RE: Just because we live in the wild west, it does not mean we should accept criminal activity as being normal.
Once again my friend you offer too much to ponder in one article...would take multiple sittings to truly answer...however...my job demands over next few months allow me no such luxury...so allow me some unprocessed thoughts...
I invested initially on a lark...thought the concept sounded cool...I saw it as potentially the future based on the way I see the "younger" generation glued to their digital gadgets...and over time its become more fascinating as markets expanded along with many more coins...technologies....and best of all...its worth was exploding!
Personally...once one crosses into the techno world....they are vulnerable...our credit cards...bank accounts...identities...are regularly stolen...the big data base in the cloud probably knows more about me than my best friends....so unless one goes off the grid...I feel I need to do the best I can to be diligent...but....
In terms of the crypto world...no doubt...its anything goes...but those of us who have been around a while...through the multiple boom and bust times...been hustled by a telephone stock broker...a real estate investment or even charitable scam....realizes this risk...is it fair? just? of course not...and perhaps its because I work for myself I have learned risk is part of the equation...and if lucky...the risk of success outweighs the risk of failure...
In terms of crypto investment....some of what has allowed prices to boom is its unbridled unregulated nature...will regulation happen...of course...will it be good??? Yes and no...who knows...can one truly regulate the blockchain?? China is supposedly doing it...probably under the threat of death...is that totally stopping every Chinese citizen from trading crypto?? Probably not...Will government coins suplant the current "private" coins?? Who knows...those of us who invest since we don't believe fiat in the long term will maintain its value...certainly wouldn't jump into government based crypto...and I think a lot of crypto will have real world use and have a value outside of government interference...
So there's no way of knowing where all this leads in my simple mind...its so out of the box...no one can predict...which is what makes it kinda cool to be involved near the beginning...and as far as what I invest in...yes...I try these days to purchase crypto that seems to have possible long term real world use...no one knows for sure...no doubt...the junk will get shaken out over time...and when all is said and done...I don't want all my investments...which will decide how much of a future I have...all tied up in banks....or stock market funds...that in some ways I see as more risky over time...am I nuts?? Perhaps...but...if not...wow...
I guess it was a rather emotional post and when I am emotional I tend to write longer posts but they are at least honest.
Make no mistake, online security will be the biggest issue this coming decade. It is built on a house of cards. In certain areas in cities crime is so high insurance is not available, if insurance companies begin to refuse banks or online shopping then it will lead to some form of financial apocalypse.
Crypto has the potential to change the world but without security it could also destroy it. Nothing lasts if it is built on FUD.
Control over the block chain is virtually impossible I agree, but then if it is deemed as illegal with a prison sentence attached I doubt if many ordinary folks would take the risk to themselves for their families. And as technology advances so will the methods of tracking and detecting. The web is infallible and always will be until the quantum web is invented. In the mean time all we can do is be as diligent as possible and try to balance the risks. What makes me so angry it that I did not fully foresee the threat from hackers and scammers would have on the crytpo-currency. Think about it, if we were all completely safe owning the altcoins then banks would have already been destroyed by now. The only thing that can make crypto grow is main-stream adoption and for the main stream population to get involved they need two things. Security and ease of use. Government crypto-tokens will offer that. Some altcoins will survive but many will vanish or go underground and once again be viewed as criminal.
Thanks for the feedback, always good to hear your thoughts my good fellow.