Crypto is still new as fuck, we are still early adopters, and even though we in a space where 6 months of development feels like 10 years in any other sector, crypto is still not ready for the general public, and the general public is not ready for crypto.
But too fully assess whether crypto is ready for the public, we need to take into account a wide range of factors, including the macro economy, regulations, both previous and future ones, institutional investors, and the current state of the European crypto markets.
Cryptocurrency is often seen as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation, and its value can be highly dependent on the broader economic climate, this is why the traditional markets' bears affect full force the crypto markets, we are yet to become an independent market that doesn't get affected by market cycles in TradFi. In times of economic uncertainty, cryptocurrency may be more appealing to investors looking for an alternative to traditional investments.
While some countries have embraced cryptocurrency and have put in place regulations to encourage its growth, others have taken a more cautious approach and have imposed strict regulations to limit its use. The future regulatory environment for cryptocurrency is also uncertain and could have a significant impact on its readiness for the public. On the one hand you have El Salvador with Chad Bukele and on the other you have countries like Vietnam where crypto is pretty much banned.
In recent years, an increasing number of institutional investors have been entering the crypto market, which has helped to increase its legitimacy and stability. However, the readiness of cryptocurrency for the public is also dependent on the willingness of these institutional investors to invest in and support the crypto market. FTXs debacle killed all the momentum crypto had with institutional investors - and I mean, why on earth a highly respected financial advisor or hedge fund keep their customers funds' in an exchange?
The European Union has been relatively slow to adopt cryptocurrency, and the crypto markets in Europe are still relatively small compared to those in the United States and Asia. However, the growth of DeFi is helping to merge the public markets with crypto, which could help to increase the readiness of cryptocurrency for the public in the region.
The current economic environment
Inflation is the gradual decrease in the purchasing power of a currency, which can be caused by a variety of factors including a growing money supply and increasing demand for goods and services. High inflation can lead to a decrease in the value of a currency, and can have a negative impact on the economy. That's the reason why you are earning the same as last year, but you can now buy fewer items with that same amount of cash.
The US dollar, like many other currencies, has been subject to inflation over time. This can be seen in the long-term decline of the purchasing power of the dollar, as the cost of goods and services has increased. The current economic policies of the US government, such as the massive stimulus package passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, have lead to a higher inflation today, and an even higher inflation in the future. We haven't seen the full effect of 2020 and 2021 in the economy, and we will not see it fully until 2030. The stimulus packages and the printing machine going brr for 2 years - and probably more - will have long term consequences, even if the average person doesn't see them until they affect them, and even if they want to change the narrative and put the blame on something or someone else.
The narrative of prioritizing the vaccine over saving the economy is offensive as fuck to those who have been affected by the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. Many people have lost their jobs, businesses have closed, and many are struggling financially, but hey at least we have a vaccination ratio of X.
Changing narratives
Governments around the world are responsible for making decisions that affect the lives of their citizens, including economic policies that can have a significant impact on the economy. In some cases, governments may actively try to change the narrative to convince their citizens of certain truths and to make them believe that they are doing the right thing for the economy.
They control the narrative in every form of communication, such as press releases, speeches, and social media, to present a positive image of the government's actions and to downplay any negative consequences. For example, a government may emphasize the short-term benefits of a particular economic policy, while downplaying any long-term negative effects that it may have. Take a look at the best example: Biden says new jobs are at a high, but people actually need two jobs to make ends meet.
Governments use various forms of censorship, propaganda, manipulation of statistics and selective reporting to create a narrative that serves their interests, rather than the interests of the citizens. This can lead to a situation where citizens are not fully informed about the true state of the economy and the implications of government policies on their lives. We are being spoon-fed half-assed truths and lies portrayed as truths, and the problem is that people believe them, a huge percentage of the population actually believes that the governments want what's best for the general population and not a selective elite.
This type of manipulation of the narrative fucks over the economy and on the trust between citizens and their government. When citizens are not fully informed about the true state of the economy, they are more prone to making poor financial decisions that ultimately have a negative impact on their house economy, but also in the economy as a whole. When citizens do not trust their government, they may be less likely to support government policies and may even engage in acts of protest or civil disobedience.
But don't worry about that, the people still trust their government and media outlets even if they are getting fucked every single day. They don't even realize how much they are being deceived.
Crypto's adoptions hindrance
Crypt has the potential to disrupt traditional financial systems and change the way we think about money and value. However, the regulatory environment for cryptocurrency is still developing and can vary greatly from country to country.
Currently, many governments and regulatory bodies view cryptocurrency with a degree of skepticism, and some have implemented strict regulations that can make it difficult for individuals and businesses to adopt and use cryptocurrency. They don't want you to adopt crypto because it takes power away from them and it gives them back to the people, it threatens the current status quo of centralized financial systems controlled by governments and the central banks - that's the FED, for the uninitiated burger boys.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology have the potential to enable peer-to-peer transactions without the need for intermediaries, such as banks, and they can also enable the creation of decentralized, autonomous organizations that are not subject to the same regulations as traditional businesses. This scares the man.
This regulatory environment, which aims to hind the adoption of cryptocurrency is an active threat threat to the current status quo, as it limits the potential of this new ecosystem to revolutionize the financial industry and challenge the power of governments and central banks. A more open and flexible regulatory environment for cryptocurrency would allow for greater innovation and adoption, and could ultimately lead to a more efficient and decentralized financial system, but that's exactly what governments want to avoid.
The DeFi solution?
Web 3.0 is the revolution in the hands of the people, but it is a passive revolution. We don't need to arm ourselves and go out to the streets, we can let our wallets speak for ourselves and take away the power that centralized institutions and governments have over us. Web3 as an environments refers to the next generation of the internet, which is built on decentralized technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrency. These technologies enable more secure, transparent, and decentralized online interactions, but they are not yet widely adopted by the general public because well, the governments and the media will do anything to hinder it's adoption, and they are succeeding.
One of the biggest challenges facing the cryptocurrency market is the lack of widespread adoption and understanding. In order for the market to grow and for cryptocurrency to become mainstream, more people need to be exposed to these new technologies and understand how they work. Anyone who's been in the space for more than 5 minutes understands this, which is why you see on every single crypto project a learn section.
While Central banks, governments and the media thrive on an ignorant populace, Crypto and DeFi thrives when their users are as informed as possible.
But it's hard as hell to get people to try something new and unfamiliar, particularly when it comes to something as complex as cryptocurrency. People love their comfort zone. Many people are still skeptical about the security and stability of cryptocurrency markets, and they may be hesitant to invest their money in something that they do not fully understand, and despite all the efforts of the crypto industry to educate their potential users so they become full time users, people are lazy and flee from anything that requires effort and time.
Recent events like the FTX debacle which was a hack or exploit of a third party service that caused huge loses to the exchange users, has further increased the skepticism among the people. This issue hurt the crypto ecosystem a lot, as it reinforced the narrative that cryptocurrency markets are not secure and that they can be easily manipulated.
This negative narrative may make it even more difficult to get more people exposed to web 3.0 environments and the adoption of cryptocurrency will face slow and hard growth. It is estimated that it will take at least one or two years for the narrative to change and for more people to become comfortable with the idea of investing in cryptocurrency.
So back to TradFi?
Investing in traditional markets, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate, can be subject to a wide range of regulations and restrictions. Banks, financial institutions, and other regulated entities are required to comply with a variety of laws and regulations to ensure the safety and soundness of the financial system. As a result, these institutions may place certain restrictions on the types of products and services that they offer to investors.
Banks limit the types of investments that customers can make through their accounts. They only offer a limited selection of mutual funds, stocks, and bonds, and do not allow customers to invest in alternative investments such as private equity or hedge funds. This makes it difficult as fuck for investors to access certain types of investments and to diversify their portfolios. They don't want the average Joe to become rich or make it, but to only give the perception of having options and escaping the matrix.
Many traditional investments are subject to regulations such as the SEC's Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering regulations, which require financial institutions to collect information about their customers and to monitor their transactions to ensure they are not involved in illegal activities. These regulations can also make it more difficult for investors to access certain types of investments and to move their money around.
On the other hand, investing in cryptocurrency can be much more independent and free. Cryptocurrency markets are not as heavily regulated as traditional markets, and many cryptocurrency exchanges operate in a decentralized manner, without the need for intermediaries or regulated entities. As a result, investors have more control over their investments and can move their money around more easily.
About Bitcoin futures
The approval of a Bitcoin ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) by regulatory bodies has been a highly debated topic in the cryptocurrency space. While there are currently several Bitcoin ETF proposals pending approval by the SEC in the United States, none have yet been approved. One of the main reasons for this is because the SEC has concerns about the potential for market manipulation and fraud in the cryptocurrency markets, as if other markets weren't manipulated every single day, insider trading never happened, and the government wasn't in on it as well - hello, Pelosi and Co.
A Bitcoin ETF would allow investors to buy shares in the ETF, which would in turn be backed by actual Bitcoin. This would provide investors with a way to gain exposure to the price movements of Bitcoin without having to actually purchase and store the underlying asset. But they don't want this, the SEC, the FED, The senate, local governments... nobody wants that, because that's where they play, that's where real money can be made, and it's playground for the higher class, not for everyone.
The difference between a Bitcoin spot ETF and a Bitcoin futures ETF is that in a spot ETF the ETF holds the actual bitcoin, whereas in a futures ETF, the ETF holds contracts for future delivery of Bitcoin at a specific price and date.
The reason why regulators are more likely to approve a Bitcoin futures ETF rather than a Bitcoin spot ETF is because futures contracts are traded on regulated exchanges, such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Intercontinental Exchange, which have established surveillance and market manipulation prevention mechanisms in place - allegedly, in Minecraft. Regulators believe that approving a Bitcoin ETF that is backed by futures contracts would provide a higher level of investor protection compared to a spot ETF, as if what they cared about was investor protection, yeah right.
But here's the thing, approving a bitcoin ETF would create a significant demand for bitcoin and would drive the price of the cryptocurrency higher, probably to 100k in a matter of weeks. An approval of this magnitude would lead to a significant number of retail and institutional investors jumping into the market, which could be seen as a political issue for some governments.
The people are not ready, and they don't care about being ready
To be really ready, people would need to know they are getting fucked in the ass, raw, not by one but by several entities and concepts they don't understand. First, they would need to understand inflation, which is the most basic concepts that the governments and central banks use to rule over us and keep us in the rat race forever.
If anyone cares, the website shadowstats.com, provides alternative data on inflation, which is often higher than the official data provided by the government. The purchasing power of the US dollar is decreasing at a faster rate than what is being officially reported and if more people knew this, they would act accordingly, whatever that may mean.
If you don't like crypto or are scared because you don't know much about it - despite what I mentioned above, that every single crypto project has a learn section -, one way to protect yourself from inflation is by investing in commodities, such as precious metals, real estate, and agricultural products. These types of assets tend to hold their value over time and can act as a hedge against inflation.
But it you are ready, the best way to protect yourself from inflation is by investing in cryptocurrency. Crypto assets are decentralized and not controlled by any government, they are not dependent on traditional financial systems and act as a long term store of value, and as a medium of exchange, like traditional money.
Long Crypto, short Fiat
Even if the public is not ready for crypto.