User Owned Platforms

While there are certainly a large degree of differences in exchange mechanics and in the underlying technology between Uniswap and exchanges such as Coinbase, the defining difference is in their ownership structures. Coinbase is owned exclusively by its founders, investors and early employees, whereas Uniswap is majority owned by its users.

The important distinction to note is that user-owned platforms create a construct whereby users are owners and as a result generate wealth through both income and capital appreciation.

The world is waking up to the reality that the platforms of today have become too powerful and value extractive. The platforms of tomorrow will find it more difficult to build sustainable businesses through data monopolisation that keeps users locked in. They will likely be more open and continue to work together with, not against their users.

With this in mind, as with every platform, there exists a constant tension between value creation and value extraction. Substack is no exception to this. Virtually all the large platforms of today started off by initially focusing on value creation for their users and enabling them to succeed. Once users were successful and dependent on the platfor... See more