A small, niche project has a strange superpower: it flies under the radar. That gives it room to improve, experiment, and toughen up without the pressure of the spotlight. Today, this is happening on several fronts. Examples that more or less fit this logic: -Tor: it's not massive, but its relative “smallness” allows it to survive with a mixture of technical resilience and political disinterest. When it is attacked, it is usually surgical, not total. -I2P: even more niche, which makes it less attractive as a primary target. -Tails: useful, critical, but marginal. It survives because few people use it, which reduces the incentive to attack it. -Matrix/Element in extreme encryption mode: adopted by technicians, journalists, and some communities, but not by the masses, which keeps it tolerated. -Monero itself today: like it or not, it remains in a range where delisting and narrative are enough. It is not a strategic priority at the state level. View quoted note →