Web3 Dead, DeFi and DePIN Remain as Crypto Identity Crisis Deepens
“Web3 dead, DeFi and DePIN remain” is Kyle Samani’s blunt read on where crypto is going. Samani, co-founder of Multicoin Capital, was responding after Starknet co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson said crypto is going through an identity crisis. My take: the line matters because this is not just another crypto culture spat. It points at where money moves next. If the Web3 label keeps fading, liquidity probably keeps rotating toward Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), DeFi fee machines, and DePIN infrastructure bets.
The thread started with Ben-Sasson saying crypto is losing its old sense of self. Early crypto people are drifting out. Institutions and traditional finance firms, the same crowd crypto once wanted to route around, are now leaning in. Samani made the cleaner cut: Web3 is dead. DeFi and DePIN remain. Harsh? Yes. Useful? Also yes.
The market has already been trading that version of the story. BTC is the clean institutional crypto proxy. ETH still sits underneath much of the DeFi economy. After U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs started trading on January 11, 2024, BTC moved from about $46,000 that day to more than $73,000 by March 14, 2024. That was not a Web3 trade. It was access, liquidity, macro beta, and a Wall Street wrapper investors already understood.
Coinbase (COIN) fits the same pattern. I’ll be honest: this is where the “crypto is anti-bank” story starts to sound dated. Traders no longer treat Coinbase only as a retail exchange. Many now use COIN as a listed equity proxy for regulated U.S. crypto exposure. COIN traded below $80 in late 2023 and moved above $250 during parts of the 2024 spot ETF cycle. If TradFi keeps entering while the old ideological crowd exits, COIN, BTC, and ETH may keep pulling attention away from small cap Web3 stories.
DeFi still matters. ETH remains the main settlement asset for many DeFi users, even as newer chains and Starknet-style scaling networks compete for activity. Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade went live on March 13, 2024, and lowered costs for layer 2 networks. Why does this matter? Because crypto finance depends on infrastructure people actually use, not airy claims about rebuilding the internet. Most guides say Web3 failed because users did not care. That’s only half right. Some users cared; the products just did not clear the bar often enough.
Regulation has pushed investors toward the same filter. SEC and CFTC actions, staking rules, exchange cases, ETF approvals, and custody questions have forced crypto investors to separate protocols with cash flow from tokens running mostly on community energy. Spot Ethereum ETFs began trading in the U.S. on July 23, 2024, giving ETH the same institutional wrapper that helped change BTC demand. That does not bless every DeFi token. It does make the underlying infrastructure easier to price.
DePIN is the other piece because it gives crypto something physical to point at. These projects try to connect tokens to wireless networks, storage, compute, energy, maps, and other infrastructure. We have seen investors grasp that pitch faster than the old plan to put every social interaction on-chain. Is that enough? Not by itself. If DePIN proves real demand, it will not need to lean so hard on token rewards. Big if.
Macro still decides how much of this becomes price. When rates rise or the dollar strengthens, traders usually sell high beta crypto first. BTC fell from its November 2021 peak near $69,000 to below $20,000 in 2022 as liquidity tightened and risk assets repriced. That cycle left investors with one blunt question: what survives when money gets expensive? Not vibes. Cash flow, collateral demand, and liquidity usually survive better.
Crypto’s safe haven story is still messy. BTC sometimes trades like digital gold during political stress. It can also sell off with Nasdaq when liquidity disappears. Gold hit record highs in 2024, while BTC also made new highs in March 2024, so investors were willing to buy scarcity and speculation at the same time. Yes, this sounds like a contradiction. It is. BTC belongs in the reserve asset debate. DeFi and DePIN belong in the utility debate.
The article does not give a direct Ben-Sasson quote beyond the reported claim that crypto faces an identity crisis. It attributes the “Web3 is dead” response to Kyle Samani, co-founder of Multicoin Capital. That distinction matters. I would read this less as a final death certificate for Web3 and more as a portfolio screen. Cut the slogan. Watch what still gets funded, used, and repriced.
What this means
This points to a tougher crypto market in 2026: fewer sweeping narratives, more attention on flows, fees, users, liquidity depth, and infrastructure people can measure. BTC should remain the main macro ticker. ETH should keep its role as the DeFi settlement ticker. DePIN projects need to show demand that does not depend on token emissions. Counter to the usual advice, the interesting signal may not be which new narrative appears next. It may be which old narrative fails to catch a bid. Investors should watch whether BTC holds major psychological levels, including $100,000, during risk-off periods, and whether ETH keeps DeFi attention when ETF flows shift.
Traders should also watch the June 17-18, 2026 FOMC meeting, CME crypto futures positioning, BTC ETF flows, and ETH/BTC strength. In our notes, this is the cleanest tell: if BTC dominance rises while DeFi tokens lag, Samani’s “Web3 dead” line becomes a market map, not just a sharp quote. If ETH, DeFi, and DePIN outperform in the next liquidity window, the thesis gets narrower but cleaner. Web3 dead, DeFi and DePIN remain.