The most recent issue of Forbes magazine is all about the crypto revolution, and its honestly pretty cynical on the subject. They do, however, make some really great points on the issues and benefits of using cryptos.
Points:
- The Crypto bubble is incredibly similar to the Dot Com bubble of the early 2000s
- During the Dot Com bubble tons of IPOs came out, many of which were based entirely on an impossible concept. This is basically the same thing as ICOs. In the end, most of these were failures
- Day Traders are back at it again. Just like in before the DC bubble, many people are quitting their jobs and resorting to day trading as a means of receiving stable income
- People are buying Cryptos on credit
- This topic is as much horrifying as it is intriguing. Many people are beginning to buy their cryptos with a credit card. Why is this bad you ask? Anyone who has taken an AP US History class can answer that for you. Before the great depression, people became fascinated with stocks. Everyone wanted to get in on them. The fascination grew to the point that people bought stocks on margin, basically the same thing as borrowing money to pay for stocks. This was not a problem when stocks were on an uptrend. Individuals could sell a stock that they borrowed money to pay for at a higher price and still net a profit. However when stocks crashed, people could not pay off their debt. Banks and people went bankrupt. While the government has created regulations to prevent another credit crisis, the crypto world is a new unregulated frontier which is subject to the same issues as the normal economy.
- Cryptos won't go away after a crash
- Just as stocks didn't just disappear after the great depression, neither will cryptocurrencies. Cryptos identify a real problem in people's lives and promises a currency that is not tied to any government or specific organization. No matter what happens, Cryptocurrencies are the next frontier and represent the future of economies.
- The IRS and Cryptos don't exactly get along
The government has tried and failed to regulate cryptocurrencies, but such and action is borderline impossible. Cryptos transcend national boundaries and cannot be controlled by one government. Efforts to tax profits made on cryptos and to subpoena account information from wallets such as coinbase have been fruitless. In addition, cryptocurrency do not yet fit the definition of a commodity because they have a use other than being traded.
What a revolution, right?