Are Cryptocurrencies the Future or Just Another Bandwagon Sheeple are Jumping on?

[SpongebobFan1994]

Because of the global economic shutdown, some economists have speculated that the push for a cashless society has been accelerated. This could lead to governments working with the banks to create a digital currency that would monitor every purchase you make or every amount you earn, which in-turn would lead to a total Orwellian state. On the flip side, cryptocurrencies have been increasing in popularity, and they might be able to replace national currencies since they can used to make purchases as well, and some cryptocurrencies, such as Monero, are purposely designed to deter surveillance. One of the problems with cryptocurrencies is they are often traded and treated like commodities on the stock market, and the value of them is supposedly based on the amount of national currencies that get pumped into them. Because of this, can cryptocurrencies actually survive if national currencies were to be phased out?

[antikythera]

I'll never invest in a virtual currency and I still think it's a fad doomed to fail. A cashless society is already possible without using virtual currency, the real limiting factor enabling a push of it are older folk who do not trust anything other than cash they can physically handle.

COVID-19 actually highlighted this issue. A Bakery Manager and a Bank Manager were both sacked for assisting elderly folk by enabling or handling cash payments for them.

So in 10-20 years when they are no longer with us (it sounds crass, I know) then a cashless society would definitely work.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Our society is pretty much cashless already. I can count the number of times I actually used physical cash in the past on one hand (and that was because the vendor was behind the times, wanted to charge me for using plastic, or the vendor's system was down). I do most of my shopping online because I'm too old and decrepit to be waddling all over town (more like multiple cities) trying to find something that may or may not be available locally (usually not; I live in a megalopolis yet shopping here is like shopping in some backwoods village). With the current pandemic, it's also safer.

When shopping with plastic, physical cash is not exchanged, only "electrons". Less and less physical cash is being moved now. Many vendors are no longer accepting physical cash anymore. Debit and credit cards are a convenient and fairly safe way to interface with a vendor due to physical safeguards (magnetic stripes and RFID chips); even "smart" phones can often be used now. They do not necessitate memorizing long strings of characters. Cash also tends to be more stable as long as the Government(s) backing it is stable.

The only real advantages cryptocurrency has is it is much harder to trace (it's not untraceable, as many people believe) and is harder for Governments to tax but even those advantages are being gradually whittled away. However, it's very highly volatile and subject to sudden, dramatic crashes that can make the crash of 1929 look like a minor hiccough. It's also inconvenient to use and most places won't accept it. I don't see cryptocurrency going away but I do not see much, if any, future for cryptocurrency.

[Pjotr]

Bandwagon. Buy gold before the currencies (both traditional and crypto) collapse: only with gold there's no financial voodoo possible.

Now if I only had the money to buy me some gold....

[Portreve]

I guess my take on crypto currencies in general is it's going to take a while for the "average person on the street" to use it because of hurdles associated with its acquisition, storage, and use. It lacks the familiarity of conventional electronic currency transactions. This can (and at some point likely will be) overcome.

They either thought I've had of late with the new emphasis being placed on not using physical cash is this might accelerate interest in crypto. We are being inundated with increasing frequency scandal after scandal which informs us more and more how untrustworthy our governments and business community and financial organizations actually are. So, perhaps more people than otherwise might start putting two and two together. Who knows.

[ajgringo619]

While I agree gold may be safer than crypto, I'd hardly brush brush it off as a fad or bandwagon. I've been investing since August 2019 and have made over 80%, and that includes surviving 5 24-hour drops of 10% or more (I'm trying not to think of March of this year! ). If you're not ready for huge price swings, then I'd stay far away from crypto.

Is it safe? That's really the question, isn't it. Considering that everything is digital now (and subject to the same hacking risks) I don't see it being any better/worse that hoarding cash at a bank or stocks in an on-line broker.

[SpongebobFan1994]

Supposedly, you can get paid by mining cryptocurrencies on the blockchain, but that requires a lot of electricity and technology to complete, and not everyone has the financial or technological capabilities of doing that. If someone comes along and invents a cheaper and more efficient mining device, then maybe cryptocurrencies can be useful. If not, then anyone mining them now will look stupider then.

For the last few days, I was typing up ideas for a decentralized digital currency I want to create called Gift, however, it wouldn't be a cryptocurrency. Instead, it would be based on knowledge, skills, services, talents, and labor, which are 5 inexhaustible resources that will always be in both supply and demand, and can't be traded or treated like commodities or investments. Rather than converting cryptocurrencies or national currencies into it, users can download the software, set up a wallet, and like volunteer work, get credits for completing tasks. My goal is to make it nonexchangeable with other currencies so that it can eventually and naturally phase out cryptocurrencies and national currencies. While this means Gift itself can't be taxed, the user will still have to pay taxes that will be the equivalent to the amount of their national currency. For example, when comparing it to a penny in US Dollars, one dollar amount in Gift will be the equivalent of $10 in US Dollars, so if you had to pay a $1.00 in sales tax, the amount in Gift would be Gft 1/10.

Unfortunately, I don't have any background in software development, but when I have the money to hire someone to create that software for me, I'll see about posting a request on here for that. If I can't do that on here, I'll post it on a freelance job board.

[ajgringo619]

Supposedly, you can get paid by mining cryptocurrencies on the blockchain, but that requires a lot of electricity and technology to complete, and not everyone has the financial or technological capabilities of doing that. If someone comes along and invents a cheaper and more efficient mining device, then maybe cryptocurrencies can be useful. If not, then anyone mining them now will look stupider then.

Very few of the crypto tokens are mineable, and those that are require so much computing power that it's not worth it; that's why so many mining rigs are setup in places like Siberia - super-cold and super-cheap electricity. Most of the newer tokens are used to process transactions on the blockchain, or to create/augment the blockchain itself. With the rise of DeFi (decentralized finance), crypto could be headed for another renaissance.

[SpongebobFan1994]

Supposedly, you can get paid by mining cryptocurrencies on the blockchain, but that requires a lot of electricity and technology to complete, and not everyone has the financial or technological capabilities of doing that. If someone comes along and invents a cheaper and more efficient mining device, then maybe cryptocurrencies can be useful. If not, then anyone mining them now will look stupider then.

Very few of the crypto tokens are mineable, and those that are require so much computing power that it's not worth it; that's why so many mining rigs are setup in places like Siberia - super-cold and super-cheap electricity. Most of the newer tokens are used to process transactions on the blockchain, or to create/augment the blockchain itself. With the rise of DeFi (decentralized finance), crypto could be headed for another renaissance.

Even though I gave a few details about Gift, what do you think of it so far? Can you see it working better than cryptocurrencies?

[ajgringo619]

Even though I gave a few details about Gift, what do you think of it so far? Can you see it working better than cryptocurrencies?

So, it's kinda like BAT (via Brave browser). But instead of getting paid for viewing ads, it would be for actual work. I guess it could be done, but it would take widespread adoption that crypto already has.

[SpongebobFan1994]

Even though I gave a few details about Gift, what do you think of it so far? Can you see it working better than cryptocurrencies?

So, it's kinda like BAT (via Brave browser). But instead of getting paid for viewing ads, it would be for actual work. I guess it could be done, but it would take widespread adoption that crypto already has.

TBH, I'd say those two are vaguely similar, and probably the only thing they'd have in common is having a private ledger. Yes, you'd get paid for your hard work instead of viewing ads, but the Gift software would be an unstructured and encrypted P2P network, while the BAT software operates as a blockchain based on Ethereum.

[ajgringo619]

That might work, but I think it would be easier (and have a better chance of being adopted) if the transactions ran on one of the already-established blockchains.

[SpongebobFan1994]

That might work, but I think it would be easier (and have a better chance of being adopted) if the transactions ran on one of the already-established blockchains.

Blockchains are a fairly new development whereas P2P networks existed back in the days of Napster

[ajgringo619]

Because of the global economic shutdown, some economists have speculated that the push for a cashless society has been accelerated. This could lead to governments working with the banks to create a digital currency that would monitor every purchase you make or every amount you earn, which in-turn would lead to a total Orwellian state

This has already happened, at least with Big Tech. I don't know when the world decided that privacy meant nothing; I try to protect mine as well as I can, but it's becoming pointless. You're either on the grid en toto, or not at all.

[SpongebobFan1994]

Because of the global economic shutdown, some economists have speculated that the push for a cashless society has been accelerated. This could lead to governments working with the banks to create a digital currency that would monitor every purchase you make or every amount you earn, which in-turn would lead to a total Orwellian state

This has already happened, at least with Big Tech. I don't know when the world decided that privacy meant nothing; I try to protect mine as well as I can, but it's becoming pointless. You're either on the grid en toto, or not at all.

My advice is to become a human rights advocate and convince enough average people to care enough about their human rights, as well as the rights of other people, that they'll have the mentality of Cobra Kai when fighting back against the puppet masters of society. "STRIKE FIRST! STRIKE HARD! NO MERCY, SIR!"

[ajgringo619]

Lol! I can't even get my own kids (ages 28-33) to care about privacy. They're convinced if you have "nothing to hide" then it doesn't matter.

[SpongebobFan1994]

Lol! I can't even get my own kids (ages 28-33) to care about privacy. They're convinced if you have "nothing to hide" then it doesn't matter.

I'm not going to say them thinking that way is your fault, but when children are little, they are often taught to blindly follow groupthink, and more often than not, they learn that from their parents because the apple didn't fall far from the tree

[Bobb24]

The banks in Australia (actually worldwide) are pushing the cashless agenda forward as people are under lockdown
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... virus.html
Also related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo

[Bobb24]

I'll never invest in a virtual currency and I still think it's a fad doomed to fail. A cashless society is already possible without using virtual currency, the real limiting factor enabling a push of it are older folk who do not trust anything other than cash they can physically handle.

COVID-19 actually highlighted this issue. A Bakery Manager and a Bank Manager were both sacked for assisting elderly folk by enabling or handling cash payments for them.

So in 10-20 years when they are no longer with us (it sounds crass, I know) then a cashless society would definitely work.

A cashless official currency is a virtual currency isn't it ? At this time we still have the freedom and flexibility to decide what method of payment we use. Ever been to a store and found the cashless terminals were down ? I have , and have also had terminals that didn't read my card properly. No problem , here's some cash. I think it's wise to keep both.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...A cashless official currency is a virtual currency isn't it ? At this time we still have the freedom and flexibility to decide what method of payment we use. Ever been to a store and found the cashless terminals were down ? I have , and have also had terminals that didn't read my card properly. No problem , here's some cash. I think it's wise to keep both.

Even though I rarely use cash (and never by my own choosing), I completely agree with you. Even though I avoid using it like the the plague (or its modern equivalent, Covid-19), I still carry some for situations such as the ones you mentioned (also for the rare occasions a vendor charges to use plastic).

One disadvantage of cash is, if you lose it or it gets stolen, it's history; you will never see it again. With credit or debit cards, you have options for recovering from your loss. On the flip side, identity theft is a danger when using cashless transactions.