Crypto predictions, dead or not.

Would you buy any crypto

  • Yes

    Votes: 8 22.9%
  • No

    Votes: 18 51.4%
  • Go back to south Australia

    Votes: 9 25.7%

  • Total voters
    35

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
You can't take the arguments against Bitcoin (of which I mostly agree) and then apply them to all cryptocurrencies though.

Bitcoin was a first implementation and it has not evolved particularly well, but unfortunately its become synonymous with crypto and the arguments get grossly simplified, or there is willful ignorance from those who don't want to read about the alternatives that look to make it more sustainable and underpin the transactions (monetary and contractual) of whole sectors like education, agriculture, trade and insurance.

Yes there is a massive problem with Proof of Work consensus mechanisms in terms of energy efficiency and yes there is way too much hype and scamming for a majority of the crypto projects to be taken seriously. But the science is solid, and as a whole crypto is an active field of research that is being rolled out in a number of different and exciting forms.
 

PINT of Stella. mate!

Many, many Scotches
You can't take the arguments against Bitcoin (of which I mostly agree) and then apply them to all cryptocurrencies though.

Bitcoin was a first implementation and it has not evolved particularly well, but unfortunately its become synonymous with crypto and the arguments get grossly simplified, or there is willful ignorance from those who don't want to read about the alternatives that look to make it more sustainable and underpin the transactions (monetary and contractual) of whole sectors like education, agriculture, trade and insurance.
Other cryptos may have improved upon the negative environmental aspects of Bitcoin and improvements in policing technology may have made them a bit less of a free-for-all for organised crime but there's still the looming spectre of crypto being the cause of the next big financial collapse and possibly the biggest one given the lack of regulation and the soaring popularity of the market.

More importantly however is the existence of Crypto-bros. I'm sorry to say this but crypto-bro conversations are a torture that even the interrogators at Guantanamo Bay would blanche at. It's as if somewhere in a secret lab a deranged scientist decided to splice the genes of a Cross-Fit enthusiast, a Keto-freak and a born-again Christian to produce a Lovecraftian monstrosity capable of the ultimate in tedious zealotry. I thought Instagram Influencers were the worst that humanity had to offer but I was swiftly proven wrong.
 

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
Agree on the crypto-bros and every 16 year old investor with their own youtube channel trying to hype the "next big thing".

I don't know enough about markets and cycles and the impacts of regulation to make calls on where its all going, but there are definitely some ways this can go horribly wrong. The best I can do is compare it to the dotcom crash, from the ashes of which we got Google, Facebook and Amazon.
 

indica

Serial flasher
Easy.. Legalise ALL recreational drugs, throw the money wasted on the war on drugs into child porn fighting and support for domestic violence sufferers.
Win. How much useless money wen into the ANOM thing?

Then bitcoin and monero can become the things they should be. Money, not shady investments and tax evasion strategies,
 

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
Worth also mentioning coins like Tether - a "stable coin" where the value is pegged to the USD (some others are pegged to the Euro, yuan etc). This allows for a direct 1:1 representation of fiat currency as a crypto asset, allowing you to move money around more easily and contribute to projects etc anywhere in the world without needing to deal with the issues of moving traditional currency around.
I read a bit more about Tether - holy shit. Probably should have given another example.
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Crypto zealots tend to crow about how 'untraceable' it is and that attachment Tek put up reinforced my point. The very fact these Dark Side chaps are known amongst the crypto fraternity mean that they're now on a radar - much like Dread Pirate Roberts was. From that point on the length of time before they're identified (and potentially jailed) is simply down to how much effort the authorities want to put in to catching them.
So I did a little bit of research around this, and the hunch was correct, all of the major ransomware attacks end up with the ransoms being paid, using crypto (often Bitcoin) and they are not catching the culprits.

Here's a fun profile for you to follow:


This bot is watching the bitcoin wallets tied to the #WannaCry ransomware attack. USD amounts as of time of tweet.

There's a couple accounts like this, they make for some interesting reading:

377387
 

dirtdad

Wants to be special but is too shy
Cryptocurrency is just an attempt for criminals to make their job easier.
It has no redeeming features.
Wait until the Central Banks get hold of it and ban physical cash!
I don't know whether i fear criminals with crypto or governments with crypto more...
 

PINT of Stella. mate!

Many, many Scotches
Wait until the Central Banks get hold of it and ban physical cash!
I don't know whether i fear criminals with crypto or governments with crypto more...
We're already virtually cash-less. Even prior to COVID and the hygiene issues of physical notes, Paywave and other contactless methods were ubiquitous. I had two overseas holidays in a row where I came home without a single note of local currency.

BTW. Quick question to the cryptofans. What happens when your crypto of choice becomes rendered obsolete by the sheer pace of technological advancement?
I've already seen plenty of people on here say that Bitcoin's environmental issues are irrelevant because there are cleaner, more efficient CCs out there but what are going to be the shelf life of those currencies? If someone has a breakthrough and manages to mine a particular currency much more efficiently then aren't you looking at a flooded market and devaluation?
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
We're already virtually cash-less. Even prior to COVID and the hygiene issues of physical notes, Paywave and other contactless methods were ubiquitous. I had two overseas holidays in a row where I came home without a single note of local currency.

BTW. Quick question to the cryptofans. What happens when your crypto of choice becomes rendered obsolete by the sheer pace of technological advancement?
I've already seen plenty of people on here say that Bitcoin's environmental issues are irrelevant because there are cleaner, more efficient CCs out there but what are going to be the shelf life of those currencies? If someone has a breakthrough and manages to mine a particular currency much more efficiently then aren't you looking at a flooded market and devaluation?
There's nothing backing the currency, that is the worry, but the world in a weird place in time and dumb shit holds value.

377526
 

PINT of Stella. mate!

Many, many Scotches
Wouldn't that question be just as relevant, if not more so for fiat currencies?
Not as relevant as most currencies are tied to the GDP of the country (or group of countries in the case of the Euro) where they are produced and are usually the entire base of economies. If I work internationally I make sure I’m getting paid in USD, euros or pounds because I know they’re not going to collapse in value overnight!

Occasionally you’ll get rogue situations like Zimbabwean dollars or the rouble in the ‘90’s but ultimately fiat currencies are regulated by central banks/reserves etc. and there are safeguards against counterfeiting and oversupply.

Technologically speaking the value of a dollar isn’t going to change by much just because they start using plastic bank notes instead of paper but faster processors and more efficient algorithms will lead to faster mining of a crypto currency automatically devaluing it and there’s no central authority to stop that from happening.

This whole “‘ra ra’ my money is free from gummint control” is basically just another libertarian wet dream and ultimately destined to go the same way as every libertarian utopia attempted in the past.
 

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
but faster processors and more efficient algorithms will lead to faster mining of a crypto currency automatically devaluing it and there’s no central authority to stop that from happening.
Unless you’re speculating on what quantum computing might do, this is not really how it works. And computation speed only relevant to PoW platforms.
 
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