You don’t know me, and that’s okay. I’m a nobody. I’m someone who started his cryptocurrency and blockchain journey only a few months ago.

I missed Bitcoin’s explosion (well, I saw it from afar, like most people) and the alt-coin’s subsequent explosion. But, I’ve likened myself to something akin to a crypto astronomer lately — taking to the stars and discovering the solar system’s present through its rapidly expanding past.

In that journey, I found Tron.

Since that happened a couple of months ago, I’ve found myself learning about this Justin Sun guy. I’ve watched live press conferences from China. I’ve traded reading Kansas City Royals box scores for Tron (and other) whitepapers. (Okay, that part wasn’t a sacrifice. My Royals suck this year, but I digress.) I’ve worn out Google searching for news several times per day. My Twitter follows have transformed almost overnight as I connect with other crypto players, leaders, media, enthusiasts, and investors.

It’s kind of been a recreation of me in a way. The crypto me didn’t exist until now. That’s the fun part.

The intriguing part has been to watch with wonder if Tron — which, until April, was just this really fantastic arcade game I grew up playing — truly is the Apple of our time. Is it going to transform the web? Is it, if I can go back to my astronomy metaphor, a galaxy being born in front of our eyes?

My growing Tron bag speaks for me here. I think it could very well be.

But, the reporter side of me (part of my professional life was spent in radio and print) leaves open the possibility* that Tron could be all that, but it also could be something less, or even far less.

*Let’s talk about what I mean by possibility. When I say this, it doesn’t mean I think it’s true, or even partly true. A key piece of critical thinking is to allow for all possibilities and then allow information and testing to eliminate the possibilities that prove false.

And so, it caught my attention (and many others’) when Lucas Nuzzi dropped a few Tweets this week that Tron isn’t special at all. In fact, Lucas all but called his shot that Justin Sun’s “Independence Day” from Ethereum will look far more like the scene from Will Smith’s movie when aliens blow up the White House than it will be a celebration.

It has a smell, no doubt. But, does what Nuzzi said have the aroma of perfect prime rib? Or, is it end-of-workout stank armpits?

I consider the transparency with which Sun has presented his vision and product. I consider the bounty program open to literally everyone…for weeks…with a huge payoff. I consider the amount of support and/or excitement from exchanges, companies, developers, and potential Super Representatives. I consider tangible results shown through super-transparent testing that show nodes and blocks doing exactly what they are supposed to.

And I think things like:

“Damn, sure am glad nobody who is taking part in this process seems to share the same thoughts as Nuzzi.”

And …

“Wow, there are a lot of people, hundreds or thousands by now, all way smarter than me, who have had direct exposure to the same product that Nuzzi purports to have witnessed. And they ALL missed this?”

And …

“If those people didn’t miss the things that Nuzzi proclaims, this is one of the largest conspiracies ever. Period.”

And …

“Nuzzi’s just now saying this?”

Put all of those things together, along with the already debunked “sophisticated” scam blog posts, and I can’t go any farther down Nuzzi’s road other than to say I feel like I’ve walked in, smelled the room, and the only whiff I’m getting is a FUD burger.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Nuzzi is right.

I’m willing to bet he isn’t.

****

What topics would you like to read about as we all grow with Crypto, Tron, and all the rest? Shoot an email to kitchenski@gmail.com with “Blog idea” in your subject line, or find me on Twitter at twitter.com/curtiskitchen. And, FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a Tron (TRX) and Ripple (XRP) investor. I am not a financial advisor. This content should not be used as a base for or considered to be financial advice.