Over the past several years, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time investing in, testing, and exploring countless crypto projects. From early blockchain experiments to complex decentralized finance (DeFi) systems, I’ve had a front-row seat to the industry’s evolution.

One thing has become painfully clear: somewhere along the way, the industry lost its direction.

Many projects today feel less like innovative solutions and more like get-rich-quick schemes dressed up in technical jargon. Developers, often brilliant in their craft, are making things so complex that the average investor is almost shut out of the conversation. Between the layers of decentralized exchanges (DEXs), liquidity pools, and yield farming strategies, crypto has turned into a maze that even experienced participants struggle to navigate.

But blockchain was never meant to be this.

Blockchain as a Utility

At its core, blockchain should be a tool—a utility—that provides real, tangible benefits to communities. It was supposed to democratize access, reduce inefficiencies, and create systems that worked better than their traditional counterparts. Instead, many projects now seem more focused on engineering complexity than delivering usefulness.

The result? A growing disconnect between the technology and the very people it was meant to empower.

Learning From Traditional Banking

When I think about what’s missing, I often look back at how banking worked in its simplest form. You deposited your money, and the bank invested it across multiple markets. The better the bank performed, the better your returns. Importantly, clients could measure this performance transparently.

Why can’t blockchain and AI work the same way?

The building blocks are already here. AI can analyze trends, optimize portfolios, and make 24/7 decisions—things no human banker could ever achieve at scale. Blockchain can add transparency, verifiability, and global accessibility. Yet, no one has packaged these tools into something straightforward and accessible for the everyday investor.

The Path Forward: Simplicity and Smarter Tools

I believe the “next big thing” in crypto won’t be another complicated DeFi protocol or speculative coin. Instead, it will be a simpler, smarter version of investing—a platform where AI helps the average person make better financial decisions, spreading risk across a diverse set of assets while providing clear, on-demand reporting.

Imagine logging in and seeing exactly where your funds are allocated, how the AI is performing, and what your projected returns look like—without needing to decode whitepapers, chase liquidity incentives, or manage private farming strategies.

That is the future I see: a return to basics, enhanced by the power of technology. Blockchain and AI working together, not to confuse investors, but to empower them.