Anthony Pompliano has a blunt message for the crypto industry: most of it is already dead and won't be coming back. In a video posted to X on May 6, the prominent Bitcoin advocate argued that the sector is littered with 'ghost chains' — networks with barely any activity — and 'zombie coins' — tokens whose markets have collapsed but still have holders clinging on. He didn't spare the living either, calling out a shift from 'hardcore missionaries' focused on Bitcoin's technology to 'mercenaries' chasing quick money through meme tokens, scam coins, and outright market manipulation.
The Consensus test
Pompliano pointed to a moment at the Consensus conference this year that crystallized the disconnect. He asked the room if millions of crypto coins could thrive long-term. Not a single attendee raised a hand. For Pompliano, that silence says everything about an industry that lost its way.
Wall Street moves in
The real action, in his view, is happening outside crypto's old guard. He highlighted Morgan Stanley's plan to launch Bitcoin trading through E-Trade, which has about 8.6 million clients. The brokerage plans to undercut Coinbase on fees and will use ZeroHash infrastructure for the back end. Charles Schwab is also in the mix. Pompliano sees this as Wall Street quietly absorbing the parts of crypto that actually work — and doing it cheaper.
Meanwhile, crypto-native firms are starting to look like traditional brokerages. Pompliano noted that several are adding equities, prediction markets, options, and commodities, blurring the line between the two worlds. The irony isn't lost on him.
Saylor's pivot
He also flagged a comment from Michael Saylor, the executive chairman of Strategy. Saylor recently said his company could sell Bitcoin or derivatives to fund preferred dividends. Pompliano called that a shift from what would have been considered 'blasphemy' in Bitcoin's early days to standard capital allocation today. The old guard's purity is giving way to pragmatism.
Not all bad news
Pompliano's conclusion is surprisingly optimistic about the shakeout. He said the dying parts of crypto are necessary — the resilient parts have to compete on a bigger stage, not hide in a boutique industry. The timeline is vague, but the direction is clear: the Morgan Stanley E-Trade rollout will be a real test of how fast traditional finance can swallow crypto's survivors.
