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Web3 vs DeFi/DePIN
Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani declared “Web3 is dead,” arguing that only DeFi and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) remain meaningful sectors within crypto.
“Bitcoin faces an 'identity crisis' and DeFi devs need to stop acting like tech bros Solstice Labs CEO Ben Nadareski says developers must act like financial managers to win back institutional trust amid ongoing security exploits”
Samani’s comments came as StarkWare CEO and Zcash co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson said crypto is facing an “identity crisis,” with institutional adoption rising while many early users leave.
In the same debate, Samani framed Web3 as a fading label while pointing to DeFi and DePIN as the areas still carrying clear market use.
The discussion also tied the shift to broader institutional involvement, with the crypto industry’s growth linked in 2026 to ETFs, tokenized assets, stablecoins, and regulated finance firms.
Crypto banking risk
The Banco de Pagos Internacionales (BPI) warned that the expansion of “la criptobanca” is no longer isolated and could threaten a global financial crisis if a parallel high-risk system collapses.
In its report issued on jueves 23 de abril de 2026, the BPI said opacity and a lack of regulation in digital-asset lending and services have created an ecosystem that could undermine global economic stability.
The BPI introduced and analyzed the concept of “intermediarios de criptoactivos multifuncionales” (MCI), describing entities that expanded beyond custody or exchange into lending and yield products.
The report also pointed to contagion risks by recalling the 2022 chain of events involving Celsius, Three Arrows Capital, and FTX, where losses at Alameda Research propagated across the group.
DeFi governance and trust
Aave’s governance turmoil surfaced around its March 13, 2026 proposal to deploy Aave V4 on the Ethereum mainnet, with Aave Labs describing the architecture as relying on shared liquidity pools and common reserves.
“For decades, Latin Americans have lived with financial constraints that citizens of more developed economies rarely consider: periodic currency devaluations, inflation shocks, limited access to credit, and banking systems that often fail to reward savers”
But Aave’s internal fractures included BGD Labs announcing in February that it would not renew its contract beyond April 1, 2026, citing increasing centralization around Aave Labs and a presentation deemed misleading of Aave V3’s performance.
The governance conflict sharpened after an incident on March 12, when a user attempted to convert $50 million into aEthUSDT and recovered only $36,000 after nearly empty liquidity pools caused a collapse in execution price.
In response to the dispute, founder Stani Kulechov said the interface did display warnings of high slippage, while Marc Zeller argued on X that “Users can fully enjoy the power of DeFi with a 99% slippage.”
