The blockchain sector is constantly evolving in an increasingly competitive and now crowded environment. This situation has led some projects to take a tongue-in-cheek approach on the X network, apologizing for providing solid infrastructure.
Polkadot, ICP, and Taiko apologize
The number of blockchains that are supposed to do better than their predecessors has been steadily increasing over time, since the emergence of a wave of Ethereum killers in the 2020s. This is a highly competitive sector, a significant portion of which now takes the form of layer 2… associated with Ethereum.
In this context, some projects are struggling to succeed. Is this why the Polkadot, Internet Computer (ICP), and Taiko projects have just posted apologies on the X network? The question obviously arises. Indeed, almost identical statements of this type have just appeared on several official accounts, with the key message being to “apologize” to their communities. However, an ironic tone quickly emerges in the face of what looks more like a desire to assert the power of the blockchains involved.
“We sincerely apologize”
This exercise was apparently started by layer 2 Taiko, with a post dated November 11 apologizing for “making creation on Ethereum too easy.” Perhaps this is a way to make people forget the collapse of its total value locked (TVL) by more than 99% since its peak last December at $430 million, with an amount currently estimated at… $1.5 million.
It seems that our data-driven rollup architecture has created too much freedom, compatibility, and ease of use. We sincerely apologize.
Taiko
We’re sorry pic.twitter.com/lOziea0RoH
— Taiko.eth 🥁 (@taikoxyz) November 11, 2025
This was an opportunity for Polkadot (DOT) to repeat the formula, apologizing for its part in “making blockchains a little too unreliable,” with an ecosystem presented as highly resistant to scams that would have encouraged “everyone to rush to decentralize, add ‘on-chain’ to everything, and wonder why their token holders suddenly expect to have a say.”
So yes, we’re sorry for making Web3 a place where trust must be earned, not assumed.
Polkadot
On the ICP side, the post dedicated to these fake apologies is presented as “unofficial.” At issue is “an AI that writes its own code on the blockchain,” whose goal was not to “make your computer science degree obsolete so quickly.” This was an opportunity to promise to “try not to be years ahead of everyone else.”
This is clearly a humorous exercise, but it could nevertheless be seen as a somewhat desperate attempt to claim a status and performance that the crypto community would not recognize as having true value.
