Crypto developer Andre Cronje popularized the motto “I test in prod”. He was involved in some of the most popular decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols in the space, such as Yearn Finance and Fantome. In March, Cronje announced his retirement sending a shockwave across the sector.

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In a recent Medium post, Cronje opened up about why he might have left the space. Called “The Rise and Fall of Crypto Culture”, the developer presented his views on the culture and the ethos that supports this industry.

He believes that “a lot of what is being built” in this space is created by people with a deep understanding of economics and its principles. Cronje added that the inspiration behind these people is found in “Wikipedia articles on bonds, or seigniorage, or debt instruments”.

Based on this supposed shallow knowledge about a subject, these people arrived at the conclusion that “they can do better”, Cronje said. However, he argues that this monetary or investment instrument, often criticized by developers in the DeFi sector, exists for a reason.

The concepts of monetary supply, issuance, debt, bonds, commodities, securities, Cronje added, “can’t be viewed in isolation. They exist for a reason”. In the crypto industry, the financial system supported by these instruments and by centralized institutions seems to be directly opposing DeFi, digital assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum. One seems to be the other’s anti-thesis.

Cronje hints that the new generation that created the culture which supports that idea, the “we can do better” people, will eventually discover that these instruments are necessary. In that sense, he said:

I have long been vocal on my disdain of crypto culture, and my love for crypto ethos. Reading that might sound weird, but crypto ethos is concept like self-sovereign rights, self custody, self empowerment. Crypto culture is concepts like wealth, entitlement, enrichment, and ego. Crypto culture has strangled crypto ethos.

Why Crypto Needs More Regulations

Later, Cronje claimed to see the need for the introduction of regulation to the space. He believes this could “protect” people from sticking “their finger into an electric outlet, you stop them before they can learn why they shouldn’t”.

In his post, the developer made another distinction. He separated the current state of the industry, the “badlands” with their unregulated environment, with the future blockchain economy “driven by trust, not trustlessness”. He concluded:

There is an irony in having come full circle, yet I find myself more excited than ever. I won’t step foot into the badlands again, but I’m vastly excited about this new future.

Cronje’s post has seen mixed replies from the crypto community. A portion seems to agree that regulations will “protect” users. Others believe the developer benefited from the system, opted out, and now is asking for a change. Via Twitter a user said:

andre cronje with the gigagrift walking away with over *1 billion dollars* generated from crypto and then exits the space, rails against “get rich quick mentalities” and advocates for strict regulations and then founds an investment banking company incredible.

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At the time of writing, Ethereum (ETH) trades at $2,900 with sideways movement on the 4-hour chart.