The world does not get it at this point. So many confuse cryptocurrency, looking at it like they do most other assets. This is why so many financial people, even those without the agenda, are not optimistic about crypto. They simply do not get it.
Cryptocurrency is abundance. It is based upon a completely different system than the one we are accustomed to dealing with. People trained in the old mode see scarcity. Hence, how things are valued is different. At the same time, limitation is the norm.
The comparison was to Linux. How many different versions could the world have? The answer is virtually unlimited. Someone can create a new version today without affecting the market at all.
Of course, many will say, yeah that is true but it is not worth anything.
Let us take a look at this. Say I create a version of Linux that 5,000 people use. Certainly, this is not a heavily used version nor is it a threat to anything that was before my creation. That said, it is possible to have hundreds of millions of dollars worth of business dependent upon this. To those 5,000 users, what is the value of this small, not-so-heavily used version of Linux?
Also, does someone using this version of Linux mean they are exclusive and taking from elsewhere? Perhaps a Windows version was replaced here and there. Or, maybe my software is on new servers installed meaning it did not take from the "competition". The individual users most likely have phones meaning they use a different OS than mine. They might even have other computers on top of the one running my software.
Hopefully, using this analogy, one can see how the old mindset does not apply. We are trained to think "competition" when there really is none. My creation did not compete in the traditional sense. In fact, there is no guarantee that it took from the market at all. We also see how use case enters the picture. The Linux box is used in one area while the phone OS elsewhere. It is up to the individual to decide which is most applicable.
We consistently hear how 90% of cryptocurrencies (and applications) will fail. Did you ever wonder where this came from? It is the percentage that venture capitalists use. They seek have a big winner 1/10th of the time. They know they will either break even or lose money on the other 9.
In this realm, that might not be the case. A blockchain is still going as long as someone is running the software. Even if there are 5 people on it, the value is there. Not everything is going to be worth billions of course. Yet as long as the utility is there, it serves a purpose.
We are in the digital world. This is a point that is often missed. The physical world has limitations; the digital world does not. There are factors that do tie it to the physical yet we are seeing those variables expand at an accelerating rate. Memory and processing power are two examples. As they expand, the bounds of the virtual are pushed out.
Avatars are going to have enormous value. This is another idea that sounds preposterous to many. How can an avatar, something that does not exist have value? It can just like Ronald McDonald and Daffy Duck. Those characters do not exist and are worth millions of dollars. They are nothing more than ideas.
Cryptocurrency provides an easier way to monetize the invisible. It deals with ideas. Even Steem is backed by the posts that come from the minds and actions of the users. This is where the value is derived from.
The efforts of the people on here also creates another layer of value. What is the brand of "taskmaster" worth? It depends upon who you ask. To some, it is worth more than the brand of Justin Bieber. For those interested in the happenings on Steem versus a teen idol, the value is here. Of course, tens of millions see things differently and that is okay. Even though the TASK token isn't used by as many as the Bieber, that does not make the former worthless.
I can say this because there are thousands of poster "brands" on here who I value more than Justin Bieber. I would do a lot more to earn or acquire their coins than his.
It is ironic for people accustomed to the traditional economic model, one where derivatives are the norm, feel that cryptocurrency does not have a future. They point to the fact it is not backed. I guess the same logic does not apply to the present system we are in.
What is really missed by the cryptocurrency naysayer is the fact that most actions, ideas, and creations go unrewarded under the existing structure. Cryptocurrency simply alters that by tokenizing everything.
It is a difficult concept to wrap one's mind around yet it is what is ahead of us.
Abundance will be the norm at some point. That is the freedom we are working towards.
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