What frustrates me is that the crypto scene didn’t have to develop in this direction. While I’m not sure how to get around the electricity requirements necessary for any “coin” to exist on a large scale, the concept of a blockchain doesn’t seem to me like an inherently predatory idea. The idea that coins or NFTs were investment vehicles really provided the opportunity for those with the knowledge and resources to manipulate a poorly regulated market and literal con artists to move in and be the main influence as to how everything played out. Although it’s somewhat of a relief that it’s widely recognized by most people as being a racket, the missed opportunity of the concept of permanent and intangible “objects” to be used for some purpose other than scamming does bum me out a bit.
The thing is, what use case can benefit from a blockchain?
Scamming, gambling, crime and speculation benefited from the lack of regulation, but barely cared about the underlying concept of a bitcoin.
But for anything real, much better solutions have existed for decades or centuries.
Blockchain is a solution without a problem and has been that for 25 years now.
If you have a solution that hasn’t found a problem in 25 years, chances are that there will never be an actual problem that solution would solve.
So the killer apps of blockchain remain scamming, gambling, speculation and crime. Until there are more stringent regulations, then they’ll go back to Western Union and Paysafe cards.
What frustrates me is that the crypto scene didn’t have to develop in this direction. While I’m not sure how to get around the electricity requirements necessary for any “coin” to exist on a large scale, the concept of a blockchain doesn’t seem to me like an inherently predatory idea. The idea that coins or NFTs were investment vehicles really provided the opportunity for those with the knowledge and resources to manipulate a poorly regulated market and literal con artists to move in and be the main influence as to how everything played out. Although it’s somewhat of a relief that it’s widely recognized by most people as being a racket, the missed opportunity of the concept of permanent and intangible “objects” to be used for some purpose other than scamming does bum me out a bit.
The thing is, what use case can benefit from a blockchain?
Scamming, gambling, crime and speculation benefited from the lack of regulation, but barely cared about the underlying concept of a bitcoin.
But for anything real, much better solutions have existed for decades or centuries.
Blockchain is a solution without a problem and has been that for 25 years now.
If you have a solution that hasn’t found a problem in 25 years, chances are that there will never be an actual problem that solution would solve.
So the killer apps of blockchain remain scamming, gambling, speculation and crime. Until there are more stringent regulations, then they’ll go back to Western Union and Paysafe cards.