One thing is certain, no one cares about cryptocurrencies anymore. After rising into the stratosphere as part of the everything-rally post covid, Bitcoin and Ethereum are now down by more than two thirds from their highs.
All the ugly cousins and the likes of Polygon, Cardano, or Litecoin fared even worse. The NFT markets got obliterated and when there are no more buyers, it is impossible to get out. Something many would be believers learnt the hard way.
The infrastructure crumbled. Exchanges went bankrupt, there was over leverage, there was fraud, and it was an unmitigated disaster. In fact, a Governor of the Fed, the President of the ECB, and the Head of the Bank of England have all said cryptocurrencies are worth zero.
The only thing that is surprising is that we are still here and there remains more than US$1 trillion invested in the space. So, what gives? Well, there is the technology. Blockchain is clearly the answer to providing a certified copy of my passport, in wet ink and sent by registered mail every time we want to do anything.
I also don’t see us continuing to pay exorbitant fees to send our monies in different currencies for much longer or waiting several days for our cash to clear. Then there is that express train towards a cash free society.
With governments keen to launch digital versions of themselves to better control everything, ask yourself this: do you really want big brother knowing all that you do, or would you prefer decentralisation and your 'Freeedoom' (Braveheart, 1995)?