Below are guest posts and opinions from Jeff Garzick, co-founder of HemiLab.
Ever since Bitcoin stopped being the only one crypto, its stubborn group of followers has been called “Bitcoin Maximalists” and claims that BTC is the only “true” digital asset. As the crypto industry moves towards totally distributed financial (DEFI) interoperability, this idea is not only rapidly becoming irrelevant, but also becoming detrimental to the sector.
Bitcoin’s maximalism actually took shape in the early days of crypto when Bitcoin was the only truly decentralized, unreliable valued reservoir that clearly focused on proven protocols and sound money principles. When other cryptocurrencies, or Altcoins, started to pop up later, they were mostly seen as dangerous speculative bets and even scams. It was something that could not be comparable to Bitcoin’s security, its powerful network effects, or the purity of the ideology it represents.
At the time, most maximalists claimed that BTC was the only legitimate crypto there, distracting all other digital currencies and, even worse, a betrayal of Satoshi’s original vision. This idea makes sense as infrastructure and interoperability are still in its early stages. After all, Bitcoin was the only player in town, and its advantage seemed almost unchallenging.
From separation to collaboration
Fast forward to 2025, the world of cryptography looks quite different from its early days. The explosive growth and innovation of Defi and Cross-Chain Tech have shifted focus from isolated ecosystems to interconnected ecosystems. Today, crypto space is to enable smooth interactions between different blockchains, making the environment more interconnected and versatile.
Today, many innovative projects are further driving this trend by integrating Bitcoin directly into the Defi space. This is not just a tokenized version like wrapped BTC, but as a truly native part of this interconnected world. This shows a conflict with the greatest view with major changes from the old ways.
At its core, Bitcoin’s maximalism is flawed. It refuses to adapt or keep up with the changing crypto environment. Bitcoin still sees it as a closed ecosystem of ignoring breakthroughs happening in the broader crypto industry. However, that idea overlooks an important point. Most modern crypto users are not driven by ideology. They want to make it convenient and easy to access a variety of services, rather than isolated platforms and island systems.
Unique opportunities emerge
Decentralized finance, or debt, already opens up incredible new opportunities, such as agriculture, lending, or decentralized exchanges, to make capital more efficient and power the hands of users.
So, Bitcoin should be at the heart of this financial revolution, with its top security and liquidity, and it’s only natural that it cannot be forced on the sidelines. Bringing Bitcoin directly into defi doesn’t dilute its value. In fact, we’re boosting that by making BTC the backbone of this new financial era.
The numbers confirm this and contradict the maximalist argument. For example, by 2025, the total value locked by definition exceeded $120 billion, with Stablecoins adding an additional $250 billion market capitalization, and cross-chain bridges processing billions of dollars in daily transactions.
On the other hand, solutions like wrapped BTC are often clunky and centralized, creating counterparty risks that violate the core principles of Bitcoin. If these workarounds are phased out and Bitcoin is free to move across many different blockchains, interoperability could be more valuable.
Brand new world of cryptography
As this trend accelerates, the biggest ideas look outdated. The future of Crypto is not about blockchains fighting each other, but each plays with their strengths and creates systems that are more powerful than any other. Bitcoin is still the best value reservoir, but its usefulness grows extremely through the support of smart contracts, liquidity pools and cross-chain technology. Maximists who dismiss this as a heresy risk are left like dinosaurs staring at meteors across the sky.
The problem is that their unwavering enthusiasm may actually try to hold Bitcoin down and protect it from the modern interconnected crypto ecosystem. This attitude also pushes users and developers away who view cryptography as a unified, interconnected network that needs to work smoothly and meet real needs.
Bitcoin’s maximalism isn’t entirely dead yet, but it’s definitely going out. When interoperability becomes an industry standard, the idea of Bitcoin as a standalone, isolated giant disappears. Defi Boom is already here and launches it into a new era, rather than destroying Bitcoin. The big question now is whether maximalists will adapt to artefacts from a bygone era, or become artefacts.