finance, or the Federal Reserve. As for Satoshi, him build Bitcoin partly as technological response to the financial crisis and the institutions wey contribute to am — the same institutions wey the dollar system carry mind put. Neither of them talk about stablecoins. If you don dey follow the wider crypto industry, you for don notice say DeFi don dey more stablecoin-first, instead of make e be primarily infrastructure-led. My body dey tell me say this no be exactly wetin Hughes and Satoshi carry for mind. So the question wey I wan ask — and wey I wan try answer for this article — be say: Na here crypto dey finally go, or na just one stopping point for the journey be this? ### Wetin Cypherpunks Dey Try to Build Sef From wetin I dey see, the cypherpunk movement dey against surveillance, excessive centralization, and systems where one single entity fit monitor or freeze your transactions. But that one no mean say dem dey against moni. E dey far from am. The cypherpunks want guarantees wey come from physics and mathematics, instead of guarantees wey depend on laws or institutions — especially institutions wey don already prove say dem fit dey corrupt or unreliable. ![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/uploads/covers/6926f4a7365f42f013759b58/1d72b5db-51af-42a1-a5ee-b9fa40ec2a0a.png align="center") One major belief be say privacy and secrecy no be the same thing. Privacy mean say na you get the power to decide wetin you wan reveal about yourself and to who you wan reveal am to. The difference wey dey between being anonymous and being pseudonymous na probably one of the best examples. Na wetin make cypherpunks, just like Satoshi, no get problem with building financial system wey every transaction fit dey visible. Bitcoin design na peer-to-peer. No third party wey dem fit trust. Everything dey settle through cryptography instead of for central authority. The idea no be to make dollars move faster. The idea na to make the middlemen wey dey control the dollar system no make sense atall. ### The Wahala Wey Stablecoins Collect Make I start with USDC, wey Circle — a US-regulated company — issue. USDC fit dey blacklisted for wallet level, and e don happen before. Most of the reserves wey dey, dey spread across US banks and US Treasury instruments. USDT sef get similar situation, and e don face questions for plenti years about exactly wetin dey back the reserves. At the end of the day, the two of them no just dey depend on dollar reserves. Dem also dey depend on: The trust wey people get for the issuer, The regulatory environment wey the issuer dey operate under ; The reliability of the dollar himself. When you carry all these things put am together, you go see say a DeFi industry wey dey primarily use dollar-backed stablecoins get more dependencies than e first appear. Na this kind dependency stack I think say we get today. So make you ask yourself: ![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/uploads/covers/6926f4a7365f42f013759b58/7f81a324-7e5e-4573-bf16-269929cb7642.png align="center") E dey decentralised? No. E dey permissionless? Not be completely. But e fast? Yes. And obviously, na that speed get serious value. But I think say the cypherpunk idealists dey try build something we dey free, be be something wey just dey faster. I no sure say dem for imagine this kind outcome. And I no even know exactly how e for do dem for bodi So I still get questions. ### My Honest Question I no want make this discussion turn to ideological fight about who pure pass for crypto. I no think say that kind argument go help anybody, especially you wey dey read this talk. Make we stick to wetin we know. Most people around the world dey transact with currencies wey dey tied to nation-states. Na the normal way of dem dey carry do things. Why? Because for most people wey dey hold highly volatile native crypto assets as their main medium of exchange no really dey realistic. And honestly, I no think the cypherpunk vision even require everybody to commot mind for fiat currency or to start to dey spend volatile assets. Cypherpunks dey write code, and code no dey tell people which tools dem must use. E make plenti sense to believe say cypherpunks dey care more about making sure say different options dey exist — and say people fit actually access those options. That one likely explain why many cypherpunks dey involved for open-source development. Na also why I no dey think say most cypherpunks go get serious problem with stablecoins. As e be some fit prefer algorithmic stablecoins. Unfortunately, those ones don fail plenti times. The real wahala wey dey with stablecoins start when you ask say: The infrastructure wey we dey build — e dey really give people practical choice to join for crypto outside the dollar system? Wetin I mean be say: We dey build a system where the choice technically dey there, but the architecture don dey heavily optimized for stablecoins to the point wey native crypto assets don become second-class citizens? Na that one I suspect say dey happen right now. ![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/uploads/covers/6926f4a7365f42f013759b58/c693e036-f3c8-41eb-b132-3d1d59f16c58.png align="center") ### The Architecture Dey Carry him hand Talk You fit dey wonder say: “How all this carry concern Alephium?” The simple answer be say: The base layer dey always matter. For some of my previous columns, you go notice say I continue to dey point hand towards the importance of why we need a native asset wey get real economic weight. For a PoW blockchain wey get productive native asset, wey staking rewards dey come from swap fees instead of inflation, and where simply holding the coin mean say you dey participate in the economic output of the network, you get something wey stablecoins no get. You get a financial instrument wey no inherit all the dollar dependencies. That one no mean say e better pass dollar. No. It simply mean say e dey exist outside the dollar system entirely. E get him own economic world. True True, stablecoins dey part of the Alephium ecosystem, and different dApps dey use them. And that one na better thing. Why? Because people need options. Even the aligned ecosystem loop wey we dey work towards no dey commot stablecoins or interfere with them. But when I dey talk about $ALPH becoming a staking asset on Powfi, dey earn real fees from protocol activity, I see that one as something wey dey more closely aligned with the cypherpunk vision. Why? Because e dey create an alternative wey: Dey Work, anybody fit access, No need permission from central authority, him guarantee dey come from mathematics and code ### The Work Never Finish o Cypherpunks no wan destroy dollar. Dem no want destroy the people wey dey use dollar. And dem no want force everybody around the world to transact with volatile assets. The idea be actually almost the opposite. The goal na to make sure say cryptographic alternatives dey exist, dey work reliably, and wey go remain accessible to everybody. Reason am this way: Without the dollar, why we need dollar alternative? And: Without traditional financial system, why we need decentralized financial system? Stablecoins dey act like bridge between these two worlds. Dem no be completely TradFi. Dem no be completely DeFi Sef. But I believe say their existence na very important part of the journey. As e carry be, I no think say the architectural work for DeFi don finish until users get a better native economic layer wey dey give them original choices. Financial sovereignty no go fit happen unless something better actually dey exist. And na why questions like this matter. Na why dem need to write articles wey dey like this. As I carry see am: Stablecoins na part of the waka. But stablecoins no be the final bustop. I hope say you reason with me. But I really wan hear wetin you think. Reason am and then make you drop wetin you carry for mind for X. --- **Disclaimer** This is a community-run blog for third-party contributors. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not reflect the official Alephium project. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Cryptocurrency carries risk and is highly volatile. Information may be incomplete or outdated. Always conduct your own research. We disclaim liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on this article.