Before the scam artists, billions of dollars and wild speculation, cryptocurrencies were set out to empower people by decentralization - a term misused and underappreciated by many. Bitcoin has provided us with the first stepping stone in what will be an uphill battle against the corruption, oppression and greed of financial institutions and governments alike. We've come a long way, but the battle has only just begun. As long as we rely on centralized exchanges as gateways, we continue to deprive ourselves of a truely decentralized means of exchange.
It is only a matter of time before the technology catches up to our needs - and when it does, governments will shake.
Decentralized exchanges will need to find ways to integrate atomic swaps, smart contracts and fiat currencies in order to compete with today's exchanges. Decentralization will make it virtually impossible for governments to regulate and allow users to transact completely anonymously while spending almost nothing on trades.
Progress becomes increasingly important with every hack and shut down of centralized exchanges.
Let's do our best to raise awareness and support decentralized exchanges. Don't underestimate the change.
Decentralization is eventually the goal and eventually before we get to that point, I must say its not going to be an easy ride and the reason for that is the threat that it will pose the traditional way of doing things and government will not allow that without a fight and the fear is how strong the battle can hold before we all lose it or the population left are not enough to command the eventual victory.
Another fear I have is how to break the gap between the amount of regulation and decency required in other to ensure people play by the rules which cannot to a large extent cannot be guaranteed in a situation of people with different moral values, culture, orientation and education which if pushed further can defeat the entire purpose of decentralization.