About Lita’s April Fools Joke

A Reflection on Lita's April Fools Joke.

We announced Lita Layer 4, a parody of CT’s obsession with empty buzzwords, name drop and memability.

It became one of our most well performing post on the account.

it made me feel things like

the most painful reality watching serious infra projects being pressured to:

- gamify testnet / product launches (even though most are fundamentally B2B)

- dumb down research into engagement farming soundbites

- engage in CT fights (because conflict drives clicks)

yes i poked fun at Succinct, Risc 0 and Nexus for a bit. not as an insult, because. I get it. we’re all playing the same game, making the same compromises

VC needs returns --> tokens must appeal to retail traders --> mindshare goes to the loudest, not the best --> complex work gets ignored without hype (happens to us a lot)

consequences?

- roadmaps get distorted (features chosen for marketability, not utility)

- roadmaps follow token launches, not technical needs

- GTM speed > security

- cryptographers and engineers become content writers

- real innovation gets buried under layers of simplification

- top talent burns out from constant performance

while vc money has accelerated ZK research at unprecedented speeds, this funding comes with strings attached (edit: especially when the tech is too early and hasn’t found PMF for traditional revenue models).

runway doesnt last forever and VCs need token launches to exit. communities want simple narratives. CT optimises for memes and tribalism.

this isn’t just about marketing, it’s about misaligned incentives.

A future where the best cryptography and academics gets reduced to memeable slogans is quite sad.