Why cryptocurrencies are here to stay, regardless of what governments do
The SEC’s recent approval of exchange-traded bitcoin investment funds (ETFs) is attracting growing numbers of new investors aware of the potential profitability of cryptocurrencies, and reflects the way that previous new technologies have quickly been adopted once initial fears are overcome. In response, The Economist is asking whether cryptocurrencies, like cockroaches, will now be with us until, or beyond, Doomsday.
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum have survived phases of skepticism, popularization, copying and replication, falls from grace from some of the main exchanges, regulatory uncertainty and even prohibition. China banned cryptocurrencies in 2021 in different phases: in May of that year it ordered financial institutions to end all transactions; then in June, it banned cryptocurrency mining nationwide, and finally banned cryptocurrencies altogether in September.
In addition, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Oman, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Bangladesh have banned them, while 42 nations, including Algeria, Bahrain, or…
