Are cryptocurrencies for bad guys?
A very good post about the possible funding of so-called “separatists” in east-ukraine by russia using crypto asset to transfer money easily and outside any radar remember us that, perhaps, the crypto real world is divided into 2 sub-worlds: one world is accumulating cryptocurrencies without spending them seeing them as refuge values or thinking them as a new platonic revolution and the other is using it for undercover operations from ransomware to funding wars.
Then is the crypto-world a naive group of early investors playing the same game of the very bad guys everywhere in the world ?
We know that the direct impact of cryptocurrencies in the real world is weak at first glance.
I am living in Switzerland and I can’t pay anywhere using crypto.
In Switzerland, a local payment system like Twint for example, are used by people to pay stuff but not crypto.
Switzerland has a very friendly attitude towards crypto. There is even cities like Zug where there is valley dedicated to crypto: check The crypto valley to know a little more about the june event and see what Zug is suggesting to you about crypto.
But the reality in this beginning of 2019 is hard to face:
Finally outside the “tech fashion world” a lot of people are speaking about crypto and blockchain but few are really using it “really”.
Then who is using Crypto ?
A lot of blogs posts are speaking about the real crypto market and more or less are thinking that the rise of the shadow banking go with the rise of the crypto-asset
The only problem is that we don’t know if the studies are not just ordered by classic banks to push legislators to enhance regulations bodies to allow them to fight new fintech world.
It’s very hard now like in every market to see who is doing a pure lobbying job and who is doing a serious paper about a serious subject.
Then i can’t answer to the question now but I just see that there is a big problem now which is facing the “old cryptocurrencies” : they need to be adopted by the people and they can’t be adopted when confirmation time for a transaction is superior to any credit card or worst any direct SEPA (in Euro) wire which is taking now sometimes even 1 or 2 hours.
If classics banks are starting to store asset in crypto-currencies – yes – we may have the first element of a massive adoption but for the moment you have only “not known brand” outside banks who can secure your wallet…
The volatility and the rest – confirmation time – are finishing to kill any will to use your crypto in the real normal life with a classic commercial exchange.
Then, yes, money laundering is the only ecosystem where you can accept to lose 10% of your asset to put the new money feed in action in the real world….
But when the new economic crisis will come, the attitude towards crypto of the mainstream commercial actors may change…not before.