On December 31, 2019, TRON founder Justin Sun closed his final acquisition of the year: the decentralized live-streaming platform DLive officially joined the BitTorrent ecosystem and began its migration to the TRON network. Sun, who acquired DLive—a platform launched in 2018 with over 5 million monthly active users—stated he hoped the move would "bring value to the entire world." Just two weeks prior, however, the social media influencer faced a setback on Sina Weibo, where his account with more than a million followers was abruptly suspended. After failing to resolve the issue through official channels, he reluctantly shifted his focus to Twitter.
December 25, 2019—the day before Christmas—was anything but festive for Alex Saunders, founder of the mining news outlet "Juejin News." He discovered that YouTube had removed over 50 videos from his personal channel, flagging them as "harmful or dangerous content." To prevent further deletions, Saunders immediately set his remaining videos to private and reached out to YouTube's support team, but received no response. The situation only worsened as more videos were taken down, leaving him feeling helpless. On Twitter, he shared that he had just hired new staff and that his family depended on him, yet he had nowhere to turn as his content continued to vanish.
Hamstrung by regulatory pressures, those working in the still-unrecognized crypto space endured an exceptionally tough 2019. They grappled not only with industry stigma and a climate disrupted by bad actors, but also with the constant threat of being banned or deplatformed by major tech companies—risking the loss of their last remaining channels for outreach.
Breaking out proved extraordinarily difficult.
01
The Arrogance and Bias of Tech Giants
Alex Saunders was not alone. Canadian Bitcoin educator BTCSessions, analyst Sunny Decreate, programmer Ivan on Tech, cryptocurrency educator Omar Bham, and crypto media founder Michael "Boxming" Gu—all creators focused on cryptocurrency—also had their videos removed.
The purge of hundreds of videos sent shockwaves through the crypto community. More distressing for the creators than the mass deletion was receiving stern warnings from YouTube stating that posting similar content again would lead to permanent account suspension. Most of the removed videos, including those from Juejin News, were labeled "harmful or dangerous content."
As public outcry grew and discussions raged on Twitter, YouTube—unable to withstand the pressure—eventually responded: "All affected videos were mistakenly removed. They will be fully restored, and no penalties will be imposed on the channels."
On December 27, Alex Saunders confirmed that all 250 of his deleted videos had been reinstated—but no one from YouTube reached out to explain what happened. Though it turned out to be a false alarm, the incident laid bare a deepening crisis of trust.
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Google, YouTube's actions reflect, to some extent, Google's stance toward the industry. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin even suggested that Google's shadow may have loomed over the entire episode.
Coincidentally, on December 27, the cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask suddenly tweeted that Google had removed its Android client from the Google Play Store for violating the Financial Services Policy, specifically the prohibition against apps that mine cryptocurrency on devices. The MetaMask team promptly appealed, urging Google to reconsider, but the appeal was swiftly rejected.
In response, MetaMask lead developer Dan Findlay stated: "I sincerely hope Google's reviewers will own up to their mistake—but given YouTube's prior crackdown on crypto content, this incident leaves me deeply dissatisfied with Google's policies. If we keep compromising with monopolistic entities that act arbitrarily, building something better becomes nearly impossible."
MetaMask Removed from Google Play Store
This was not MetaMask's first removal by Google. As early as July 25, 2018, its browser extension was taken down from the Chrome Web Store. Although it was quickly reinstated after an investigation, MetaMask reported receiving no notification at the time—and when they inquired, Google's explanation was simply: "mistaken deletion."
History repeated itself with eerie similarity: repeated "mistakes" that revealed Google's underlying arrogance and bias.
Google isn't the only one—Apple is equally vigilant. On August 9, 2018, Apple's App Store purged over 20,000 apps overnight, including many related to cryptocurrency; multiple wallet apps were delisted. Two months earlier, Apple had revised its App Store guidelines, imposing restrictions on wallets, trading platforms, mining tools, and ICO-related apps.
Apple's restrictions are particularly severe in mainland China, where even fully compliant submissions face slim odds of approval. As a workaround, many practitioners distribute "Enterprise Edition" or "TestFlight Beta" versions to bypass Apple's review—but because these channels are unofficial, users often encounter issues like "signature expiration," "app crashes," and "application expiry."
On December 28, 2019, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on Reddit that Apple was stripping DApp functionality from App Store offerings. To "comply with App Store policies," Coinbase Wallet would remove its DApp browser. Similarly, multi-chain wallet provider TokenPocket had earlier removed the DApp browser from its iOS app.
02
Silicon Valley Leader Jack Dorsey's "Bluesky" Vision
As both CEO of Twitter and a long-time Bitcoin enthusiast, Jack Dorsey likely understands the significance of blockchain and cryptocurrency better than most. Leading Twitter has given him firsthand insight into the flaws of excessive platform centralization.
On December 11, Dorsey unexpectedly announced via Twitter that he would fund a small, independent team of five—"open-source architects, engineers, and designers"—to develop open, decentralized standards for social media, with the ultimate goal of benefiting Twitter itself.
Dorsey explained that social media faces serious challenges: centralized models struggle to curb misinformation without burdening users; platforms have drifted from their core purpose of helping users share content, becoming overly reliant on opaque "algorithmic recommendations"; and they often steer users toward controversial content rather than constructive material. Finally, he noted that blockchain technology offers an open, sustainable, and governable—even token-incentivized—solution. While much work remains, the broad framework is taking shape.
In Dorsey's vision, this represents a ground-up transformation of social media. Twitter doesn't intend to control the project but aims to be one participant in this massive undertaking, hoping to connect with broader communities and steer its algorithms toward positive content. He dubbed this initiative "Bluesky."
Dorsey's announcement sparked widespread discussion, with many internet professionals voicing strong support. Within crypto, thought leaders including Vitalik Buterin, block.one CEO Brendan Blumer, Binance founder CZ (Changpeng Zhao), TRON founder Justin Sun, Morgan Creek Digital founder Anthony "Pomp" Pompliano, and Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson all endorsed the move.
Anthony "Pomp" Pompliano called it a "remarkable initiative," adding that Dorsey uniquely possesses the credibility to drive it forward.
Brendan Blumer noted that VOICE—a decentralized social media platform built on EOSIO—has been in development for years and expressed eagerness to collaborate with the Bluesky team.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said he was thrilled to see Twitter investing in protocols rather than just platforms, highlighting that protocols excel at enabling fair use, encouraging good behavior, and lowering barriers to entry.
Beyond crypto, traditional-sector figures also offered advice. The Firefox team extended an olive branch, noting their 15-year investment in a free and open internet. Neha Narula, Director of MIT's Cryptocurrency Research Initiative, shared a 100-page report titled "Building Decentralized Social Media." Tim Pastoor, founder of digital identity startup 2way, compared Dorsey's move to AT&T's 1947 funding of Bell Labs, which led to breakthroughs like the transistor and solar cell.
The broad support for Dorsey reflects growing public frustration with monopolistic tech giants and a deep, urgent desire for change. When people tire of environments where power is fundamentally unbalanced, leaving and rebuilding becomes an inevitable path forward.
03
The Crypto World's Breakout Battle
Jack Dorsey's Bluesky team is poised to launch—but the exploration of decentralized social media has already seen years of trial and turbulence.
As early as 2011, Bill Ottman founded Minds, an open-source, decentralized social network intended as a free, sustainable alternative to Facebook—a mission closely aligned with Dorsey's vision. Minds emphasizes transparency, privacy, and free speech, allowing users full control over their data. In Ottman's view, open-source systems will inevitably become mainstream, much like Wikipedia, and Minds could serve as a refuge if governments impose strict censorship on centralized platforms.
Decentralized Social Media Platform Steemit
Launched in 2016, Steemit is arguably the most prominent blockchain-based social network today. Unlike Minds, which grew from ideals of free speech, Steemit is driven by a cryptocurrency economy. Its slogan, "Words Turn Into Gold," reminds users that insightful ideas can translate into tangible value.
On Steemit, users can publish any content without fear of deletion, but a native moderation system filters spam from the homepage. If a majority downvotes a post, the author's influence score drops. Repeatedly posting low-quality content leads to "reputation bankruptcy": while authors can still post, no one will see their content.
Beyond text-and-image platforms, DTube aims to build a decentralized video-sharing site using blockchain infrastructure. Like Steemit, it employs the Steem blockchain's incentive model and stores media via IPFS, a decentralized storage system.
DTube, like other decentralized platforms, strives to be censorship-resistant, transparent, and permissionless. Creators will never face arbitrary deletions like on YouTube, freeing them to focus on content rather than platform rules.
New projects continue to emerge. On June 1, 2019, block.one—the parent company of EOS—announced at its "June1" event the upcoming launch of Voice, a decentralized social product. Beyond standard features, Voice introduces "UBI (Universal Basic Income)" to empower everyone to find and amplify their voice on the blockchain.
Despite progress, deep-seated challenges remain. Under crypto-economic incentives, motivations for creating content can become less pure, leading to plagiarism, recycled posts, and vote manipulation. Weak governance allows pornographic, violent, and spam content to flourish, forcing teams to spend significant resources on moderation. Moreover, because these platforms are built on blockchain, early adopters are overwhelmingly crypto natives, resulting in a disproportionate amount of blockchain-related content versus arts, lifestyle, or humanities topics. High entry barriers and steep learning curves stifle user growth, making it difficult to foster genuine social interaction.
Nonetheless, the tide is turning, and technological progress offers more choices than ever. Whether the crypto industry can break free from the constraints of the traditional world remains to be seen—countless tests lie ahead.