Is cryptocurrency just a scam designed to make a few people rich while leaving the rest of us broke and clueless?
Coin Market cap lists 9,000 different crypto coins. At one point before the most recent website update they list 20,000+ coins. Certainly many if not most are going no where. And yes some are a complete scam. Finding a winner in that bunch is like trying to win at a gambling casino. The odds are stacked against you.
Now having acknowledge that, is there anything good that could come from crypto? YES.
It might be useful to have a digital form of money that the government does not control. Just like it was useful to have religions that the government did not control. Religion and money have both been used to try to control the population by governments. So taking those tools away from them seems like a good idea to me.
Can cryptocurrency create new solutions to current problems? Maybe I sure hope so. Here’s one cryptocurrency that I believe is doing that. Theta has created a blockchain highway to carry decentralized video. Instead of having to rely on Amazon, Google or Microsoft servers in the cloud that specialize on delivering video on demand for services like Netflix or Amazon prime, Theta has created a way for a lower cost decentralized solution to do the same thing. The fact that it is decentralized distribution means it is not as susceptible to censorship or government controls. One of its partners is partway through creating a platform that runs on theater that allows an individual to submit they are videos, monetize them, and get very transparent tracking on how much they got paid because of who watched them (not real world identities) and when. And getting paid in the same month the the clicks happen. Try finding that on youtube.
I am able to contribute to the decentralized distribution network through my own PC at home. Much like Uber changed transportation, Theta is offering to transform video delivery.
This is a cryptocurrency with real world impact. And while it is not providing real world riches, it is clearly not a scam. Will it ever provide that? no guarantee. I like being part of something that is transforming the world. And providing better solutions.
Still this is gambling if you invest, even in theta. Never put any money into crypto that you cannot afford to lose.
And please don’t invest in any crypto that simply has promises without real world impact. I’m talking about tangible impact that you can measure and participate in.
Cryptocurrency is highly technical and it is easy to lose what you have through technical mistakes that you make. Like sending it to the wrong address or losing the seed words to your hardware wallet. There are 1000 ways to lose your investment in crypto. Exchanges do make it easier and less risky but they come with their own set of risks because they own your coins not you.
You only on your coins when you have them in your own wallet like a hardware or software wallet. As long as the year coins are on the exchange they are not truly yours. You can only use those coins with the exchanges permission. This is similar to the bank. I can only use my money in the bank with the Banks permission. So far they have always been available and have never said no but that was not true for my father who lived through the depression.
I like the idea of having money in my wallet (hardware wallet) that cannot be censored and does not require the permission of anyone else for when or how I spend it.
P.s. Theta is an exception most coins do not have a real world impact. I’m not recommending you invest in it even though I did. I think only a technically savvy person will be comfortable within this new technology. Even then mistakes will happen and money is easily lost. I am proof of that. I lost money learning how to use crypto and navigate it safely. I am self taught. But most do not have the capacity to do that in crypto. My 30+ year career in computers and networking set me up for doing this and understanding the technology.