Blockchain mockchain — 5 reasons people don’t actually care.
Every day I open up my twitter feed and and find myself scrolling through the same old arguments, opinions and ‘benefits’ of blockchain and cryptocurrency. The reality is — people don’t actually care. Okay, some people care, but for the large part of the world’s population, people aren’t seeming to fully comprehend what a difference a decentralised network can do for them. And there are a few reasons why:
Crypto Jargon. HODL, ASIC, FUD, Altcoin, Block reward, Fork, Hashrate.. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN!? Cryptocurrency; I feel like we started our relationship on the wrong foot — can we start over? How about this time we simplify things, maybe ease up on all the labeling? Understanding the technology behind cryptocurrency is, in actual fact, not that difficult. But, if you think it is — then let me ask you a few questions: what is the process in printing, valuing and distributing Fiat (mainstream legal currency) currencies? Honestly, think about it. Who prints your money, how much do they print, why that much, and what implications does it have on the overall economy. Its not that simple is it? The reality is, we don’t need to understand the nitty gritty details of cryptocurrency to utilise it because most of us don’t even understand the complexity behind our current monetary system.
The constant conflict. I am so sick and tired of every crypto-evangelist tearing down the next, just because they believe their model is more ‘Satoshi-like’ #WWSD. It reminds me of the the global Churches. There are around 22 000 denominations around the world! Yep, you read that right — 22 000! Although they are all ‘different’, majority of their core principles are identical, yet there is so much conflict between them. I am waiting for the day where there are a group of main cryptocurrencies — serving unique purposes — living in harmony.
Crypto-overload. Want to buy some cryptocurrency, which one? You can choose between the mainstream: Bitcoin, Ethereum, EOS, Litecoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, Dash, NEM, Steem, how about more alternative coins: Evil Coin, Weed Coin or Cat Coin? And where exactly are you buying these from? Luno, Bitstamp, Cex, Binance, Kraken, Indacoin, Coinbase — you get the point. It’s a extremely dense market riddled with scams and complicated purchasing procedures. To say that it is intimidating — is a complete understatement. How could we expect the masses to confidentially purchase into something that hasn’t come to fruition. In fact — there appears to be no clear direction for the market as a whole.
Blockhain for what. Let’s be real — for the average person — it’s difficult to understand why decentralisation will effect their lives. For example; even with the Facebook Cambridge Analytica data scandal, most people don’t realise the full impact lack of privacy has on them. It’s concerning to hear the amount of people that don’t mind having their identity, lifestyle and even location readily available to corporations and governments. As the controversial former CIA member Edward Snowden said “Under observation, we act less free, which means we effectively are less free”. It’s time to realise that the collection of our personal data by corporations and governments actually matters. It does, in a very big way
Reliability. The first time I read about blockchain was on Mckinsey’s article in 2016 — How blockchains could change the world. Coming from an accounting background, it was extremely interesting to read the potential a ledger system has on modern technology. But suffice to say, it definitely took me a substantial amount of reading to start understanding the logic behind it all. The difficulty came when I realised that so many publications, websites and influencers all have some secret agenda making it difficult to trust. Wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly where to go and who to listen to with regards to the market without being conned into buying some new token? It’s time for newcomers to have a safe haven, where they can learn all they need to know without any intimidation.
On my quest to understand this whole industry in my spare time — I will be sharing everything worthwhile, — from cryptocurrencies, corporate blockchains, ICO’s to overall blockchain benefits — while being easily digestable. Oh, and loads of memes. In addition I will be building my own cryptocurrency over time with @devslopes, to better understand the technicalities of it all. So if this is a topic that interests you, be sure to follow my articles as I delve deeper into the complexity of it all.
