Common Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Objections
With all Emerging technologies there are generally a mix of those who are early adopters and “visionaries” for the emerging tech, there are those who are not early adopters but see at varying stages of the adoption curve the value in the new technology, and there are those who object or don’t believe the new tech will be adopted by the masses.
Emerging technologies
In the early phases of new, disruptive technologies (such as the emergence of the Internet, World Wide Web and Blockchain/Bitcoin/Cryptocurrencies), there are always a large group of Nostradamus-wannabes trying to predict how the future of the new technology will play out. I have no problem with this provided it is based on hard facts and statistics, as these show the true state of a market and allow for informed decisions.
Blockchain, Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency are no different!
There is an enormous group who have objections to this new technology. I understand how daunting it can be when a technology looks to be so disruptive and potentially impacting almost every industry on the planet. To keep things based on statistics and verifiable facts, below are some common objectives I’ve heard or personally had said to me, with a response based on the current state of this industry.
Top 10 Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency objections
Below are the top 10, most common, Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin objections with responses (in no particular order).
Bitcoin is used for illicit activities and money laundering
Bitcoin is too volatile to be a reliable store of value
Bitcoin/Cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value
You can lose your Cryptocurrency or hackers can steal them
Bitcoin will be banned by financial regulators
Quantum computing will break Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is just “play money” (Monopoly money)
It can be difficult to withdraw your money from a Crypto exchange
Bitcoin is a Ponzi Scheme
As quoted by Investopedia, a Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing scam which generates returns for earlier investors with money taken from later investors. This is similar to a pyramid scheme in that both are based on using new investors’ funds to pay the earlier backers.
Blockchain technology, including Cryptocurrencies, is too complicated for mass adoption
I add this objection as I heard it on a “prime time” current affairs program where the host declared they could not see Bitcoin succeeding as it was “too complicated”.
Firstly, emerging technologies, especially disruptive technologies, can seem complicated at first. Just think of smart phones compared to “old school” mobile phones or landlines that did little more than actually make a phone call.
Secondly, while Blockchain and Cryptocurrency technologies are new and certainly more complicated than other technologies we are used to, mass adoption does not require that every user fully understands the technology they are using.
As an example, most would have transferred money overseas at some point however do we all understand exactly how the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) system works for international electronic funds transfers? Do we understand how intermediary banks and clearing accounts work? Yet most reading this have at some stage transferred money overseas.
Thinking of transport, many regularly use motorized transport (whether it is cars, busses, planes, trains etc) but do we need to understand how a Naturally aspirated engine, Jet engine, Electrical Motor, or similar work in order to see the benefits and mass adoption of the technology? Looking at the statistics for the global logistics industry, this industry is one of the backbones of international trade and worth over 5.5 trillion euros in 2018 (Source: Statista), however many who rely on it, may not fully understand how the global logistics industry operates, or on a more granular level how each motor or form of transport in this industry operates. However this is now a critical industry in our global economy.
