At some point in the past I made a rather admirable attempt to stir my community into the realm of cryptocurrencies. I was ridiculed plenty of times but still chose to dedicate countless hours in bars and online forums explaining more or less how bitcoin works. Still, the vibe I was getting from most people was lingering between smug and pettiness.
Now, I have to admit. I am not your best guy for promotions. Reason being, I am mostly cold, objective and straightforward (or so I have been told). I also lack what most people call people skills. I mainly focus on the negatives, the things that can go wrong. I do so because in my understanding this is exactly the parameters upon which the cosmos operates. This is the reason entropy fucks most things up leaving a thin layer of precious cream on top. This is exactly why the vast majority of our DNA is junk and why 99,9% of all the species that ever existed on earth are now extinct. This is the very reason everything in the universe is made out of 99.99999999% empty space.
Bitcoin and in general the blockchain technologies are still on their infancy and there are way too fragile for someone to make solid assumptions. Even if some cryptos make it at the end, it won't be more than 1% of what we see today. This is also true for most companies in the FIAT world. No amount of positive thinking books and Tony Robbins attitude can get you out of this one. This is how the world works.
Nonetheless, even if I communicated accurately the technical features of cryptocurrencies, people responded emotionally, not technically. For example, they could identify that the banks summon money out of thin air by typing numbers on a computer or issuing magic papers, but still, the concept of crypto mining — something that takes actual work — was laughable to them. I was even trying to explain basic cryptography and they insisted that it could be easily get hacked. Meanwhile, no bank in my country offers 2FA and on their sites and most people use something along "pizzagod123" for password
I believe that people get attached to whatever system is in place because they are afraid of responsibility. The human brain doesn't like change and most people don't really want to be exposed to the risk. This is a trend we observe with everything around us — whether it is an expired relationship, fossilized religious beliefs, or damaging careers. The fear of change threatens our identity the most. This is exactly what most people are insecure of losing when it comes to the accepting cryptocurrencies.
A child demands a father figure. The state along with the banks offer exactly that. The blockchain more or less tells you to grow up, to be an individual, your own bank. Most people are terrified of the thought. They would rather follow the common recipe along the lines of school>college>job>family>retire>die. A new way of doing things could disrupt this ritual. This trend is mostly evident in the political system. Most people just want a quiet stable government job, not to become their own boss. They want a political leader to direct their lives so they can blame their shortcomings.
Cryptocurrencies introduce something revolutionary on a societal level — not so much technical. Many people are terrified of the possibilities, not the technology itself. If we were living in the middle ages we would be run over with pitchforks if we were to mention such novel ideas to the general public. The best way to ease this transition is for banks to get introduced into the concept. The Gods of FIAT have to be pleased for their followers to go along their blessing. This is what crypto-currencies like Ripple are doing.
After all, people have no idea how the economy works and don't want to know anything about it. Even here in Steemit same problem persists. Mention to someone Steem, Steem Power and Steem Dollars and you can see the tumor growing out of their nose. People get easily lost because everything around us today is spoon fed. It's just too much for the average user.
Even Steve Jobs said that the reason Apple succeeded was because it made computers for people who knew nothing about computers and never wanted to learn. This is how the world works folks and we have to roll with it. People like pressing large colorful buttons and using their brain as less as possible. They don't care nor they want to know what goes in the background.
At the end, what I believe is going to happen, is banks start issuing their own token while services like Bancor allow every individual to also issue their own cryptocurrency token. There is going to be a biometric ID to make things even easier and people will just exchange tokens much like they do today. What will go underneath the surface will be of little importance since it will be unnoticeable.
My advice for those who want to spread cryptocurrencies is to talk first about how banks are trying them out as more efficient alternatives. Mentioning large companies like Microsoft getting in bed with Ethereum also helps. People need to see that their current Gods accept the new paradigm and that it is ok if themselves roll with it. Attacking banks, mentioning anarchy, individuality, libertarianism and all the stuff that lead us first adopters into cryptos, will definitely scare most people off. What worked for us was self-discovery due to self-realization. What works for them is conformity. Never forget this.
Don't be afraid that this attitude will spoil the character of decentralization. Many of us are also emotional and have hard time accepting banks using cryptocurrencies. Keep your head on the horizon. The primary objective is wide adaptation. Once this happens, the ideas of liberty, individuality and property will find their way through.
Last couple of days, first thing after I logg in to steemit, I check @kyriacos blog. Amazing stuff, my friend.
Darn. Thank you man. Glad I am making your day
BUY CRYPTOES SEEL THE US DOLLAR
The dollar will begin its 18 year cycle with a 9 year downturn period to the eurocurrencies as it always has done. This will probably be very bullish for precious metals.
Check out this post for more on the cycles of weakening US dollar and the current state of the dollar.
https://steemit.com/dollar/@sjovmaiin/the-coming-fall-of-the-us-dollar
This is a great post. You clearly have a nuanced understanding of the space and its needs.
I would like to say that I am afraid of centralizing forces spoiling decentralization. While banks and economic players will use crypto heavily, there are still many risks that need to be observed and mediated.
Ofcource. This is why nifty technologies like Monero and Zcash exist.
Well I'd call the trusted setup one of those risks but :) there is much more to come.
most definately
This is an excellent post that will stay with me for some time I believe. AWESOME!!! Thanks a bunch for it, upvoted, resteemed and shared. Namaste :)
glad you liked it :)
Just a thought:
Many people, even some of the oddballs and creative ones, also need a layer of safety before they become creative or try new things. When you are unsafe in your daily existence, you are more likely to be preoccupied with getting the basic needs fulfilled, and creativity be damned.
If, like in Greece, another currency could help in providing both an opportunity for the fulfillment of every-day needs and something new, maybe then people would be more open towards these new currencies.
Maybe there is another approach there somewhere?
I think what ripple does is pretty much close to what most people would prefer. Most people simply don't care how the economy works. They just want something more 'fair". Blockchain technologies provide this but the average person cannot delve too much into them.
I think it will be spoon fed much like everything in human history.
Great post this is the key point for me:
I think it is safer in for certain people to be in this infantile state.
This is also another good point:
There seem to be those within the cryptocurrency community who seem to have a sneering attitude to regular people. Bitcoin maximalists seem to be the worst and want to resist anything that makes such technologies more accessible.
It is ironic given some of the basic founding principles behind these technologies.
I think the main reason is because they are afraid of losing value to other cryptocurrencies. There is an issue with the concentration of wealth and the privileges they enjoy while it stays somewhat regulated.
It is much like the drug war. No drug lord wants drugs to become legal and be generally accepted to the public.
Yes I think you have got to the main root of the reason there.
Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
awesome post with nice sharing. @kyriacos
glad you liked it man
i hope you will love my stories too :) good luck
I have often wondered if the banks are not behind the crypto's and it's just another way to control us. But I guess only time will tell. Until than go Steemit!
@digestingreality
always a fun thing to ponder
great...resteem and upvote for you....
thank you!
u r welcome...
Yep, people have to change themselves first, to even allow the change to happen. Let's hope sooner rather than later!
With the market cap we are experiencing right now, much much sooner than we think
@kyriacos @grognak YES... Thank You Both.
UpVoted, Following, ReSteemed & Promoted this post... I'm still very new & not being allowed to ReSteem or Promote ?? So I tweeted & put this on Facebook
Have a Great Weekend !!
Excellent post @kyriacos. Great summation in your last two sentences. The main objective is acceptance and adoption and this will lead to liberty, individuality, property. In essence Freedom!
Exactly.
Thank you.
This will happen naturally during the collapse, as folks dump into silver/gold, it runs out in 2 seconds, and crypto is the only choice. That is coming this year, you don't need to worry about adoption, it'll happen without a doubt.
Banks are already preparing. Even if there is a collapse, they will ease in the transition. It won't be catastrophic.
Wrongo. Sorry, it's gonna be a shit show. Get ready. Plus if you give your money to central banks after this, you are a slave 100%
always diversify
yup, gold, silver, crypto. Nothing else will make it. Folks, throw away your traditional logic. This is a different case than any historical record will give you the tools to deal with. maybe details on the great depression.
an optimist. the system might corrupt it all.
"The system" lol.
Great post as usual!
glad you enjoyed it
The end is nigh . . .
Unfortunately the 98% of the Sheeple People are still at sleep!
they will wake up sooner or later
Let's hope. For their own Sake!
No one can resist crypto.
True
Thanks for the post! I also have similar mindset: rather realistic and data-driven than too-unjustifiably-optimistic. To my opinion we are in a crypto bubble now. Here is the data supporting this assumption:
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@alex13/another-crypto-bubble-and-the-rise-of-altcoin-markets
Would you agree?
No. 65 billion market cap is nothing. We will be in a bubble in 3 years when everyone around you starts talking about cryptos and ico funding
File eise kipreos?
I agree that in long term in will keep going up, but I think will see a downside correction in a short-term (like within 4 months). I was trying even to buy some alt coins based options (like put option, for example), but could not find a place where one can trade such options.
This resonated deeply with me. Ive had the same conversations and the same experiences. I think you hit the nail on the head with "personal responsibility". Thats exactly what it boils down to. People don't want to be responsible for themselves because when shit goes south there will be no one to blame. Who can blame them, generations of conditioning have done their work well. Thanks for the post. Upvoted and following.
Great article. i think as early adopter this is just the growing pains we will go through. i think a big problem, as you have mentioned in your post, is most are scared of change. in my opinion the blockchain seems like a double edged sword for the mainstream, they seem to acknowledge its potential, but, in doing so it would seem they would need to accept decentralized money, which bank are not to keen on. this is just how i feel.
I think even banks are keen on adapting since they understand their own limitations. Mark my words. They won't be able to sustain another crash. On the next one, everyone is moving towards cryptos.
This was an amazing post. I am brand new to the crypto currency scene, but I have been putting in the hours trying to learn, and build the resources necessary for a decent investment. This is the future. Crypto is the only way we can break our shackles to our slave master Bankster, Illumanati Bloodlines.
Hopefully they will make the world a better place but I think not much will change in the upper strata. Money is money and it all tends to concentrate on the top %
Crypto does give an opportunity for people who want decentralization and more freedom to reach the top %.
The question is if those people will still have the same beliefs if and when they arrive and if they are willing to make an effort to spread these, in my opinion, positive values.
take a look at the crypto whales that started early in 2009-2011. Do they look like they are aiming for anything different than what we have today? at the end of the day the exchange charts looks the same as in the fiat world.
humans are humans.
I understand that, but I am talking about guys that bought/mined in those years and just hodl'd. The 'invested €300 in 2010 and kept their coins till the price of €1000/€2000' kinda guys.
I mined 200 BTC in 2010-2011. Did not hodl until today. rarely anybody does unless they forgot about them and remembered a few years later that had them.
Rarely anybody means some & besides that there are people who have been succesful with putting money into a new coin that went up a lot of %. My point is that I agree with you that money flows to the top, which makes total sense, but that new people , who don't suck as human beings, reach that top.
Nice post!
Unfortunately, people also tend to block everything they can't understand.
Look at the modern politics on post-soviet territories.
Everyone tries to block a particularly good and innovative technology.
For example, Ukraine is the fastest growing bitcoin community, but our government is trying again to block BTC.
SO BAD!!!
https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@uawarrior/ukraine-completely-prohibits-bitcoins
You are so right!
Very good :)) I like it