I’m in no wise a fan of paper money. However, bitcoin is like paper money without the paper. When the electricity goes off, you’re left with nothing.
I read some months ago about how these gangs of Chinese dudes - some of them clearly not even knowing what cryptocurrency is - buying up large tracts of rural property in desolate places in Montana, Idaho, etc., because property and energy are both cheap - UNTIL they start a bitcoin mining plant. Then local farmers/ranchers/residents will start having power outages, etc. Local power co-op hustles to dig more trenches and hang more wire. Expect energy prices to go up then. Also property will become more expensive, because where there’s one cryptocurrency mining operation, you can bet there are going to be more.
Suddenly there are all these guys hanging around who seem like they don’t have jobs. It’s a big old party, day and night. There’s a noise that becomes constant, louder and louder. I guess - from what I’ve been able to piece out - it’s the fans they have to use to keep the machines cool.
I know the rural area I live in has seen quite an impact. And these guys are so snide about what they’re doing, like they’re some sort of aristocracy. (Criminals are always like that, though.)
It kinda looks like a scam, Earl.
In the coming years, that element will be run out of the system.
The “big” cryptos (Bitcoin, Etherium and the like) are fast becoming mainstreamed by the large investment companies. Companies like Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, and JPM are investing in cryptos and their infrastructure.
Why does this matter? Because those companies do not want to get in dutch with the government, their regulators, and big customers. This will drive out the dirt bags in favor of the “professional” business operators.
Crypto currency is moving from the Wild West to the “respectable” phase.
The argument about “the power going off” applies to just about everything in life. If the power really “goes off”, money—digital or physical—will drop in importance pretty damn fast. So, while that argument sounds reasonable—it proposes a situation that is not probably and which would require a complete paradigm shift. Even precious metals would be useless in a practical way until the shift was complete and a new economy was established.
But, different opinions make the world go around and they cause us to think about things.
Crypto is not the savior of the economic mess we are in. It will evolve over the coming years. But it causes us to think about what is going on. In the end, it comes down to whether or not you trust the government to manage your money, or whether you would like some input and control.