Permissionless innovation in finance means new products can keep popping up to make new cohorts of people rich.

This societal benefit must be better understood.

First came Bitcoin in 2009. Anyone could participate, but you had to be privileged and have specialized knowledge. Few did.

If the story ended here, Bitcoin would still be world changing. But of course its open nature meant anyone could copy it and create their own cryptocurrency. Some did.

Then came Ethereum in 2015. The early Bitcoiners were already rich, most missed it. But by then hundreds of thousands of people were aware of crypto and able to participate. More did.

Then came DeFi in 2020. The early Ethereans were already rich, most missed it. But now millions of people are aware of crypto and able to participate in yield farming. A new, larger cohort is getting rich.

We’re not where we need to be in terms of accessibility. You still must be relatively privileged to participate but you can see how the story goes.

In traditional finance, restrictions on innovation protect incumbents. In cryptocurrency, permissionless innovation will continue to be overwhelmingly positive for the masses.

This is hard to see while it’s happening but becomes obvious in retrospect.