Anon pfps are out, and being myself is so 2025 😊 When I entered the crypto industry I carried myself with a kind of paranoia, I liked to think of it as Productive Paranoia. Initially, it was just op sec, but it became a lifestyle: I wore glasses and a baseball cap indoors, always taking the Al Capone seat when entering a room - fully defensive and scanning for threat. I rotated through anon accounts to say how I really felt. Then in person, too, with non crypto crowds I started to censor my true thoughts, especially after FTX. I assumed, that people are inherently dangerous and out to get me. This industry can entrench these beliefs - the hacks, scams, wrench attacks, and the liklihood of social withdrawal stemming from being chronically online - especially during volatility when your portfolio is constantly on a ride I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. But through meditation and mindfulness this year, and hundreds of positive interactions over the last 3 years have culminated and I’ve had a shift: People are good, the world is inherently kind, op sec is vital, but living in fear, and being fearful of sharing your true wisdom is not a productive lifestyle. I can go to a deposit box to lock up a ledger in fear, or I can do it with a smile. Being positive and open is a choice that can be renewed daily. Maybe this choice isn’t right for everyone - but it’s right for me, now! While paranoia felt like a shield, I’m ready to shed it and be myself.