I'd like to point out some things about how crypto assets especially Bitcoin is failing us all.
Let's go back a few years and discuss the aspects that made BTC popular to begin with.
- Decentralized
- Anonymous
- Fast
- Cheap
- Unregulated
Years ago all this was true and if anyone asked you about Bitcoin those are the things you'd talk about. And here we are about to go into 2018 and none of those things are true about Bitcoin. Now if you mention BTC it's in the context of the price value and the stellar increase. Bitcoin hardly feels decentralized when miners can just create a fork anytime they want. It's not anonymous as basically you have to exchange it with your real name to get FIAT. Using localbitcoins as a trader for any reasonable amount is now going to have the risk of being arrested. It's not fast at all because transactions take hours and sometimes days to confirm. Cheap is really laughable because it's now $10-$50 to spend any BTC. I have a $45 wallet balance and when I send the fees are the full $45. What a joke that shit is. You used to be able to send $1 with a penny fee. Using Paypal or a merchant credit card account is so much cheaper and of course faster to use that one has to wonder if BTC can ever be part of a payment system again. Unreglated? Fuck no it's not. Now we have many laws and more to come. None of which is going to benefit BTC holders or believers in the technology.
Bitcoin is failing us all and Satoshi is probably very disappointed in the path BTC has taken. I know I certainly am. I'd rather it be $10 a BTC and functional than $100,000 and in the state it's currently in. I know a lot of people see cryptos as a way to get rich. I've never had that mentality. I've taken the stance that Bitcoin and blockchain technology was going to change the world by introducing true financial freedom to everyone. In my view this is not going according to the design.
So what now? I don't know. I'd like to see alts make moves to bring crypto assets back to some of the original positives and benefits of blockchain technology. Let the governments and Wall Street deal with Bitcoin while the rest of us move on to functional alts.