Dominic Williams, founder of the Dfinity Foundation and its chief scientist, recently expressed concern about the current state of the crypto and blockchain industry. Williams, who has been working in this field for nearly a decade, is particularly critical of what he perceives as a tendency to invest in “fake miracle medicine, which he calls snake oil.”
The concept of “snake oil” is generally used to mean various substances or mixtures sold as medicines without their medicinal value or properties being proven by scientific tests.
“People are actually investing in snake oil. They're saying, 'I'm going to invest in whoever has the best snake oil because they have better marketing,'” Williams said.
Dfinity Foundation, a non-profit organization headquartered in Zurich, is the main supporter of the Internet Computer Protocol.
However, Williams said the following about the cryptocurrency industry in general:
“Obviously there is a lot of garbage. “95% of the blockchains on the market are garbage and they are just selling snake oil.”
While Williams acknowledges the utility of blockchains like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche, he thinks people don't fully understand their limitations in building a scalable, cost- and time-efficient internet. He argues that the Internet Computer Protocol, which he describes as the “only third-generation” blockchain, has the potential to power a new era of entirely on-chain online interactions.
Williams argues that while some popular blockchains are effective in processing transactions, they are not capable of forming the basis of a completely new, decentralized internet that will be widely adopted by mainstream users.
*This is not investment advice.