The problem I see is that everyone in tech seems to think they're an expert on cryptocurrencies while simultaneously being at the ignorant end of the Dunning–Kruger effect (and failing basic statistics.)
Cryptocurrency makes it easy to enhance ones own confirmation bias because the industry has had such a bumpy ride towards progress. If you want to take an overly harsh perspective about the technology then by all means just Google 'a list of hacks and scams.' You'll be entertained for days with what you find, and at the end of your research you will have more than enough material to make yourself look smart on twitter.
That's also another point. If you can talk about basic flaws in a technology by playing 'Dr Doom' then you can score free points from the audience without having to know much about the subject. It's an easy way to look credible because most people are followers on social media and won't have the time or interest to look more deeply.
So lets look at the claim that cryptocurrency 'has no use and only causes problems.' To disprove this we only need to find a few examples of use-cases that are very hard if not impossible to do under traditional finance.
1. Trusts -- escrow -- jointly controlled accounts with arbitrary leverage over assets. You can't do this under the traditional financial system because the legal system can be used to dispute ownership which commonly happens when a will is attested.
2. Confidential transactions. Anonymous money and accounts. Traditional finance views this as a disadvantage, whereas FinTech views privacy as a right.
3. Flash loans. Flash loans are a way to finance a smart contract that borrows money and repays it atomically in a single transaction. Flash loans have radically changed capital markets but their power is still being understood. Potentially this is a new form of funding for automated companies.
4. Price stability. It's possible to design cryptocurrencies in such a way that their price trends towards some function. This property is highly desirable when people are going to be storing their wealth long-term. If we can build more stable currencies we can protect against flash crashes and even economic depression.
5. Smart contracts. Programmable agreements for wealth exchange make it possible to provide unique financial instruments that are engineered to be less risky than anything traditional markets can accomplish. This is due to increased transparency, collateral requirements, and protocols that help enforce fairness.
There are too many examples to list in how cryptocurrencies are shaking up not just finance but many other industries. To claim that it all amounts to fraud, gambling, and ponzi schemes just tells me the author has no understanding of the transformations taking place right in front of them. They'll probably be left crying 'its a scam' long after society has silently replaced most aging FinTech with platforms that provide enforceable safe-guards... because in the end it is more transparent, flexible, and when done right -- safer than alternatives.
Cryptocurrency makes it easy to enhance ones own confirmation bias because the industry has had such a bumpy ride towards progress. If you want to take an overly harsh perspective about the technology then by all means just Google 'a list of hacks and scams.' You'll be entertained for days with what you find, and at the end of your research you will have more than enough material to make yourself look smart on twitter.
That's also another point. If you can talk about basic flaws in a technology by playing 'Dr Doom' then you can score free points from the audience without having to know much about the subject. It's an easy way to look credible because most people are followers on social media and won't have the time or interest to look more deeply.
So lets look at the claim that cryptocurrency 'has no use and only causes problems.' To disprove this we only need to find a few examples of use-cases that are very hard if not impossible to do under traditional finance.
1. Trusts -- escrow -- jointly controlled accounts with arbitrary leverage over assets. You can't do this under the traditional financial system because the legal system can be used to dispute ownership which commonly happens when a will is attested.
2. Confidential transactions. Anonymous money and accounts. Traditional finance views this as a disadvantage, whereas FinTech views privacy as a right.
3. Flash loans. Flash loans are a way to finance a smart contract that borrows money and repays it atomically in a single transaction. Flash loans have radically changed capital markets but their power is still being understood. Potentially this is a new form of funding for automated companies.
4. Price stability. It's possible to design cryptocurrencies in such a way that their price trends towards some function. This property is highly desirable when people are going to be storing their wealth long-term. If we can build more stable currencies we can protect against flash crashes and even economic depression.
5. Smart contracts. Programmable agreements for wealth exchange make it possible to provide unique financial instruments that are engineered to be less risky than anything traditional markets can accomplish. This is due to increased transparency, collateral requirements, and protocols that help enforce fairness.
There are too many examples to list in how cryptocurrencies are shaking up not just finance but many other industries. To claim that it all amounts to fraud, gambling, and ponzi schemes just tells me the author has no understanding of the transformations taking place right in front of them. They'll probably be left crying 'its a scam' long after society has silently replaced most aging FinTech with platforms that provide enforceable safe-guards... because in the end it is more transparent, flexible, and when done right -- safer than alternatives.