It's been awhile since I posted. I have mixed feelings on posting. A part of me feels like this platform is really about providing good quality content. Another part of me believes this is a social space where I can simply be me, express what I want and call it good. If it is the former, then I feel almost obligated to spend a week plus pulling together content, references, etc. And I'm just not interested in doing that just yet...
However, I am constantly researching crypto currency. I'm reviewing videos with market updates, coins, trends and philosophies of where we are, where we are headed, where we have been and what is going on. While I can offer my synopsis and general takeaways, I'm not really very interested in going too in depth on any given item or topic. I'd rather work to share what interests me and what I've learned for what it's worth.
First, I've been fascinated to learn that we are now entering what some refer to as Crypto or Blockchain 3.0. 1.0 was the Bitcoin era. 2.0 was the Ethereum era. 3.0 is the era of various platforms, interoperability (cross blockchain interaction), increased transaction speed (TPS) among other things. I equate it to the freeway system of crypto. As much as we know and anticipate crypto taking over every element of life, we must start somewhere and it seems reasonable to say we must have the infrastructure (aka platforms) before we are able to embrace the explosive growth we all foresee in crypto. There are so many platforms out there. Some of these include ARK, ELA, FSN, EOS, ADA, XLM, NULS, VEN, IOTA, XEM, KMD, DRGN. Disclosure that I have invested in nearly all of these.
Otherwise, the stage we now seem to be at in blockchain and crypto currency is in laying the groundwork. So much so, there are not a significant number of current "real use" examples where crypto tokens/coins are actually being used. Some of the most obvious use cases would be Ethereum in that you must own their coins to build on their platform. Given that the majority of ICO's issued these days are on the Ethereum blockchain, this is obviously a bonafide real use case currently in play. I am a non-technical investor and thus find so much of this space confusing, clunky, unclear and simply technical. It takes some work to simply buy crypto much less store it, transfer it, etc. Don't get me started in the nuances and challenges in navigating different exchanges (I am currently on 12 different exchanges). These are just the challenges in basic investment, ownership of crypto. Given the complexity of the space, my novice and elementary challenges don't even begin to touch the iceberg of complexity of this space. That is an issue what will change in time.
For now, it is all about infrastructure in my opinion. The other primary plays in crypto seem to be privacy coins (XMR, DASH, ZEC, ZEN, etc...), supply chain management (WABI, AMB, MOD, TRAC, etc...), blockchain browsers (BAT, NAS, etc...), decentralized exchanges, data storage/usage (SONM, INXT, GVT, etc...), energy decentralization (WPR, POWR, etc...), currency/banking uses (XRP, QASH, SALT, etc..) exchange tokens (BNB, KCS, BIX, etc...). I know this is an overgeneralization and simplification of all the nuances and uses of even the cryptos I've listed. For instance, I wouldn't equate Ripple's XRP to SALT, the first being intended to be a universal currency among banks and the latter being a platform that allows you to obtain fiat loans with your crypto as collateral which allows you to avoid having to liquidate your position. All of them are different in their own way. Again for disclosure, I am invested in many of the mentioned coins. My general opinion right now is that given the infancy of crypto currency and blockchain, there is such an extensive need for infrastructure that all of these various coins and tokens have bonafide purposes and potential to carve out their piece of the pie. I don't even care about "use cases" beyond general infrastructure. While I've invested in some, they are in my opinion far beyond the current market and ability to actually deliver at this point in time. For anyone interested, my research led me to an interesting ICO that starts in May 2018 for supply chain. I do not know if I will participate, but if you are interested here is their website. https://www.blockshipping.io.
All said, this space is the Wild West of Technology. We are still waiting for "real use" to enter cryptocurrency generally. In my opinion, this is a fantastic reason to be invested in projects that focus on infrastructure for this space to grow and expand. Time will tell as to the best avenues to invest in and the returns they generate. My opinion is that betting on the roads and highways of this new digital frontier is a good bet. Personally, I really like the banking disruptors, the platform coins and supply chain/logistics management plays. One area I didn't mention is ID/personal data control and security which I think will be a very interesting area to watch to see who best addresses this. Please comment on any good coins that you know of addressing the ID space as I am not aware of any at the moment...
Please comment if you disagree with any of my conclusions or expand on any of them. Again, this is simply a general discourse from someone who couldn't spell crypto 6 months ago...
Happy investing!