An end to fully open networks | Seth's Blog
seths.blog/2026/09/an-end-to-fully-open-networks
What Jamie wrote
Sadly I suspect that Godin's correct on this count. The economics of a fully open network are difficult at "planet scale". His specific point:
We’re going to need to create a cost for the sender (so it can’t scale to ridiculous) as well as an identity layer (so scammers can’t be fully anonymous–reputation is earned, not invented). It might be an open protocol in the spirit of the best parts of the net, or it might be a single monopolist that figures out how to extract value from it.
We really need to remove the "single monopolist" from this scenario and ensure that this is done with open standards. Frankly, the answer is already in place and exists. This is a wonderful use case for crypto, and Bitcoin Lightning could do this right now. This was one of my lightning ideas I shared in 2023!