Whitepapers dense with promises grand,
But gas fees drain every planned stand.
Whales move markets with silent hands,
While retail traders chase shifting sands.    

Proof of stake replaced proof of work,
A compromise for energy's smirk.
Layer twos stretch transaction limits thin,
Where trustless systems try to win.  

Bridges fail, wallets get drained,
Private keys forever obtained.
The immutable chain remembers all,
Even the mistakes we're destined to fall.    

DeFi yields tempt the greedy hand,
But liquidity pools leave little land.
Impermanent loss takes its toll,
As tokens burn and futures fold.    

Yet beneath the noise and greed,
Something shifts in how we lead.
Currency without a state's decree,
Ownership beyond corporate sea.    

The bubble bursts, the cycle ends,
New protocols quietly mend.
Some will vanish, some remain,
Through bear and bull, through pain and gain.    

Not salvation, not a scam,
Just code doing what it can.
The future's neither here nor gone
It's being written, still undone.