It is OK to criticise cryptocurrencies and to debate whether and how they should be controlled. However, saying it serves no purpose as money is just incorrect (see Todd Baker’s opinion piece, “Crypto Is Money Without a Purpose,” op-ed, Dec. 20). Cryptocurrency’s purpose as an application of liberty and creativity to develop a rival to centralised fiat money could not be more obvious or honourable.
Government funding leaves residents’ financial security up to the whims, abilities, and political agendas of politicians and bureaucrats. We witness daily the devaluation of the assets Americans have accumulated during a lifetime of labour because of careless fiscal and monetary policies. Let us discuss if cryptocurrencies are or will ever be a practical substitute for fiat money. But with no goal? Hardly.
As a result, the industry’s next natural step is to focus on the areas where bitcoin’s potentials and the requirements and frictions of established financial institutions intersect. Although decentralised finance (DeFi) may be the financial “pipes” of the future, conventional finance (TradFi) is still the place where all the water is.
Regulation ambiguity, market instability, and the dangers of entering the proven digital scarcity market as a pioneer have all hampered adoption to this point. However, after overcoming these immediate obstacles, the path ahead seems even less apparent. The biggest problem of all is probably just size. Consider the foreign exchange market alone. JPMorgan resolves currency exchanges using the total market value of all cryptocurrencies.
To read our blog on “Cryptocurrency miners and dealers are shuttering their businesses across Asia,” click here
