It has been more than 10 years since I first came across this idea of cryptocurrency.
I was standing in our kitchen during a family gathering and my sister-in-law - knowing that I was into technology - told me about this new digital money called Bitcoin.
I looked into it, but soon determined that I lacked the technical knowledge to start a mining rig... this was back in the day when you didn't yet need to have an entire server farm to mine Bitcoin... and I wanted to "wait and see" whether it was just going to be a passing fad.
I loved the idea though, and felt a hope for a future with such an alternative payment system.
It was never really part of my thinking that it was a way to make money.
It was probably a good five years before I became part of Steemit, and my interest in crypto was somewhat rekindled. Rekindled enough, obviously, that I am still here after 6 1/2 years!
But how is crypto actually doing? Did we lose our way by getting so wrapped up in making fast money rather than pursuing the original ideal of creating an alternative payment system?
Sometimes it feels like we did...
And that's what makes me wonder whether crypto can ever get back in the direction of its original idea.
It seems like so many of the challenges the cryptosphere faces are related to the fact it's all about investing these days, and thus ends up always being in the crosshairs of regulators.
Is that really what everyone wants?
What happened to using crypto, rather than just investing in it?
Not that I am complaining about opportunities such as Steemit, mind you...
I suppose we'll just have to be patient and wait and see!
In other news, it sure was great to see our TRX rewards finally fund overnight!
Thanks for stopping by and have a great remainder of your weekend!
How about you? Do you think crypto is living up to its original expectations? Do leave a comment and be part of the conversation!
2023-07-02 02:30 PDT
This is an interesting topic.
I guess an investment is something in which you have some expectation of growth in value over time, while also knowing that there are risks of loss and volatility. You're willing to not exchange this thing today as it might get you a better rate of exchange tomorrow. You might be more inclined to pay for things with something fairly low in volatility yet slowly declining in value over time (fiat government money), rather than paying with the thing you think will probably buy you more in the future.
If we look at Bitcoin's chart, we see that it has done better in purchasing power over the last decade than fiat currency. So it validates the decision of many to Keep Bitcoin as an investment and Pay with fiat.
Due to crypto volatility and low adoption as a payment vehicle, it's hard for a business to accept it as a payment. They likely can't pay many of their suppliers or workers with the crypto they take in, and they're nervous about the value changing against them in the time it takes to turn their crypto income into fiat. This could change if crypto becomes more adopted, but it would likely only be more adopted if it becomes more of a stable coin, thereby losing it's investment allure (unless it is paying 20% interest, as one is).
One way in which crypto is used as payment is in buying other crypto! We swap from one we're bored with to the shiny new crypto which we think has more potential for gain. Or we buy a crypto asset in a game we enjoy. Or we buy a crypto collectible for its art value, or meme cultural significance. So when we stay within the crypto world, we do use crypto as a means of payment.
Just my random thoughts which may or may not be valid, inspired by your post. Thanks for sharing this topic and your thoughts with us!
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