Semper Reformanda

We are here to build up the Kingdom for Christ's Glory

It has been three wild years. Multiple shocks to a nascent decentralized economy in 2022 (I counted 3 sequential gut punches- Terra/Luna, 3AC, FTX) drove away the speculators and speculative capital, and a sharp downturn and bear market ensued. This experience reaffirmed that drawdowns are as much a gift as are boom seasons, as they are the best time to build— remain faithful, reassess your mission, and leverage cheaper capital to prepare for growth over gain.

What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s hear, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil— this is God’s gift to man.

I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

Ecclesiastes 3: 9-15

2023 - 2024 saw slow and steady growth, punctuated by some seasons of rapid adoption born from positive legislation allowing new investment vehicles (the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs) as well as an incoming US administration which proposed to be positive for technology broadly and crypto specifically. Reforms were proposed, debated, adjusted, and adopted.

The Preacher in Ecclesiastes outlines a view of the world which at first feels cynical. But it is a view that the later Stoics would be familiar with— that we are to work hard for the Lord regardless of, or in spite of, our circumstances. Gain and loss, happiness and sadness, prosperity and hardship, all these will come and go, and our commission from God does not depend on these circumstances.

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

Ecclesiastes 7:14

While we pressed through the bear market, on this channel we repeated the refrain to “keep building”. In the weeks following the FTX implosion, OpenAI made its public debut with ChatGPT. Since then, AI has become the biggest trend in technology development, adoption, and investment.

This tech industry and newly forming digital economy are fickle and will be prone to price swings and sensitive to narratives. Embrace the “new vibes” without overconfidence in worldly things. 2025 has brought a full-scale economic shake up through restructuring international trade deals. This is another opportunity to build — Christ is eternal, His Kingdom is constant, and the shifting sands of this world beg for leaders, entrepreneurs, and laborers who are so grounded they can reform the brokenness around us. For those who have been around the last few years, this should look familiar:

Prioritize growth over gain.

Reshape and reform broken institutions.

Seek out the leaders who are shaping the next era.

Most importantly, keep building.

My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.

Psalm 57:7