Broken down to its base level, Bitcoin and other Proof of Work cryptocurrencies are converting electricity into a fungible token of value.
This is a major development in human society.
Why?
Up until now, energy is only expended after being stored or generated. Whether it be a battery, spinning your legs on a bicycle, or worse, a hand-crank (aka torture device), the end result is that energy is expended to accomplish a task. Sometimes this energy can be converted and/or converted.
Using math and game theory, it is now possible for humans to generate mathematically provable, forgery-proof, 'virtual tokens' with a limited supply while STILL maintaining consensus with others as to the state of the supply. This crucial consensus component is what allows the tokens to be marketable beyond your little fiefdom (if thats what you control, of course).
So why are journalists and regulators who report on this completely oblivious to this paradigm shift?
Well, this is hard to say. Though the process of deduction leaves at least two options in my mind:
Failure to Do Your Own Damn Homework - They simply didn't put in the effort to understand, fundamentally, how this technology works. Imagine an auto reporter explaining why a new car off the line is going to fail miserably without even looking at the engine and understanding its operational limits and strengths.
They're 100% "Comped" - They're on a payroll and publish what they're told to publish by """someone above""", whoever that may be. Hopefully, time will tell and shake out the answer to that one. H/T to the wily Paddock brother for the 'comped' meme
Beyond that, there may be a convoluted mess of reasons why journalists and regulators don't grasp these fundamental concepts. However, it doesn't take much intelligence analysis experience to recognize most (read: n >= 50%) news articles coming from national and international news outlets are distinctly negative towards cryptocurrencies, especially when """leading thinkers""" of Wall Street make death pronouncements.
B...but cryptocurrencies aren't backed by anything! (said the increasingly nervous man for the 100th time in 5 years)
By converting generated electricity into a secure token, a new method of creating and storing "valuable assets" has appeared. For the slower among us, 'valuable' is a SUBJECTIVE term, meaning the perception of value can vary from person to person and situation to situation.
Now here's a fun subjective question: What do YOU value most?
For some, value is in the form of security. Others, simply value shiny trinkets. Everyone values food, water and shelter, particularly when there is none.
Something I've learned -- the Wise value time.
The more time you have, the more freedom you have to create more value, which can then be used to purchase more time, and so on.
This is the multiplicative beauty of 'capitalism', which when applied efficiently, allows for sustainable growth.
No matter what you value, an equally comparable asset of value could be exchanged for whatever it is you value. This is made simpler when a form of 'money' exists. Due to the transitive property, you can make the argument that humans have devised a way to 'buy time' when they developed money.
Now, one step further, we've found a way to turn raw electricity into a valuable asset that can be used as a money, among other things. Money as a technology saves time. Electricity as a technology saves time.
Money and Electricity have now converged at a technical level.
An argument could be made that humanity is viewed collectively as a 'time-saving resource' for those who have the mind to employ us as such. Look at the Matrix for an example. Tokenized electricity used to purchase time as a resource turns that 90 degrees and moves in another direction that was not possible before, without fancy derivative markets (that are centralized by necessity).
The supply chain of value is no longer centralized.
This time can be purchased to supplement your own personal 'time resource' and pursue other activities, such as playing video games or building companies that are putting cars on the top of rocketships en route to Mars.
Your mileage may vary.
So what the hell does this ramble mean for the Steem ecosystem?
Well, quite a bit honestly. Particularly if you view this platform as a legitimate 'killer app' to bring the vast numbers of normies out there who have no experience using a cryptocurrency or blockchain technology.
The Steem ecosystem is piggybacking on the robust, decentralized network of miners converting terawatts of electrical power into tokens we can all convert into food, water, or even time. Through this structure, we can buy the time necessary to focus on other things we value.
This is an immensely powerful tool and if you're reading this near the original timestamp of the publishing, you're all at the front of this wave.
If you're reading this in the future, get off your flying time-traveling scooter and start making some contributions dammit!
Like the insane ramble you just read? Read some more and follow me on Steemit -- @blakemiles84!