The public may say that crypto is a joke and stocks a smart investment. People may think that you are stupid for investing and discussing crypto with someone who is skeptical can be frustrating. What is the biggest argument that the crypto industry is here to stay and a valid investment?
The looks I get when I say that I am interested in crypto is telling. People frown and get quiet. Some dare to say that Bitcoin has no value and no use case at all. Sometimes I avoid the subject but occasionally I wish I had an argument for crypto that would turn a critic into a believer.
It is somewhat unimageable what is happening in our modern society and easier to stick to what we know than learning about societal developments. But we need to understand that in the age of the internet of things our existence is rapidly turning digital. Digital.
The internet of things is a global online network that is being built and it has been estimated that 30 billion devices are connected to the internet. We are clearly living online, and the fourth industrial revolution is in full force. It is completely natural that smart watches, cars, houses, lamps and even fridges are connected to the internet. If the phone is stupid and not able to connect to the internet you may not even be able to pay for parking or for public transportation. We need internet to update the electric grid, for government agencies to run smoothly, for hospitals to treat patients effectively, in military activities, for banking services and to pay for basically everything. Without internet access we are not even able to borrow a book at the library. We trust the digital age for a large part of our communication. According to my 12 years old daughter wifi is the definition of life. If you ask me, not being able to start the Facebook app is a definite up-side of an off-line existence.
Considering that the cost of cyberwarfare has quadrupled since 2015, it is clear that rouge nation states regard the internet as a corner stone of our existence and therefore a target for attacks. When the internet breaks, we break. As the age of internet of things has disrupted our way of life it is blatantly obvious that we need to fully accept that our money also needs to get digital and that new companies will blossom within the sector.
The first electronic cash system E-Cash was invented in the early 1980s. E-cash managed to collaborate with banks but went bankrupt because society was not ready for such a ground-breaking technology. At the present time we can’t imagine not being able to transfer money across the internet. The problem is that we are in between two worlds now. We have the traditional fiat system with physical cash, and we keep track of this money online. We allow banks and governments to count and control what and how much money we have. We also have the digital crypto industry that is completely online and do not need banks to count or control our digital money. The cashless society is rapidly growing, and nations are looking into a central bank digital currency that can move freely within and across borders, and we need better digital solutions for our money. Furthermore, the argument that even banks are investing in crypto currencies and blockchain technology is also good.
What’s also confusing for people is that blockchains is not just money but can be programmed with smart contracts to solve various problems. Explaining to a crypto critic that we are in the midst of a digital transformation of society, seem to be the best argument for having digital money. As we move every part of our existence to the internet it is also smart to invest in digital companies. Right!? Blockchain companies are software companies that provide various services online. It’s as straight forward as that. To someone who is investing in stocks one could say that many crypto companies are just like a traditional technology company.
Why are crypto critics afraid of something that seem straight forward? Blockchains are a software solution to a problem. Well, I understand that people are sceptical of putting our money online since personal computers basically need to update every time they start. It takes time for people to trust that code can benefit mankind to such a large extent.