When it comes to the world of crypto, narratives matter as much as numbers. For it’s the narrative that drives the figures; the hype around BItcoin being a case in point. Pauline Shangett, Chief Strategy Officer at ChangeNOW, believes this could be something which fails the essence of crypto.
Bitcoin is drifting away from its founding spirit
“Crypto was created as a way to bank the unbanked, away from governments. And now we’re going backwards.” For Shangett, Bitcoin has become a fortress of American capital, hoarded by institutions like BlackRock, MicroStrategy, and Fidelity, and lionized by a political class that sees it as a nationalist asset rather than a universal tool.
“People who are Bitcoin maxis, they’re mostly Americans, they’re a bit more right wing than those in Europe” she observes, tying the Bitcoin discourse to libertarian and right-leaning ideologies that resonate more in the US than in Europe.
Time for Ethereum to shine
Shangett believes Ethereum is quietly evolving into the payment network that crypto was always meant to be. It’s cheap, fast, and increasingly well supported, and is beginning to look like the foundation of digital money and quick transfers. She recalls meeting Vitalik Buterin in Berlin earlier this year and pressing him on why Ethereum hasn’t been able to sell its own story.
“All of this is good, like I’m not gonna lie, the latest EIPs have been brilliant; why isn’t anybody talking about it? Why are you so arrogant when it comes to promoting Ethereum to the masses? In terms of stablecoins it can be the number one payment network because it’s cheap, it’s not slow these days, and it could be a really good opportunity for you guys to be pushing it massively.”
Shangett feels Ethereum could see a steady rise in the bull rally.
“I think that if Vitalik kind of keeps the balance between not really being, you know, interested in money, because, like, his dad is saying that he’s not. And, keeping the tech relevant, engaging the community, encouraging builders to build on Ethereum, I think, we could see is hitting, I want to say like, is going to do like I personally wouldn’t say, is it going to be $6,000 by the end of the year, but I could easily see like 55 to $58,000 or like $100, for Eth, by the end of the bull rally.”
Bitcoin is going MAGA
The contrast between the two cannot be more stark. In Europe and other parts of the world, the emphasis is on altcoins, stablecoins, and payment blockchains. All of them tools that expand access, streamline remittances, and embody the original promise of financial freedom. In the U.S.A., on the other hand, Bitcoin has become the prized vault. A storehouse for wealth rather than a medium of exchange.
“In America, people are paying more attention to Bitcoin specifically because it’s, very American in nature. It’s libertarians, about the free market, things like that. But in Europe, where there is like a gigantic market for crypto, people are more, like it seems, old point oriented and more interested in exploring the financial freedom of it instead of just the potential of the line going up more and more and more and more and more.”
Shangett sees a world where Bitcoin remains the darling of American capitalists while Ethereum powers payments, stablecoin settlements, and global commerce. The divide is not just functional. It is philosophical. Bitcoin, she argues, is becoming the opposite of what crypto was intended to be. Ethereum is stepping into that space, carrying the unfinished mission of democratizing money.