The Anti-Fragility of LEGOLAND
Each year more than 1.6mm tourists flock to the oldest LEGOLAND on the planet in Billund, Denmark. Here, visitors find not one, but ten different, ornate, and skillfully crafted worlds all built from individual pieces of Legos. It’s a marvel to behold. The success of the site was so grand that another nine theme parks currently operate around the world.
What’s unique about these parks is how they captivate the imagination; they show what can be crafted by master builders using simple unique building blocks. In exchange for this effort, visitors pay a fee to enjoy the ride and all is merry.
But it might not be this way were the kids to be set free to roam the park at will. What might ensue could be, well, remarkable, exciting, and perhaps dangerous, and it certainly would test the strength of any park. It would only take one bold child to climb a miniature castle for all hell to break loose. Within minutes, every structure would be under siege, with children seeing who could climb higher than the next. It’s marvelous fun of course until a structure gives way, yielding a cascading collapse of Legos upon the unwitting play makers.
As DeFi protocols gather remarkable steam from speculative investors, we may be set to see a similar testing of structures within these ecosystems, and some may suffer some hurt. Expect it. Lego money is aptly used to describe the remarkable composability (and brilliance) of DeFi components and primitives. And much like LEGOLAND, there are many (and growing) protocols to explore. For a speculator, finding the most skilled architects of promising protocols will become ever important. As the Endless Summer rolls on, be mindful of who may be perched atop the highest peak, and stay focused on total portfolio construction and risk analysis. Be mindful this is an experiment with risk pieces stacked upon risk pieces.
It’s worth noting that not only is LEGOLAND still around, but it is thriving. There are another four future parks underway and most anyone around the world has either played with Legos or has heard of LEGOLAND. These are early innovative innings and nothing goes up or down in a straight line over time. That said, the trend is your friend and we know where innovation is taking us. Mind the fee at the front gate, behave, and remember you’re at a theme park trying to design a new world.
