The Last Great Gatekeepers: Why Destroying the App Store Duopoly is the Cypherpunk Mission of our time. 🧵👇

Bitcoin's mission has reached a natural conclusion. Decentralized networks cut out the middlemen. We can now route around banks through code alone. But victory was temporary and now we face a harder battle.

Today, BlackRock manages Bitcoin ETFs on Wall Street exchanges. The revolutionary technology meant to destroy banks now enriches them. Bitcoin succeeded so well it became safe for the establishment. Meanwhile, new gatekeepers rose that Satoshi never imagined.

The real chokepoints aren't banks anymore. They're app stores extracting billions in fees. Payment processors censoring web commerce. AI companies controlling intelligence itself.

The cypherpunk ethos hasn't changed, but the middion has. The battlefield has evolved and we need to evolve with it. We proved decentralized networks work at the speed of light. Now we apply those same principles to our new, more powerful enemies.

The app stores have perfected digital feudalism. Apple and Google demand 30% fees from developers. Credit cards take 3%. This is bigger than greed: It's censorship by spreadsheet. Good often ideas die not from lack of users. But because platform rent kills them first.

Once built, distribution should be free, as it always has been on the internet. Instead, app stores act like medieval guilds. Control who can build, what they can build, and extract rent from every sale.

Solana Mobile: Hardware-Enabled Sovereignty The Seeker embodies evolved cypherpunk principles. Hardware-secured crypto wallets. Private money. Fee-free app distribution. Immutable, virtually free payment rails.

With a $500 price point and 150,000+ pre-orders, there is market demand. This isn't just about avoiding fees. It's infrastructure that routes around multiple gatekeepers simultaneously. Hardware distribution. Payment processing. Software distribution. Access distribution.

The technology exists but the window is closing. We've long been able to bypass app stores entirely, but rarely is there a unified community around doing so. The Solana ecosystem provides a unique, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rally around a cause together.

We must either build for the future or pay rent to access it. Bitcoin proved decentralized networks can eliminate middlemen. That principle works beyond money. It applies to every chokepoint where gatekeepers tax innovation.

The last great gatekeeper won't fall through regulation alone. It falls when developers and users choose alternatives. Just like many choose Bitcoin over banks. The cypherpunk mission continues. The code exists. The incentives align. The only question is whether we'll write it.

The Solana Mobile Hackathon is ending today and then the real work begins. Rarely do incentives and the right thing to do align, so, thank you to everyone who submitted, down with the Duopoly.