Kyle Samani, chairman of Forward Industries and co-founder of Multicoin, says the big dream for Web3 is over. In a recent exchange that was picked up by community users and later summarized by several outlets, he wrote that “I once believed in the vision of Web3” and decentralized applications, but “now I don’t.” Instead, he said blockchains are “essentially ledgers” that will reshape finance and that DeFi and DePIN are the only real growth areas left.
However, Samani did not shy away from cryptocurrencies themselves. He remains president of Solana-focused Forward Industries, and said he remains “very long SOL, very long crypto,” even as he steps back from day-to-day work on Multicoin. However, the phrase “Web3 is dead” signals a sharp shift from one of the loudest Web3 believers in the sector, and suggests that capital may continue to shift toward financial infrastructure, stablecoins, and real-world networks rather than consumer applications.
Elie Ben Sasson sees an “identity crisis” in cryptocurrencies
StarkWare CEO and Zcash co-founder, Eli Ben Sasson described The current moment as an industry-wide identity crisis. In a recent interview, he said that Ethereum and the broader cryptocurrency space are living in a “clear mental divide,” with “regulatory groups” long departing after years of disappointments while traditional finance moves on. According to him, banks, asset managers and other institutions are now “accommodating the industry,” challenging the narrative of the original cryptocurrency as a rebellious system of economic freedom.
Ben Sasson noted that this phase follows a long bear market, large Ethereum ETF outflows, and a clear lack of leadership across major projects. He said that many of the harshest attacks on Ethereum come from the early insiders who built it and are now frustrated, even as the protocol remains, in his opinion, the “absolutely best” option for the global settlement layer. Therefore, he believes that developers will not abandon Ethereum, but need to update its story for a world where Wall Street is no longer an outsider.
Together, Samani and Ben Sasson’s comments point to a narrower, more serious future for cryptocurrencies. Samani’s focus on DeFi and DePIN suggests that most of the real value will come from on-chain markets. stablecoins And infrastructure that moves real assets, data and connectivity, not games and social apps that try to “Web3‑ify” everything. On the other hand, Ben Sasson’s “bear hug” idea implies that major institutions will use blockchains as a way to create a new financial pile, not as a revolution out of the system.
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