Many question as to what need cryptocurrency fills? What is the use case for it?
This is something that is vitally important to answer since it changes the entire world.
In short, cryptocurrency allows anyone to partake in out-sized returns. Under the present system, this is reserved for a select few. The likelihood of someone getting a 1,000X going through the traditional avenues is not likely.
Sadly, if allowed to partake, there are many opportunities for these types of returns. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft all netted people this type of payout.
Of course, one looks at the historical record of the stocks and that is not evident. These returns are there, not just for everyone.
Tesla opened its trading at a little over $19 in 2010. With the stock now trading at over $400, that is nowhere near a 1,000X.
The challenge is that 2010 is when most of us could get involved. The company was started in 2003. There were a series of investors who partook in the success of the company to a much greater degree, including Elon Musk.
With a company such as this, the big money is made by the venture capitalists and early funders. At the same time, even during the IPO, Wall Street banks and big money clients get the stock at a discounted price compared to where it usually opens up at. This gives them a significant advantage.
While anyone would have done very well by holding Amazon, Microsoft, and Tesla stock from the very beginning, their returns would have been poor compared to those who were there from the start. It is also a reason why Gates, Bezos, and Musk are some of the richest people in the world.
So what does cryptocurrency do?
It eliminates this entire practice. Cryptocurrency offers anyone the possibility to get involved in a project from the very start. Companies that are structured this way will bring average people into the mix.
Of course, the regulators hate this idea and are already starting to clamp down. The idea of "accredited investor" is big with the SEC in the United States.
Let us look at an example of how this all could unfold.
Think for a moment about starting an asteroid mining company. A project like this could go out and raise $100M. To do this, they most likely would go to venture capitalists. The other option is to go public immediately although that would be tough to sell to the Street. Even if they did buy into the idea, it would cost millions in fees to get this set up.
This is the traditional avenue for raising money. Now, tell me, where the average person fits into this? It is obvious he or she is excluded.
With cryptocurrency, the situation is entirely different. Under this scenario, $100M could be raised by getting 1M people globally to put $100 into the venture. There could be $100M tokens issued for a buck each.
Of course, the SEC hates this idea. They do not believe average people should be doing this. "Accredited investor" means someone with a lot of money. The intent is to ensure they are dealing with people who know what they are doing. I will tell you though, I might not have a lot of investment money but I do know that investing in asteroid mining is riskier than buy Treasury Bonds. It does not take a genius to figure that out.
The success of this project would pay off in a huge manner. If it was successful, the $100M would easily turn into $1 trillion.
Does that sound outrageous? NASA identified an asteroid that is worth a lot more than that.
The point here is, under this circumstance, one could put up $100 to get involved. It might take 20 years, if ever, for a payout to come. If it did, there would be more than a thousandfold increase. The $100 became $100,000 at the trillion dollar value.
How many times would one have to do this throughout his or her life to be extremely successful? Technology venture capitalists seek to hit on 1 in 10 projects. They know 90% of what they put their money into is going to fail or, at best, break even. The key is to get a huge payout on the one that hits.
Could someone do this twice a year over the course of half a decade? With cryptocurrency that is entirely possible.
Vitalik Buterin, one of the co-founders of Ethereum, said that he believes the days of 1000X returns in cryptocurrency are done. This is something I disagree with. While he might be right with regards to how he is defining crypto, I think there are going to be a lot of projects as I described here funded in this manner. Thus, the "traditional" cryptocurrency might not yield that, individual projects could.
Again, returns like this are happening all the time. Cryptocurrency just offers a way for everyday people to get involved.
Which brings up the second advantage to cryptocurrency and how it is changing things.
Under the present system, one needs money to invest. Without the capital, it is impossible to partake even if it was an open system. Considering the U.S. Federal Reserve did a study to conclude that more than half of Americans could not come up with $400 to meet an emergency bill, the option of investing is negated.
With cryptocurrency, our involved in the asteroid mining scenario is alive and well. We do not need fiat currency to buy the "A-MINE" token. Instead, we can use whatever tokens we have. Earn some AFIT from walking, that could be converted. Have some cards from Splinterlands? Use that is desired. Did you receive BAT tokens from the Brave browser? You guessed it, that could be utilized.
Thus, one can take token rewards from one project (or many) and direct them into something else that is thought to offer a larger return.
To me, this is the basic essence of cryptocurrency. Projects are being developed that rewards people for all kinds of activities. When these tokens are traded on open markets, they have some value. Whatever it is, that can be swapped for something else. This means that, over time, people can increase the size of their holdings as their rewards grow. Get involved in the right projects (tokens) and one can see massive growth.
Cryptocurrency has the ability to solve the global wealth problem. Think of a game such as Splinterlands. Over the years, there were hundreds of millions of dollars (if not billions) spend on in-game assets. The money went to the gaming companies which, ultimately, ended up on Wall Street. What do the gamers have to show for the money spent?
Nothing!!!
Once they leave the game, their assets are gone. They have nothing to show for their efforts. With Splinterlands, when one leaves, the assets are still owned by that person. With a market for the cards, they can be swapped out for something else.
As we embark upon a new decade. I think this is the most important message that we can deliver. The opportunity in cryptocurrency is to provide everyone with the ability to garner outrageous returns. For far too long, this was limited only to the select few.
Now, we can offer it to everyone.
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