Ethereum core developer Péter Szilágyi has voiced his frustration with the cryptocurrency industry, describing it as a “casino” where speculative aspects overshadow true value creation. Szilágyi expressed his disappointment, emphasizing that the industry has so far achieved little more than transferring value without creating any significant benefits for humanity.

Szilágyi believes that speculation, not genuine innovation, is what drives the cryptocurrency market. He emphasized the short-term gains that the industry places so much emphasis on, pointing out that while luxury purchases are exciting when prices rise, lives suffer when they fall.

While creating a new monetary system takes time, he contended there ought to be noticeable beneficial advancements made along the road. Rather than creating truly useful applications, he sees a focus on value extraction and short-term gains.

Szilágyi went on to denounce the industry’s inability to fulfill its commitments. He made the observation that most projects have not yet yielded significant value despite the hype. He does not think any value is being created by crypto; all it has accomplished thus far, in his opinion, is a massive value transfer.

He voiced concerns about how long the industry could last and implied that in the absence of true innovation it might collapse with little to no major loss to humanity. In his discussion of diversification he also pointed out that the industry does not view success in cryptocurrency as a result of making money in the field and then investing in non-crypto companies.

Rather than the industry’s capacity to generate value it instead represents the good fortune of individuals. In closing, Szilágyi issued a call to action, stressing that the sector must produce something truly beneficial that people would want to use or take into consideration shutting down. While acknowledging that Bitcoin aims to be a safe haven asset, he criticized the majority of other projects for selling shovels with no gold rush in sight.