https://dcebrief.com/vietnams-government-looks-to-recognize-and-regulate-cryptocurrencies/
Interesting. I see all this leading to Gov't created, and sponsored, crypto in the future. It may take a long time but it will come. Which, I believe, is the main reason govt's are going easy on crypto now. They don't want to regulate themselves out of the game. When the majority of citizens are aware of, and comfortable with, crypto, I think there will be a "sea change" in the way we trade and use money. It would be fairly easy for those at the top of the power pyramid to simply mandate a schedule of declining reliance on fiat and increasing use of some government sponsored crypto coin. [...]
I agree however, there are a lot of "sheep" out there who will do as told simply because they know no other way, this is the problem. Perhaps global is too far reaching but, regional is reasonable. It would be easy to "taint" the crypto ecosystem with govt sponsored entries that mimic real crypto but do the government's bidding.
[...]
PS: I'm not an alarmist or conspiracy theorist, simply someone who has analyzed many such scenarios and presented opinions on same. Just opinions after all...
You've made some well thought out points R-J-F, and you might be happy to know that I disagree with you. But not with a great deal of confidence, because cryptocurrencies are so new that they are still anyone's game. But Chase's comment about Venezuela doubling their crypto bolivars, is the very thing that will prevent government success in the industry.
If I wanted to, in Australia, I could obtain some euros and convince the man mowing my lawn to accept them as payment by offering more than the AU$ value for his service. He could then give his mate a few of them for fuel and bait when they go out fishing. This is possible, but rather inconvenient because many people don't want to accept the euros and will charge more for doing it if they do. But in Cambodia, US$ are traded just as often as Khmer reil. Often in the same exchange, and a combination of both are passed over. This is because most people have a bit of both in their pockets.
I don't think cryptocurrencies are much different. Everything boils down to convenience and value. So if many people are comfortable with just a few of the top alt-coins by the time government tries to mandate the use of AussieCoin, people won't want to accept it and its value will reflect that. Because banning the use of particular cryptocurrencies is much harder than banning the exchange of particular fiat currencies, it would be very difficult to enforce use of a government sponsored currency over the popular one.
On top of this is the fact that there are almost 200 different countries in the world. To work out how many parallel successful cryptocurrencies there will be in the long run, I like to look at historical indicators like how many different credit cards would most people be happy to carry. Or how many different bank accounts is someone likely to manage. Looking at these sorts of questions and how humans like to organise their life in other ways leads me to believe there will be less than ten mainstream, frequently traded for goods and services, cryptocurrencies when the dust settles. It seems really unlikely to me that any of these will be a national currency because the majority of people using any of these ten leaders won't want to use another country's government cryptocurrency.
I really can't predict with confidence how likely DNotes is to be the one that makes it into the top ten for general use. But I am inclined to believe it is more likely to succeed than any government managed cryptocurrency.
I can see you've been thinking about this before, so I'm interest to know how you relate to my perspective. And I still agree that we all owe future generations our vigilance and our bias towards honest value-adding projects.
I am happy you disagree, a little discourse, now and then, is good thing don't you think? I can understand your argument and, I see your point and, I hope you are right, to a point, but, governments are well known for not following the rules, why would crypto be different? My grandfather used to say "There's more than one way to skin a cat" Why anyone would want to skin a cat escapes me but, the analogy works. I can see your point in western countries and those that at least profess some sort of "freedom" but, what about the rest? I'm a network engineer by trade, software engineer by design, entrepreneur by accident and crypto enthusiast by desire. I can tell you this for sure, don't underestimate what any particular government will do if it benefits those in power. And the technical argument against such actions falls down when you consider that anything created by man can be destroyed by man.
We, at least most of us, live under the delusion that we are free. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most of us in the western world are "free" in the sense that we can move around, live where we want, work for whoever we wish, etc but, like the man who loves the single red rose in a field of white ones, we fixate on what is easy to see, on the surface, and look no further. In reality, most of our day to day actions have been pre-programmed for us by the nature of the society we live in and the country and values that formed it.
In the US for example, if the government wanted to truly change the socio economic balance, would they come out and say it? No, they would manipulate society through the many arms of the media and industry to get their message out "under the RADAR" as it were. We would not even realize we were being manipulated and probably don't at this very time. It is not outside their capabilities make us like or hate something to produce an outcome that benefits those in power. BTW, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, just a guy who's been on both sides of the equation.
Take for example all the crap between the Republicans and Democrats right now. How many people believe this is real? Most I'm sure. I offer an alternative reality, it is a "put on" (almost wanted to say "Trumped Up" but no...) It is designed to deflect our gaze away from the dying dollar, the crumbling infrastructure, the race wars, the north and south, the trillions of borrowed money, from China of all places, and everything else that is currently wrong with America. And we are not the only country involved.
What this long diatribe is about is simply this: If the Government of ANY country sees crypto as a real threat, there would be a concerted, mainly subliminal, effort to poison it in the minds of the people, especially those who are not yet involved, as simple as flipping a switch and this is what we must remain vigilant against. Don't let them flip that switch, understand you can be manipulated and be ready for it, resist it.
Realistically, perhaps the best way to prevent that scenario is for the good guys to beat them to it. To build the trust of the population and show them there is a better way. Too get everyone you know involved and teach them trust in the crypto infrastructure. If you fill a mind with truth, there is little room for lies.
I absolutely loath the scammers, liars, opportunist and pump and dumpers in this industry. These people are the scum of the earth and need to be made accountable for their crimes and nefarious actions. They are the 747 on the governments RADAR and they are hurting all of us with their crimes. I know, "Wild West" rules of conduct, etc. But, that way of thinking does none of us any good. Each of us should do his or her part to weed them out and expose them as a service to the industry before bigger cops than us make some ugly rules we all have to follow.
And in all this, projects like DNotes should be thought of as the "North Star" of crypto, something to be followed and gazed at. Something that will lead us to a better world. Being a leader does not always mean you have the most money or followers or biggest infrastructure, it means people look up to you as an example of what they aspire to be.
Anyway, that's my rambling on the subject, your turn...