Cryptocurrency thoughts

I’m trying to wrap my head around the crypto world. What is the reason for mining? If it is to validate a transaction, that seems like it is ripe for fraud. Shouldn’t all tokens be mined already in order to provide a secure network. Aren’t most meme coins just pump and dump financials with vague concepts in their descriptions?

I understand the business model for credit cards is costly and outdated, as well as currency exchange rates. Many small businesses where I live have recently tacked on 3% transaction fees to every credit card purchase. I was told by an owner, they have been sucking up these costs for years, but now it is digging into their small profit margins.

Crypto has the potential to be a global game changer, like credit cards were 50 years ago. Do any large credit card companies have an outward interest in blockchain technology, or is it being quietly researched? The stock price of Visa and Mastercard is outrageous with regard to how their profit is made…together with 29% bank interest rate charges if you don’t pay it off each month. It reminds me of the towering bohemouths to luxury in Las Vegas, so much of it earned off the backs of the hard working wage earners.

Is this the result of the defective human condition? Gambling has been around a very long time. Lottery tickets, for instance, tempt millions.

Besides the noise of the get rich quick, carnival barker, magic elixir crowd, just who is doing due diligence? That takes time and thoughtful research, which is an oxymoron in the crypto markets. The temptation for a quick buck is tempting for all of us.

It is kind of humorous watching YouTubers doing RSI on thinly traded cryptos. Some YT’s have several hundred thousand subscribers. Are they really that watchable?

Social media is a gift and a curse. I recently visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, IL. They had one exhibit with a wall of newspapers from north and south publishers both vilifying and glorifying the presidential nominee, in the harshest of the written word.

Today, this could be done instantaneously. This works into the citizen journalist thought process, the democratization of opinion platforms. An individual now has the power to create broadcast quality video with their high end smart phone. The cost of entry is within the reach of millions, but just like an artists’ cost of his tools are low, what you do with those tools makes the difference in quality of the product.

So, who do we trust and what does the future hold? I know it’s blockchain, but how can we get there efficiently without a bumpy ride?