Florian Glatz, a blockchain lawyer, has suggested that 2024 may mark the peak of “skeuomorphism” in the cryptocurrency sector. He aims to restore non-commercial “third spaces” and enable “magic internet money” independent of banks. Glatz made this statement in an April 15 post on X.
“2024 might be remembered as peak skeumorphism in crypto’s evolution,” said Glatz. “For crypto, skeuomorphism means hyper-financialization of human interactions. Crypto’s broader purpose outside of the narrow scope of ‘fixing the money’ is to help bring back something to the web that we have all but forgotten ever existed: non-commercial ‘third spaces’ – the equivalent of public parks on the open web. It starts by having a notion of digital public goods in the first place. web2 doesn’t even know that category. it also involves the ability to mint & transact magic internet money independent of banks.”
According to Glatz, 2024 represents a peak in crypto’s “skeuomorphism,” which he defines as the over-financialization of online interaction and attention. He notes that by 2025, there will be a decline as early participants leave and question the purpose of cryptocurrencies. Beyond merely “fixing the money,” Glatz argues that cryptocurrencies should support non-commercial “third spaces” online, akin to public parks. This vision requires focusing on digital public goods and enabling transactions with magic internet money independent of banks, which is already possible. He said that despite lacking a clear path forward, the space is moving in the right direction.
Magic Internet Money (MIM) is described as a crypto-collateralized stablecoin developed through the Abracadabra.money protocol. It allows users to mint MIM by collateralizing crypto assets, including interest-bearing tokens across multiple blockchains such as Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain. This process enables users to earn yield on their collateral while borrowing MIM for use within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. MIM’s interoperability across platforms and integration with popular DeFi protocols like Yearn.finance and SushiSwap enhance its use cases. The protocol is governed by SPELL tokens, which enable community participation in development decisions and reward staked users with additional yields.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a system using blockchain technology to facilitate peer-to-peer financial transactions without intermediaries like banks. According to Investopedia, it allows individuals to lend, borrow, trade, and engage in other financial activities directly with one another. DeFi applications are often powered by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, providing users with greater accessibility, lower fees, and increased transparency.
Florian Glatz is noted as a blockchain lawyer and co-founder of Common Ground and the European Crypto Initiative. According to LinkedIn, he advises organizations on blockchain legal compliance and system design and served as the founding president of the German Blockchain Association.
