Crypto Has a Four-Year Window to Reach Unstoppable Size: Kain Warwick, Infinex

Kain Warwick, the mind behind Synthetix and now Infinex, believes that crypto has a golden window of four years to become so massive that it’s essentially untouchable. At a recent conference in Bangkok, Warwick expressed his confidence that mass adoption within the next four years could secure the future of crypto, making it too big to fail.

He sees Infinex, his latest project, as a solution to the problems arising from centralized platforms like FTX and BlockFi. Infinex aims to offer the user-friendly experience of centralized exchanges while maintaining the transparency and individual control associated with decentralized finance.

Although Infinex is currently centralized due to its operation out of a single office in Sydney, Warwick assures that its non-custodial nature ensures the safety of users’ assets even in the face of potential shutdowns or attacks. The ultimate goal is for platforms like Infinex to grow to a point where shutting them down would be practically impossible—a strategy Warwick likens to Uber’s success.

While Infinex is still in its early stages and lacks the full functionality of major centralized exchanges, Warwick has plans to list the top 500 crypto assets by market cap in early 2025. Additionally, Infinex’s upcoming features, such as passkeys to enhance security and Near Protocol’s crosschain swap technology, aim to make crypto more accessible to the mainstream.

One notable incident involving a user losing $400,000 worth of Patron NFTs due to a security breach prompted Warwick to reconsider the security measures used by Infinex. He now advocates for passkeys to replace traditional seed phrases, inspired by the security practices of tech giants like Google and Apple. Despite the potential advantages of passkeys, there are still concerns over their adoption and user experience.

In September, Infinex’s Patron NFT sale raised over $67 million, deviating from traditional fundraising models by offering no promises of returns to investors. Warwick acknowledges that certain pricing decisions, like offering locked Patrons at a discount, posed challenges, but views them as learning experiences in navigating the evolving crypto landscape. Ultimately, Infinex and projects like it represent a push towards a more decentralized, transparent future within the crypto industry.