Metamask Creator Compares Crypto Industry to Ponzi Schemes

The creators of Metamask made direct comments against the widespread frauds and the essentially gambling character of several projects in the cryptocurrency ecosystem in an interview with VICE. Co-founder Dan Finlay said there is only so much the organization can do to shield customers from exploits in terms of fixing security concerns that can expose them to cyberattacks.

Cryptos as a Casino

Aaron Davis, a co-founder of Metamask, did not anticipate that the layer-one network would become “such predominantly financial” as it has in recent years when he first introduced the well-known decentralized wallet designed specifically for the Ethereum Blockchain.

He anticipated that the protocol would be used more for resolving actual problems, such as those that national governments could only handle. For instance, he continued, the concept of collective organization could be developed further to encourage a generalized state of “self-regulation.”

Aaron Davis and Dan Finlay shared a cautious and realistic view of the ecosystem, in contrast to many industry leaders who were unrestrainedly bullish about digital assets.

The massacre that has quickly spread throughout several fields in the area has not shocked the two, who remarked that it had shown the ecosystem to be similar to “an unsafe casino,” where individuals gamble without fully understanding the risks they are doing. Both attribute it to some dishonest individuals who “did not act in keeping with the crypto ethos of transparency.”

Limitations of Metamask

Users may easily have custody of their digital assets thanks to Metamask, a key enabler of the growth of DeFi and NFTs in recent years. Decentralized wallets are becoming increasingly popular, which has increased the number of phishing hacks in NFT and allowed hackers to steal a sizable chunk of money.

Finlay said there is a limit to how far the company can go to protect clients’ interests, despite devoting “all his time” to resolving such a crucial problem for his clients. He explained that such a reality resulted from cryptography “sadly,” exposing how insecure everything is in today’s computer system.

“We kind of uncovered the nasty truth that our computer systems are basically not very safe, and the average person, if directly targeted, can be exploited. And we’re kind of starting to reverse engineer a secure computing stack”

Metamask’s Conundrum

Finlay acknowledged that his company couldn’t exclude Ponzi-like projects from registering their coins through Metamask due to the sheer amount of such schemes. Only “depriving them of the precious oxygen of exposure” will do.

Most crypto companies are struggling due to the current market collapse because many have decided to reduce staff numbers to cut operating costs. Since Metamask’s overall performance is highly correlated with the state of the market, we also observe a substantial decline in activity, added Davis.

The company might introduce a function called “prediction markets” to encourage customers to utilize its services more frequently. This would increase activity by “nudg[ing] user behavior a little,” but the co-founder quickly realized it was a risky power equivalence that would encourage people to bet.

“If we behave badly, we might tempt people to bet. We don’t want to be like that.