Do you own an NFT?

@TryingtoLava That investment didn’t quite pan out. I felt and still feel same way about Bitcoins but they’re still a thing

@MrGrumpy NFTs and BTC have no correlation

@TryingtoLava Didn’t say that. IMO both are worthless

@MrGrumpy then you dont understand blockchain

@TryingtoLava Blockchain is an be thing. BTC is another

@MrGrumpy blockchain technology is used for bitcoin transactions the reason btc is legit electronic fiat its a commodity not a security im not getting into this with you

@TryingtoLava Why can’t people have discussions? Why do you take it as an argument? I’m just saying I don’t see any value. No need to get offended. If it’s working out for you then good for you.

@MrGrumpy i didnt take it like an argument or id say im not gona argue with you i simply established my boundary that i wasnt gona get into it with you cuz i have the right not to have a discussion if i dont wana

@TryingtoLava Now you’re just spinning it. But ok

@MrGrumpy o gawd leave me alone

@MrGrumpy ;)

@MrGrumpy right, as a blockchain developer let me clarify things.

A cryptocurrency is a digital currency based on a distributed public ledger with account names encrypted. It's more secure than traditional ledgers, because it uses advanced cryptography.

Fiat currency is not as reliable as people think. It was started by Nixon as a "just trust the US government" as a backing. It has no inherent real world value.

Bitcoin is not a scam.
Look at how much 1 BTC is worth versus what it was 10 years ago.

Furthermore, there are stablecoins backed by real world assets like currency or mineral resources like gold, platinum, etc.

JPMorgan is adopting blockchain and crypto technology. So are many financial institutions.

@basilfawlty89 Agree with everything you say. What I can’t get past is that BTC does not have any inherent value. But you could make the same argument with fiat currency. Difference is you have to trust US govt.

The only reason BTC has value is because people think someone else will pay more for it. It’s kinda speculative by nature.

I understand blockchain a bit. Not to the extent you know. I work in finance so I know we are trying to find use cases for blockchain
But don’t let adoption by banks fool you. Banks are in business to offer services where they can make money if they’re offering you an BTC account or create a crypto product it’s because they want that commission. If the asset goes to $0 tomorrow, they don’t care

If you do have some money to spare it is a good speculative trade. I wouldn’t call it an investment. Just don’t put all your eggs there and hope to strike rich

@basilfawlty89 thank you for explaining it to him basil :)

@MrGrumpy Bitcoin might not having "inherent value", but neither technically does the numbers in your bank account or paper money. It's just a medium of exchange that we used as monetary value. People were skeptical of paper money at first too.

The problem with fiat is that it is subject to centralization from government and banks. If all goes well, that's fine. If there's conflict or corruption, you get hyperinflation.
This happened in Weimar Germany and Zimbabwe.

Technically nothing has "inherent value".
Even gold, which yes has industrial uses now, has no inherent value. We just socially agree on its value due to its scarcity and we're primates who like shiny reflective things.

Crypto is now highly regulated.
It gets thoroughly vetted, analyzed and regulated. Even a new cryptocurrency requires a guarantee of liquidity.
Most Centralized Exchanges have stringent requirements to vet a project.

Also, most wallets require KYC and AML procedures.

@basilfawlty89 I agree some and disagree some. Printing too much causes inflation/hyperinflation as you point out. That’s what happened with Covid freebies. So having control over supply is an issue with fiat

Gold does have inherent value because of industrial commercial and personal use. After all you cant wear your BTC and look pretty

This admin is crypto friendly because they want to issue their tokens and get rich. Seems to be working. Another admin may not be as friendly

@MrGrumpy like I said, gold now actually has use. It didn't always, it just was scarce and looked pretty, hence my primate comment.

Regarding governments - sure regulatory landscapes can change, but crypto will still be widely used, especially for cross border remittance.

The crypto market is growing.
I'm in Africa, we have the lowest crypto user base although growing. It's still a big market since Q2 this year, a $2.9B market with a 4.8% growth annually.

Most Africans are adopting stablecoins.
It's convenient as traditional financial institutions have failed people in rural areas while mobile internet penetration is high.