History shows pioneers who fund massive infrastructure shifts, like railroads or the early internet, frequently lose their investment. The real profits are captured later by companies that build services on top of the now-established, de-risked platform.

The SVB crisis wasn't a traditional bank run caused by bad loans. It was the first instance where the speed of the internet and digital fund transfers outpaced regulatory reaction, turning a manageable asset-liability mismatch into a systemic crisis. This highlights a new type of technological 'tail risk' for modern banking.

Widespread adoption of blockchain, particularly stablecoins, has been hindered by a "semi-illegal" regulatory environment in the U.S. (e.g., Operation Chokepoint). Now that this barrier is removed, major financial players are racing to integrate the technology, likely making it common within a year.

While consumer fintech gets the hype, the most systematically important opportunities lie in building 'utility services' that connect existing institutions. These complex, non-sexy infrastructure plays—like deposit networks—enable the entire ecosystem to function more efficiently, creating a deep moat by becoming critical financial market plumbing.

The concept of 'banking deserts' extends beyond underserved regions. When specialized banks like SVB disappear, entire industry verticals (like tech, agriculture, or wine) can become 'underbanked.' This creates a vacuum in specialized credit and financial services that larger, generalist banks may not fill, thus stifling innovation in specific economic sectors.

Power is shifting from open participation in a global market to controlling access between siloed communities (e.g., finance, tech, government). Individuals who can bridge these worlds and broker relationships, like operators on a medieval trade route, accumulate immense power and value.

The financial system is unprepared for the coming wave of AI agents. These agents will perform tasks and require payment, creating trillions of micropayments. Current infrastructure from Stripe, Visa, or Mastercard cannot handle this volume, creating a massive opportunity for new protocols to facilitate the 'agent economy'.

Multicoin's central thesis is that crypto's ultimate purpose is creating "Internet Capital Markets"—the ability to trade any asset, from anywhere, 24/7, via any software. This broad vision of permissionless, programmable finance is seen as the most significant long-term impact of blockchain, destined to supersede more niche consumer applications or "Web3" concepts.