Awakening from Crypto’s NPC Nightmare
This weekend, inspired by Ezra Klein’s reflections on the nature of political conformity and the state of the U.S. Congress, I found myself drawn into a parallel labyrinth: the cryptocurrency industry. As I read and listened to Klein’s exploration of what he calls the “NPC problem” in American politics; the phenomenon of lawmakers being reduced to non-player characters (NPCs) in a game they no longer control.
I couldn’t help but see the same pattern mirrored in crypto. The digital economy once heralded as a bastion of decentralization and individual empowerment, now teeters under the weight of its contradictions: a hive mind of investors following influencers, meme coins, and celebrity endorsements with all the critical thought of automatons in a Borges labyrinth.
The NPC Problem in Crypto: The Infinite of Conformity
Ezra Klein’s NPC metaphor is borrowed from video games, where NPCs are characters programmed to follow scripts, devoid of agency or self-awareness. In politics, Klein argues, many Republican lawmakers have become NPCs, blindly following Trump’s lead out of fear or ambition. In crypto, this same dynamic plays out on a global scale. Investors move as if programmed — buying tokens they don’t understand because an influencer tweeted about them or because they fear missing out on the next big thing.
Imagine Borges’ infinite library from The Library of Babel: a universe filled with every possible book, yet its inhabitants are lost, unable to discern meaning from the chaos. The crypto world is its modern counterpart — a boundless sea of whitepapers, tweets, and Discord channels where knowledge is abundant but wisdom is scarce. Investors collect fragments of information — market caps, tokenomics, roadmaps — but rarely assemble these into coherent strategies. Instead, they follow trends blindly, their decisions shaped not by reason but by the algorithms and influencers that dominate their feeds.
The Marginal Propensity to FOMO
In traditional economics, we talk about the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) — how likely someone is to spend an additional dollar rather than save it. In crypto, we need a new metric: the marginal propensity to FOMO (fear of missing out). This measures how quickly an investor will abandon caution and dive into a speculative asset based on hype alone. Consider recent events: Argentine President Javier Milei endorses $LIBRA, a meme coin marketed as a solution to Argentina’s economic woes. It reaches a $4.4 billion market cap within hours before collapsing spectacularly. Investors lose millions — not because they believed in the project’s fundamentals but because they followed Milei’s lead like NPCs in a scripted drama. The same pattern repeats with Donald Trump’s memecoin, CZ's “mistake” on his dog coin $Broccoli, and the Central African Republic’s $CAR token. These projects thrive not on innovation but on short-lived spectacle, exploiting the NPC-like behavior of investors who conflate celebrity with credibility.
Borges’ Infinite Labyrinth: Information Without Understanding
Remembering whom I think is by far the most remarkable Argentine ever born (In the same league as El Diego)Borges’ Infinite Labyrinth: Information Without Understanding; Jorge Luis Borges often explored themes of infinity, labyrinths, and the limits of human understanding. His works remind us that knowledge without comprehension can be more disorienting than ignorance. In crypto, this paradox is painfully evident. The industry offers endless data — charts tracking price movements by the second, whitepapers detailing intricate tokenomics; but little to no guidance on how to interpret it meaningfully. This overload creates paralysis. Unable to process the complexity of blockchain technology or market dynamics, many investors retreat into simplistic narratives: Bitcoin as “digital gold,” Ethereum as “the future of finance,” and Dogecoin as “fun but profitable.” These narratives are comforting but reductive, reducing complex systems to slogans that fit neatly into a tweet.
Borges might liken this to his concept of fictional authors, characters who write books within books, creating layers of unreality until the original truth becomes unknowable. In crypto, influencers play this role. They craft stories around tokens, promising revolutionary technology or guaranteed returns while obscuring the underlying risks. Investors become characters in these fictions, acting out roles written by others.
Sartre’s Bad Faith: Abdicating Responsibility
Another of my favorites, both for his impeccable cocktail knowledge but also literature savviness, Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism theory provides another lens through which to view crypto’s NPC problem. Sartre defines “bad faith” as self-deception, a refusal to acknowledge one’s freedom and responsibility. In crypto, bad faith manifests as willful ignorance: investors convince themselves they make informed decisions while outsourcing their judgment to influencers and hype cycles.
Take CZ (Changpeng Zhao), Binance’s former CEO, promoting the “community launch” of a dog-themed coin on social media. His endorsement sends prices soaring, not because the coin has intrinsic value nor does he care for the value that it brings for the matter but because his followers trust him implicitly. This blind trust is bad faith in action: investors abdicate their responsibility to evaluate projects critically, choosing instead to follow authority figures like NPCs obeying pre-programmed commands. Sartre might argue that this behavior reflects a deeper existential anxiety. Crypto markets are volatile and unpredictable; making independent decisions requires decisions requires confronting uncertainty and risk. For many, it’s easier to follow the crowd — to become an NPC — than to face these challenges head-on.
Hunter S. Thompson’s Gonzo Crypto take
If Hunter S. Thompson were alive today, he might describe crypto as “fear and loathing on the blockchain.” Thompson’s gonzo journalism blurred the line between observer and participant, a fitting metaphor for crypto investors who are both spectators of market drama and players in its high-stakes game. Don't even get me started with those endless and soulless conferences. Today, at least in the U.S., there's absolutely nobody with this level of work but also self-reflection, and that my friends is tragic.
Thompson would revel in scenes like Bitcoin Miami or NFT parties in Los Angeles: influencers hyping projects over tequila shots while retail investors gamble their savings on tokens named after dogs or frogs or rocks or well… The US president himself promoting a shitcoin. But he would also see through the spectacle to its hollow core, a financial Wild West where decentralization is often a façade for new forms of centralization and exploitation. Thompson understood that systems built on greed inevitably collapse under their weight. His critique of the American Dream applies equally to crypto: what begins as a promise of freedom often devolves into chaos when unchecked ambition takes over.
Breaking Free: Towards a Human-Centric Crypto Economy
So how do we escape this labyrinth? How do we move from an NPC economy to one that values critical thinking and individual agency? First, we must confront our bad faith — the ways we deceive ourselves about our motivations and decisions in crypto markets. This requires embracing uncertainty rather than fleeing from it; asking hard questions about projects rather than accepting easy answers; prioritizing long-term value over short-term gains. Second, we need better education, not just about blockchain technology but about psychology and decision-making. Investors must learn to recognize cognitive biases like herd mentality and loss aversion that drive irrational behavior. Finally, we must rethink leadership in crypto. Influencers wield enormous power but often lack accountability. A truly decentralized system cannot rely on charismatic figures; it must empower individuals to make informed choices independently.
Embracing Complexity: A Borges-Sartre Synthesis
Borges teaches us that complexity is not something to be feared but embraced; Sartre reminds us that freedom comes with responsibility. Together, they offer a path forward for crypto: one that acknowledges its contradictions without succumbing to them.
The crypto world is both revolutionary and regressive; empowering yet exploitative; infinite yet constrained by human limitations. To navigate this paradoxical landscape requires both imagination and critical thought, a willingness to explore new possibilities while remaining grounded in reality. It requires attitude and an authentic personality.
As I reflect on Ezra Klein’s insights into political conformity and apply them to crypto’s NPC problem, I’m reminded that both systems ultimately depend on us, the players, to shape their outcomes. Whether we act as protagonists or NPCs is up to us.
In Borges’ infinite library or Sartre’s absurd universe — or even Thompson’s chaotic America, the choice always remains ours: will we follow scripts written by others or write our own stories?
Be YOU, less them!
This article is for informational purposes only. Not all information will be accurate and only reflect the opinion of the author. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. DYOR
