Yes, crypto is down and the number of active users on Steemit are down yet I don't believe the sky is falling. Let me explain from an emerging market standpoint why I think the blockchain and crypto are not only going to survive but to thrive.
It doesn't take a certificate of completion from Hogwarts or an unclouded crystal ball to reach tis conclusion, it merely takes a walk through history. There are sooo many similarities between the blockchain/crypto market to major tech industry revolutions of the past such as the PC and Internet that it's uncanny. Let's take a look at some of the similarities between the blockchain and crypto vs the PC and Internet industries.
WHO
Who were the early adopters of Apple, Atari, Commodore and the PC? Before the Apple and the PC began making it into the office and the boardroom, young people - 20-40 year olds were the early adopters. They played games, wrote code, and lugged their metal and plastic boxes to each others homes and meet ups where they played games and wrote code with like-minded people. They helped drive the advancement of the personal computer into homes and businesses across the globe.
The internet was no different. Prodigy - the precursor to the modern internet - was used by young people. They checked the weather, joined early models of chatrooms and news groups, and helped drive the advancement of the net into a more widely accepted technology change.
A younger demographic - mostly 25 - 35 - are the major holders and investors of crypto. On the blockchain, 20 and 30 somethings make up the vast majority of the audience.
WHERE
Yes, PC's began in the US but very early on spread to Europe and other parts of the world. The Acorn, from England was a strong contender in the marketplace, and it wasn't long before China, Japan, Russia and other European and South East Asian companies were major parts suppliers and computer manufacturers.
The Internet began reaching Europe, Asia and other parts of the world within a very short time. Prodigy services began in 1984, and by 1988 the internet had global reach and that reach today looks like the map below.
It could be said that the blockchain and crypto skipped straight to international market penetration. While it is more popular in some parts of the world than others, it had a global audience almost from day one.
WHY
Why was the Personal Computer such a disrupter of society? PC's changed the way we worked, played, lived our lives. The vision of some of the earliest creators like Steve Jobs, wasn't concentrated on profit margins, but specifically on changing people's lives. Making those lives better by automating tasks, becoming a part of both their business world and their personal space. The PC crowd wanted to test the limits of what could be done easier, faster, more efficiently.
The Internet innovators wanted to bring people together. To become a repository of knowledge, of communication, of the exchange of ideas and know how.
The blockchain wants to change the world. It wants to do an end run around government and mega corp roadblocks that prevent societies from functioning efficiently for the good of all the people. It thrives on eliminating the middleman no matter where that middleman might have a chokehold on the process of the business flow. The blockchain wants to disrupt and decentralize every process and business chain it can on a global level.
Cryptocurrency wants to eliminate the chokeholds that are present in our current fiat money system. It wants to disrupt the exchange of money around the world.
The Who, Where, and Why of the two great tech revolutions are pretty identical to the blockchain of today. All want to change how things are done. All are societal disrupters, and all have an early adoption base of the same demographic - younger people from all income and education levels, on a global scale.
In my next article I'll explore why the recent slide in crypto prices is not a bad thing as seen from the perspective of the tech revolutions that preceded blockchain and crypto, as well as what needs to happen next for the industry to "get over the hump" the same way PC's and the Internet did in the decades that came before.
Feel free to leave your own thoughts and crystal ball results in the comments. I'll be interested in seeing what YOU think the future of the blockchain and cryptocurrency will be.