A New Reality or an Ambiguous Facade?🕵️♂️
Just another think piece on cryptocurrencies, nothing to see here 👀
Cryptocurrencies, their utility, value, and decentralized nature has been abuzz and frankly, quite difficult to understand. The government has called crypto baseless, meanwhile Visa “aped” into a $150,000 non-fungible token (NFT). It’s mind-boggling, but as mind-boggling as it is, I believe it was a smart decision.
Fueled by the think tanks that are communities, brewing dissent for big tech, and aggrandizement of the individual, cryptocurrencies will seep into the mainstream and change the way we transact, socialize, and chill.
Crypto…What is it?
Crypto, short for cryptocurrency, is a type of digital currency that exists digitally. Two of the most popular forms of cryptocurrency are Bitcoin ($BTC) and Ethereum ($ETH or Ether). Bitcoin has been heralded as "digital gold", while Ethereum can be thought of as “digital gold on steroids.”
As cryptocurrency is digital, it requires a system of checks and balances— the blockchain. The blockchain is a decentralized, distributed, and immutable ledger. In this ledger, there are validators and clients. Validators (kind of like laws) keep users of a blockchain honest while allowing clients (people like you and I) to send, receive, and read transactions.
If I had to use an analogy, crypto can be thought of as Venmo money, but without any brand associations. Each dollar as a bitcoin and each peso as an Ether. Each peso or dollar in your digital wallet can serve as a store of value, be used to buy physical or digital goods, procure services, and allow you to exercise governance in particular communities.
Am I Being Irrational?
I don’t know everything, but what I do know is "You averaged 3 hours, 48 minutes...You averaged 3 hours, 24 minutes...You averaged 4 hours, 5 minutes"...is one of my week's most consistent and irritating notifications. Frankly, it tells me what I love to disregard: I AM ONLINE WAY TOO MUCH.
My "online-ness" leads me to observe how people digest news, operate within a group, and approach social media, amongst other things. Often, I find that my observations lead me to make irrational conjectures about where society is going. For example,
Crypto will inspire a new reality.
It’s definitely not the boldest of my takes (that is reserved for Jameis Winston of the New Orleans Saints finishing as a Top 3 Fantasy Football Quarterback), but it sparks a debate, and in the words of Will Ferrell “No one knows what -crypto- means but it’s provocative, it gets the people going!”
Turtle Legs
I’d be remiss not to recognize that the movement has legs, turtle legs that is, in that crypto will inspire a new reality slowly but surely.
The basis for my pro-crypto mindset can been largely attributed to how I view the progression of a few neoteric and philosophical movements.
The movements include:
Increased Focus on Communal Societies
Brewing Dissent for Big Tech
Focus on Self-Expression and Ownership
I believe that the behavior/mindset/feelings that humans display or find agreeable in a group or in themselves can often be a precursor to new opportunities. Thus, why I want to get an understanding of communes, people’s relationship with big tech, and ownership.
Communes
Communes are intentional communities of people sharing spaces, beliefs, interests, property, etc. Today, there are several physical and online examples of communes such as:
Food Co-ops
Twitch Communities
Community Gardens
Each commune exists with its own audience, mission, and principles. Co-ops, for example, are businesses owned by "member-owners." They are based on values of self-help, community, and equality. Co-ops are democratic in nature in that members reside governance in the actions of the business. Red house Coffee, a bookstore-coffeehouse co-op in Baltimore, makes decisions by giving each employee one ownership share and one vote. On top of decision-making, Co-ops uphold focused tenets—these can include responding to the climate crisis, building a racially just food system, and keeping food local.
Dissent for Big Tech
Big Tech dictates what we see, how we interact, and often times, how we think. If polled, most of us would find it inconceivable to live without at least one of their services whether that be e-mail, food-delivery, or social media. However, it appears dissent towards big tech is brewing. People are noticing their opinions being stymied, their data being mishandled, and an overall sense of not being in control. Oddly, big tech is performing in manners that one would observe in the government. Franklin Foer, Atlantic Staff Writer, puts it cryptically:
As tech and government grow closer, they’ll be tempted to indulge their shared worst instincts.
Frankly, I don’t think Franklin is too far off.
Self-Actualization and Ownership
People have an innate drive to express their ingenuity and creativity. Unfortunately, most people find this intimidating and become consumers. Luckily, a select few become creators and build businesses.
Americans submitted an average of 111,000 applications for new businesses per week between the end of June 2020 and the beginning of September 2020, the most applications submitted per week since 2007.
Americans' confidence in small businesses is at its highest level since 2007.
87% of Republicans, 74% of Democrats, and 68% of Independents had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in small businesses, as of June 2020.
Americans started businesses at a record pace. Why? The COVID outbreak shifted the trajectory of many industries. People were fired, relocated, and in many instances, quit. Mindsets, especially for technically adept workers, shifted from working for the man to being THE MAN (yes, I recently watched School of Rock).
If you’re blind to the movements, you either live under a rock or actually, you’re just normal (and probably have normal hobbies that don’t involve opening apps every few seconds). Jokes aside, the onus on the movements, or trends, whatever you want to call them, has piqued my interest.
Additionally, the ideologies exalted by these movements mirror some of the philosophical and foundational aspects on which crypto is built upon. I don’t know if it’s a by-product of health, social, and economic factors, but these movements have definitely garnered traction, traction that should not be overlooked.
The Antithesis-sss
An argument isn't complete without an antithesis. Due to that, the areas of concern for the adoption of cryptocurrency need to be addressed. But, what are the areas of concern for crypto?
Doubt
/dout/ - a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction. With new technologies, it's common for most people to carry doubt. Doubt is most damaging when it’s posited by high-profile characters e.g., the co-creator of a cryptocurrency, Jackson Palmer, and Warren Buffet, the WARREN BUFFET:
Believe it or not, their words carry weight and if the words are negative, doubt gets sowed.
Rationality
Rationality is by far one of the most interesting behaviors to observe. People are good, until they see a reason not to be. Those reasons? Money. Money creates a cesspool of liars, charlatans, and scammers. Sadly, new technology fosters snakey behavior that even CEO of rabbithole points out:
Similar to shills and snakes, I have noticed a common, yet impractical thought-pattern as it pertains to crypto: People expect crypto to ensue a rags to riches transformation. Wistfully, people have focused more on profiteering than taking the time to learn about the the various use cases for its applicability— a behavior that can be a detriment to the success of a movement. Unsurprisingly, the media has long echoed this:
Intervention
One entity who will never seek to exist is the government. And the government doesn't necessarily get things right. Cough. Cough. Recently, the Securities Exchanges Commission displayed an act of intervention:
Intervention, poor and uneducated intervention, can seriously lead to a detriment in productivity and innovation. And if there’s one group who will always stifle innovation, it’s the government.
HODL?
Crypto will challenge the status quo. Problem is, it won’t happen overnight. The Diffusion of Innovation Theory states that over time a new technology, product, or idea will diffuse through a population.
The ideological diffusion will sift into society, slowly laying the groundwork for new creations and changed mindsets. Tweets will continue to cause turbulent swings in the crypto market and obscure NFTs will continue to sale for millions. As the hype and speculation continue to grow, leaders from each side will disseminate their opinion. We’ve seen what Warren Buffet had to say, but let’s not disregard what leaders like Figma CEO, Tesla CEO, and Ark Invest CEO have acknowledged. A new reality or ambiguous facade? I believe in the former, but there will be ups and downs. If you believe that the study of people’s behavior is a precursor to the future, then stay firm and HODL.
Hey, it’s a long shot but who knows, maybe in five years we’ll end up in a situation like Figma CEO, Dylan Field:
Socials 🔻
Resources 📚
Coinbase Learn- Beginner guides, practical tips, and market updates for first-timers, experienced investors, and everyone in between
Morning Brew Crypto - A crypto crash course
rabbithole.gg- Earn crypto through discovering and using the latest crypto apps
Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice.