Why is there a need for a 'Palantir' in the crypto world?
Recently, while researching the Sign project, I kept wondering: is there anyone in the crypto world doing the same thing? After looking around, there really isn't a second one.
Until a couple of days ago, I came across news about the traditional big data giant Palantir, and I suddenly slapped my thigh – isn't this the reference object I was looking for!
First, let me give a brief introduction to Palantir for friends who haven't heard of it: the company was founded in 2003, and its core clients are the CIA and the Pentagon, specifically helping the government with massive data infrastructure.
But the reality is harsh; it lost money for a full 17 years! It was burning cash year after year until 2020, and only in 2023 did it finally achieve a full year of positive net profit. Wall Street mocked it as a 'bottomless pit', but now its market value has surpassed 250 billion dollars!
Looking back at @SignOfficial ($SIGN ), you will find an extremely bizarre sense of similarity between the two. Both are engaged in ToG (government-facing) underlying infrastructure work, doing heavy lifting that sounds grand but is hard to see returns in the short term. Palantir helps the government clarify data, while Sign helps the government build on-chain identity systems. The most critical point is that both are serving the world's slowest decision-makers, the most reluctant to spend money – the leaders of various governments.
Self-sustaining ability: Palantir lost money for almost 20 years, relying entirely on continuous financing and capital to survive. And Sign? By its fourth year in 2024, it had already earned 15 million dollars in service fees through its TokenTable service for project parties to issue tokens! It not only has a grand narrative but also has cash flow in motion.
Different geographical starting points: Of course, Palantir's success is largely due to the incredible connections of founder Peter Thiel, who can directly knock on the door of the Pentagon and earns money from the wealthiest clients globally. In contrast, Sign is focusing on the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa, where the budgets and technological acceptance levels are not on the same scale, and many political and business relationships have to be built from scratch. A good starting point doesn’t mean the path will be easy.
Palantir at least helps us verify a hard logic: the ToG infrastructure track can definitely produce giants with a market value of hundreds of billions. For this type of project, the least concern should be how advanced the technology is; what you need to prepare the most is the patience to accompany it in a long run.
