When I first heard about bitcoin back around 2012 I couldn't help but feel as if maybe this was the future. Keep in mind this is after the financial collapse at the end of 2008, I was around 20 at the time and was beginning to learn how the federal reserve actually worked vs how it was supposed to work. The more I learned about our fucked up system of printing money out of thin air the more I hoped that we could somehow, someday put an end to it.
Where Are We Now?
What I think we are seeing now is an evolution in the crypto world. Bitcoin is solid tech and laid the groundwork as an actual currency but now we are starting to see more robust ecosystems, apps, communities and companies emerge. It is hard for some people to grasp what the actual value is in bitcoin, besides the power used to "make" it and the definite supply.
What Direction Is It Going?
Hopefully the way steemit has gone. I say this because I happen to have a lot of the same ideals as Dan as far as Austrian Economics. I really think they are onto something with the proof of stake "Steam Power" and I think we will start to see this model used in other crypto's.
The Market For Millennials
Something about this whole crypto marketplace, and the way technology runs the world now makes me think that at some point decentralization and crypto is the only way. In the future I see startups in silicon valley starting up a lot like the way steem did, by offering you incentives for your financial investment and your value as a user.
Maybe crypto will have some similarities to the birth of the stock exchange, I can see a resemblance.