GoodShibe on Nostr: I know that I'm speaking into the void here a tad but if you'll allow me, I'd like to ...

I know that I'm speaking into the void here a tad but if you'll allow me, I'd like to go on a bit of a rant re: the utter state of crypto.

I've been in crypto since 2012, started with Bitcoin but, unfortunately, had terrible experiences with the community. I ended up with Dogecoin as my community of choice for the last decade or so and I still love it, and crypto, as a concept, dearly.

Dogecoin for being, well, born of a joke, had inadvertent branding on its side and a spirited band of utter goofballs at its heart. We were the 'fun' people in an otherwise incredibly serious -- and sometimes even straight-up mean -- space.

I've spent no shortage of time over the last decade welcoming new Shibes over on Reddit and I'm incredibly happy that a not-small amount of people found their way into crypto thanks to Dogecoin.

But the question I have long asked my community (and I wrote extensively on it in 2014/2015) - and crypto in general - is, essentially:

Who is all of this for?

In 2023 I look out at the state of the cryptosphere and I see some really wild and interesting and well-intentioned ideas - and even more wild and interesting and well-intentioned people. Yet after more than a decade since this crypto ball really got rolling it seems like there's still this general bewilderment amongst crypto folk that we haven't been able to attract more 'regular' people into the space.

I think I know why. And you're probably not going to like my answer.

Because it cuts so much deeper than trying to explain to the average Joe why he'd want to be bothered setting up Lightning or be a part of a smart contract (let alone write one); why a mother of two should buy Satoshis instead of bread.

The short answer, at least from what I'm seeing and from the people that I've talked to, is that we have ceded an enormous amount of territory to the unscrupulous and straight-up evil.

We, of course, try to caution people:

"Never risk more than you're willing to lose!"

"Not your keys, not your coins!"

And then we watch scammers chitter as they rug pull yet another obvious scam coin.

Or yet another exchange decides that 'just being fucking decent' is too much work or isn't making them enough money so they evaporate with your cash.

And, as long as we're not affected, we collectively shrug.

Look, I get that there is no real self-policing in a decentralized space like ours.

And I get that Cryptocurrency is fungible, irreversible, digital cash.

But it's a real hard thing to watch someone that you helped get into crypto wrap their head around the idea that their money is gone. Their money is just gone, forever, because they (or their kid or their spouse)... clicked on a link.

You get to just sit there and watch that reality set in behind their eyes in real time. And all you can do is commiserate because you know there's nothing to be done.

The amount of people that I personally know who've been the victim of a crypto scam is not small - myself included when I was new. Hell, it's almost like a rite of passage:

'My first crypto scam'

We watch them unfold, we wish the victims luck and then point them to external sources of justice because we know that we can offer no recourse on our own.

And that's by design.

I really encourage everyone in this space to think about where exactly we are right now because CBDCs are coming and I can already see you scoffing but they offer a fundamental form of competition to crypto in an arena that we simply seem unable to compete:

They can get and give you your money back.

If we want mass adoption for crypto we need a better clarion call than simply 'freedom'.

Because one day, if not already, those 'scammers' will be government-funded hackers, picking up the free money left out on virtual window sills by the citizens of the world.

Either way, it really doesn't matter who is scooping you; If the entirety of your wealth can be anonymously, irrevocably taken in your sleep from halfway around the world then crypto ultimately offers serfdom.

And we have nothing to offer in kind except "Well, you should have..." while we quietly, nervously check our seed phrases.

Look at the actual reality of this space and tell me again how cryptocurrency is ready for prime time.

Tell me how your loved ones, your mom and/or pop, can be welcomed here when they have to unknowingly compete with bots built by skilled, international hackers and a plethora of other unscrupulous people, daily, just to keep their coins let alone try to use them.

CBDCs for all of their terrifying implications and flaws they offer that warm hug of 'safety'. And haven't we already witnessed exactly what people are willing to give up just to maintain that illusion?

Yes, they'll know everything about you and everyone you connect to. Yes, they'll have intricate control of the monetary system and thus, potentially, the direction of your life and society at large but in exchange your money won't be able to be stolen by anyone but them.

"Legally," of course.

It's easy for us to shrug and simply welcome those that we can but I hope that we don't stop there.

Because, for all of our bold words and collective talk about 'freedom' *this* is where the rubber meets the road.

There are those on the outside who've eaten our lunch, taken the best parts of the recipe for themselves and twisted the rest to specifically take *that* choice - true freedom - away from people.

And they're only just getting started.

Are we building lifeboats and ways to mass welcome and onboard people who've never heard the word "cryptocurrency" before?

Are we building parallel economies and figuring out what, exactly, a de-coupled Bitcoin (or Litecoin or Dogecoin, etc) is worth on its own?

If we want any of that freedom that we value to last in the world that lies ahead of us...

We'd better be.

Much Love,

GS