I live and breathe politics. I’ve worked closely with politicians and government ministries. I believe it’s the most beautiful, challenging, and interesting game in the world. You’re probably familiar with the saying, “I’m not here for the money, I’m here for the tech.” For me, it’s more like, “I’m not here for the tech, I’m here for the politics.”
Yes, I know — most of you fall somewhere on the spectrum between not understanding, ignoring, or outright despising politics. But the hard truth is, that without knowing how the game works or leveraging the power of politics in your venture, you’re likely to fail.
Politics is everywhere. And I’m not talking about your local government or national elections. I’m talking about the everyday politics that influence every decision,, success, or failure in the world — even in your new protocol. To succeed, you must understand what really motivates people, how to direct a divided community toward your goals,, and how to communicate your vision clearly. Unfortunately, most founders don’t get politics. They probably watched Silicon Valley instead of Veep or House of Cards. The word itself makes them sick. They make the crucial mistake of not knowing how the game is played and what drives our world.
Why politics matters
Now, you might be thinking, “But crypto is decentralized, distributed, and permissionless — no room for politics here.” Let me chuckle a little and share a secret: there’s no escape from politics, especially in crypto. The openness of this market makes the politics around it much more complicated and challenging. If you don’t understand the crypto political landscape — if you don’t know how to build a coalition and balance different motivations and interests, — you’re setting yourself up for a rough ride.
So, how do you act as a politician? Let’s explore some diplomatic strategies. For an outsider (meaning the vast majority of the world that hasn’t taken the red pill of politics), diplomatic moves might seem hidden, shady, or even dirty. But in reality, it’s quite the opposite. Politics is more like a chess game. All the players and their power are on the table, transparent for all to see. All the potential moves and tricks are available to everyone. The game then becomes about execution, driven by your intellect and status.
Politicians from different parties will engage with each other if both stand to gain, as the power dynamics are clear to everyone involved. When speaking to one another, politicians don’t beat around the bush. They know the rules of the game, and they want to win. They also know they can never win alone — without their party colleagues, and even without their opponents. When the rules of the game are open to everyone, it increases transparency and directness. Ironically, this creates an environment that fosters execution.
Four Personas That Drive the Game
In crypto, the leaders who will impact your venture are as diverse as they come. You’ve got traders chasing profits, builders trying to solve real-world problems, tech purists pushing the boundaries of innovation, and storytellers shaping the narrative. Each leading group has its own motivations, its own interests, and often, they contradict each other. The art of a successful founder, then, is to recognize these differences and figure out how to unite them in pursuit of your vision. From now on, you’re an emerging president who’s trying to unite four different parties into a strong coalition to fulfill your mission with the people (end-users), provide security, wealth, prosperity, and a bright future.
So how do you do it? How do you take four groups with different, sometimes opposing interests and get them all moving in the same direction? It starts with deeply understanding the four personas that drive the crypto market.
1. The Tech Purist: Here for the Tech
The tech purist doesn’t care about your token price. They’re here for the tech. They live for breakthrough technological innovations — new consensus mechanisms, cutting-edge encryption methods. If it pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in the code or the algorithm, they’re all in. But don’t expect them to care about revenue, adoption, or market success. People like Vitalik Buterin or Nick Szabo are most loyal to the code and the technology, and less obsessed with marketing or branding. They will dive deep into your white papers, scrutinize your security protocols, and engage in endless debates about scalability. Ignore them, and you risk alienating the very people who can validate your tech’s legitimacy.
2. Traders: Here for the Money
On the other side of the spectrum is the trader who tends to be cynical, sharp, and always on the lookout for the next big play. For them, the entire crypto market is one giant casino, and they’re here to maximize their gains. Profit is the only KPI. Technology? That’s just a narrative — a story to trade on. They’re constantly calculating whether your innovation is “priced in” or if there’s more juice left to squeeze. They’ll pump your project one day and dump it the next. If you want people like Arthur Hayes or Andrew Kang on your side, you better have something that makes their investment worthwhile. But remember, they’re not in it for the long haul — they’re here to make a quick profit and move on. Understand their game, and you might just keep them interested long enough to benefit your project.
3. Builders: Here for Changing the World
Then there’s the builder. They’re not just here to innovate—they’re here to change the world. For them, blockchain is more than just a technology; it’s a tool to solve real-world problems. They see the flaws in existing systems and believe they can fix them, one block at a time. They’re not obsessed with the technology itself like the tech purist, but with the impact it can have. And while they know the market and trading dynamics are part of the game, they see it as secondary to their mission. People like Stani Kulechov or Hyden Adams could make or break your project — because they’ll become your design partner, build on top of your project, drive adoption, and turn your vision into reality.
4. Storytellers: Here for the Audience
Enter the journalists and publicists. The storytellers, the content creators, the influencers. They’re the ones who bridge the gap between the tech, the market, and the masses. In a space as complex and fast-moving as crypto, these personas are crucial. They gather the data, dissect it, and present it in a way that’s digestible for the wider audience. They control the narrative, and in this game, narrative is worth a lot. Storytellers can make or break a project by how they present it to the world. Some play it straight, reporting facts and letting the audience decide. Others, let’s be real, are in it for the clout — their goal is to build a following, gain recognition, and influence the market. But no matter where they fall on this spectrum, you need them in your corner. Without people like Laura Shin or Bankless, your project is just another drop in the crypto ocean.
As if your job wasn’t hard enough, you’ve also got the gatekeepers to contend with; the regulators. From the justice system, through government agencies, to your company’s legal team, they hold the keys to the game. Whether it’s regulating securities, derivatives, and futures, dealing with tax implications, anti-money laundering (AML) protocols, know-your-customer (KYC) regulations, or ensuring custody and monitoring to prevent deceptive financial practices, the spectrum of oversight is vast. Like it or not, they’re here to stay, and they wield significant power. In some countries more than others, but in every case, you can’t afford to ignore them. The gatekeepers can dramatically impact your vision and execution. Knowing the rules, learning them inside and out, and playing by them is essential — because they can easily obstruct your path to success if you don’t.
Building a Coalition That Works
Now that we’ve introduced the four personas (and the gatekeepers), let’s turn the focus back to you — the founder. Having a brilliant idea isn’t enough; Your job is to build a coalition that unites these parties, making sure each player has a seat at the table based on their power and potential impact on your venture.
I know, you want top venture capital firms to back you. You want the best teams building on your platform. You want rock-solid security, no hacks. You want explosive growth, to be the name on everyone’s lips, to land podcast interviews. You want all the TVL in the world. You want revenue, fees, and a token that outperforms the market. You want your airdrop to actually matter. You want end-users flocking to your innovation. You want your project to be a rocket ship, to dominate, to become the market leader.
Take EigenLayer, for example. The team nailed this balance. They didn’t just focus on the tech — although the new primitive of shared security certainly caught the tech purist’s eye, which participated from the get-go in a security committee to maximize risk management. They also made sure to secure enough funding from VCs (yes, they are here for the money as well, don’t be surprised), and incentivized traders with a pointing system, attracting ETH for staking, which secured the platform. Builders saw the potential to solve real problems using AVSs, leveraging Ethereum’s security. And let’s not forget the Storytellers who helped spread the word of restaking, discussing the implications of this new innovation across various platforms. This is the art of the possible — bringing together different parties with different interests, playing by the gatekeeper’s rules (successfully, so far), to create something that lasts (and is worth a lot, on-paper).
Navigating conflicting interests
What will happen if you can’t find the balance point and fail to bring a persona to the table? The Tech Purist will criticize your code and advise the core community to stay away from your smart contract. The Trader will find ways to manipulate your tokenomics. The Builder will choose your competitor’s layer. And the Storyteller will publicly tear you apart in front of your target audience. That’s just one possible outcome. They might also ignore you, or worse, never even hear about you. This is what happens to bad politicians too — they fail and disappear into oblivion. They fail because they are unfamiliar with or refuse to play by the rules of the game. They neglect groups within their ecosystem, turning potential catalysts for their goals into enemies. Don’t be like them.
Think of it like building a coalition in politics. A strong coalition doesn’t require everyone to agree on everything. It requires everyone to see a piece of their own interest in the broader goal. That’s what you need to create. You’re not just a founder — you’re a politician, a diplomat, a strategist. And if you can master this art, you’ll do more than just succeed — you’ll lead.
Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates.