I Think Crypto's in Big Trouble
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (112802)
United States
July 9, 2022 7:56am CST
Part of the problem facing cryptocurrency right now is simply that there are too many of them. In fact, it is estimated that there are currently 12,000 separate coins or tokens in "circulation."
Consider that around the world there are only about 200 currencies that are circulated by governments as "legal tender."
How does cryptocurrency achieve legitimacy and viability and adoption when it is clear that virtually anyone can simply "make up" a currency and put it on the market?
And at the rate new currencies in the cryptosphere are created, how many will we have in two years? Five years? Ten years?
Provided cryptocurrency does not collapse entirely soon...
Beyond that, you have to keep in mind that "real money," or "fiat," while largely "faith based," is still at least backed up by something real. GDP, for example, among other things.
Cryptocurrency is backed up by nothing at all. It simply exists. And of all the currencies existing in the world, cryptocurrency requires absolute faith in order for it to have any viability or value at all.
There are two things we may see happen here. Either crypto is destined for the dust bin and the annals of history, or it will consolidate dramatically, having the focus be on a few primary ones.
The question is, which ones will those be? Will it be Bitcoin? I am not convinced it will be.
You have to look back at history and see many things that were "invented" that the person who invented it did not become the top player once it WAS invented. Typically the guy who invents something is not the guy who perfects it.
Commodore 64 was the first "personal computer," but the people who created it do not exist anymore. The makers of Beta got beat out by VHS. The Blackberry got beat out by iPhones and other types of smart phones. Internet access, made possible by AOL is now a very different thing.
What is the future of crypto? I think it is anyone's guess, but I see all kinds of problems with what we have now.
8 people like this
7 responses
@LindaOHio (222285)
• United States
10 Jul 22
You may be right. Maybe I should cash out my paltry amount on Noise.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112802)
• United States
10 Jul 22
This is how I am currently viewing my current holdings of crypto, as I have always necessarily considered it. It's a gamble, and not a single dollar I have earned or invested have been dollars I necessarily care if I lose.
I have no idea at all what the direction of crypto is. But I will keep what I have nonetheless. It's either a wise decision or a dumb one, which isn't saying much of course.
I will still earn what I can and what I am willing to put the time toward (which is not much), but have personally stopped buying for quite a while now. Will I ever buy again? I guess that depends on whether or not it looks like Bitcoin is really just in a dip and not on the outs.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222285)
• United States
10 Jul 22
@porwest I hope it recovers enough for you to make a profit and get out.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222285)
• United States
26 Nov 23
@porwest I agree even though I don't know that much about it.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112802)
• United States
10 Jul 22
The problem for me is that while I hear this statement all the time, no one has yet been able to articulate the reason, and therefore it all just seems like wishful thinking or falsely guided hope. If one can't explain the why, it is probably because there is no explanation, and therefore the future is questionable at best.
I can tell you exactly why Ford is a buy, or why gold might not be. I think this is an important consideration when investing in something. There has to be a logical and conclusive reason that is able to be explained in a short paragraph with the ability to expand with real numbers and data that back it up.
@yanzalong (19091)
• Indonesia
9 Jul 22
It might face problems in the end, I guess.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128831)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Jul 22
Personally, I hope it goes away. We don't need new currencies. We are fine with the "real" ones we already have. Besides, I would rather my currency be backed up by something tangible. I may live on faith alone when it comes to religion, but certainly not when it comes to the financial world.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112802)
• United States
25 Nov 23
I think eventually it will. It's just not viable and cannot ever act as a real currency and is too limited and convoluted for anyone to practically use it or even understand it. Beyond that, it does not solve any of the problems cited in the white papers it says it could.
1 person likes this
@Beestring (15373)
• Hong Kong
9 Jul 22
Indeed, there are just too many of them. The industry is still in its infancy. There are still many uncertainties like regulations and institutional adoption of crypto payments. Dare not to touch them at all at this moment.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112802)
• United States
25 Nov 23
That's the other part of it. People miss that it WILL eventually all be regulated in some way, and the more "secret" people wish it to become the more interest governments will have in being able to track it and tax it and whatever else.
I think people are really naive about the whole thing and really haven't thought things through very well.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
9 Jul 22
I think the term cryptocurrency is a misnomer since not all of them were designed to be used as money. Even bitcoin is becoming more of a store of value like gold rather than everyday money that we could spend.
People or should I say investors should pick the good projects out of so many, actually the good projects were designed to solve other problems besides replacing money. The popular eth and ADA were never designed to be money but a vehicle where you could put other blockchains on top of it. NFTs or non fungible tokens are used more for gaming now but in the future in has digital uses like proof of ownership of everything including our houses and cars and other assets.
It cannot die, blockchain is a technolgy so nobody can kill it just like the internet is a technolgy. Some weak Crypto currency, coins and tokens with low market cap and also based on blockchain would die and disappear but the tech behind it will not, I think that's where most of the confusion comes from. Fiat or paper money and coins would probably disappear first because governments around the world would be issuing CBDCs or central bank digital currency in the future when everything becomes digital, again these are also a type of cryptocurrency that is based on blockchain technology.
