Cryptocurrency is a crock of sh*t. (Learning opp)

[biophase]

We buy stocks to make money.

And now, we buy crypto to make money.

But crypto was meant to replace money, or to replace the existing government currencies I should say.

When something replaces money it becomes money. Before that you have to tie its value to something known and accepted.

If a car dealership accepts bitcoin then I can aceept bitcoin to purchase goods in my store and convert that into a car. There is no USD involved there, it's a value transaction. What can't you understand or see about what money really is?

If I offered you 10000 gopros for your car, would you accept it and why?

 

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[jon.a]

This thread is a crock of shit and since we can't have an ignore thread function I'll start the vote.
landfill

 

[GuestUser450]

The innovation (and hype) revolves around the encryption techniques used to regulate its generation and transfer of it. People get excited because it's independent of central banks. Learn more about central banks to understand why this is good.

The idea is sound with even more potential for things outside of currency. Blame the hypeman not the rapper.

 

[SquatchMan]

The current concept of centralized currency has been in place for at least 300 years*.

Cryptocurrencies, decentralized currencies, have been around for 10 or so years.

Some people are visionaries and some people aren't. I don't think you are and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

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[juan917]

Do you know what a smart contract is?

 

[Aaron T]

They are all just value vouchers no matter what you call them.

They are worth something or nothing to right person. All forms of currency are just this. All forms of value are this. Value is ill defined and therefore can be gamed, gained, utilized, feared.

Lack of understanding them is just opportunity for those that understand them all to well. It is subject to the same laws of greed and power.

Also if only evil men had cryptocurrency, then only evil things will come from it. Same as money. So as with all value vouchers no matter what you call them.

 

[bettereveryday]

I'm going to jump into this discussion just long enough to make a couple basic points. I don't expect the OP to be receptive to those points, so I imagine I won't stick around here. But, maybe he'll actually read them and consider them...

- First, the reason Bitcoin was originally created was to solve the problem of currency disintermediation. With a central banking system, transfers can't necessarily be done instantaneously (have you tried doing a wire transfer on a weekend) and can't be done without fees (Bitcoin has transaction fees, but that's not inherent in all crypto models). Most importantly, it takes out the middleman from the equation -- the bank, broker, etc. If I want to send you $10 without going through an intermediary, there was no way (prior to crypto) to achieve that. I'm not sure why you think any of those things (disintermediation, instantaneous transfers, low/no fees) are a bad thing?

- The value of anything is indicated by what you can buy with it. You can say that there is no inherent value behind a Bitcoin, but if I can buy about $4000 worth of stuff with one of them, I will disagree with you and say that it has very clear value. While you might try to argue that crypto must be turned into fiat to use it, in many cases, that's not true (These Popular Websites Let You Pay for Stuff With Bitcoins). I've both bought and sold things with crypto (and never Bitcoin, btw). And I know plenty of other people and businesses who have as well. While it might not be backed by any government (though not completely true either), Bitcoin is just as much a currency as the US dollar, albeit with bigger fluctuations and not insured for loss.

- You think of crypto as merely a replacement for fiat currency, but that indicates you don't truly understand the underlying technologies. I might agree with you that Bitcoin -- in and of itself -- isn't very interesting. What is interesting is the decentralized model it represents, and underlying technologies that it incorporates. Blockchain will likely change the world (whether you accept that fact or not), and the "currencies" that are built on top of blockchain are more than just used to buy stuff from retailers. The tokens are are often used to gain access to and services from a particular network. The value of the tokens isn't pegged to fiat, but instead pegged to the supply and demand of the tokens for intended use (whatever that might be for the particular application).

- You said in your original post, "There is literally no use for cryptocurrency." Literally? I don't think so. There are millions of (awesome!) uses for cryptocurrencies, though 99.9% of them are not as a replacement for fiat. I have a friend who built a fantasy football application in blockchain, and it uses a custom cryptocurrency as the basis for transactions within the game. Sounds like a good use of cryptocurrency to me! You would probably argue that this isn't cryptocurrency because it's not trying to replace fiat, but if that's your definition, you need to expand your perception of how crypto and blockchain work.

- Along with the above point, there is an entire blockchain-based architecture (Ethereum) geared towards allowing developers to create decentralized financial (and non-financial) contracts between parties without the need for a middle-man, and then execute those contracts automatically and securely. The uses of this technology are literally endless. Use your imagination.

Anyway, I could go on, but I'm sure you stopped reading long ago...

No, I did read what you said.

And your comment has made me completely reevaluate my opinion, and I'm being completely serious.

My question is though, why not just incorporate that blockchain technology to our already existing currency?

What's the point of creating all these different types of cryptocurrencies and then having to use them for those specific services and such?

Why do I need to use cryptocurrency for your friend's fantasy football game, why can't I just use USD?

Thank you for your response, it's the only one that came off as informed and knowledgeable about the subject lol

 

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[juan917]

No, I did read what you said.

And your comment has made me completely reevaluate my opinion, and I'm being completely serious.

My question is though, why not just incorporate that blockchain technology to our already existing currency?

What's the point of creating all these different types of cryptocurrencies and then having to use them for those specific services and such?

Why do I need to use cryptocurrency for your friend's fantasy football game, why can't I just use USD?

Thank you for your response, it's the only one that came off as informed and knowledgeable about the subject lol

I want to expand on his post and talk about ETH which is blockchain + smart contracts. The main benefit of smart contracts is SECURITY. In this system all nodes ASSUME other systems are compromised, we haven't had anything like that before this. Think about how many industries this would affect if each coin corresponds to one industry. Financial Services is just the start. There is also a record of every transaction in the system and this information is decentralized and duplicated all throughout the world. This is perfect for storing important pieces of information. This is why you have so many cryptocoins out there, there are a lot of use-cases of this technology.

ETH allows other coins to be built on top of it. Personally I'm invested in iXledger - Insurance Blockchain Solutions which aims to bring this technology to the insurance industry and is built ON TOP of ETH. OMG is another coin that has a real world use, they are looking to start delivering financial services to people who aren't being served by the current (LOTS of people don't have access to bank account) OmiseGO. They recently signed a deal with McDonalds in Thailand. The point I am trying to make here is that legitimate coins are out there and we are way beyond the "is this going ever be used? phase"

 

[Aaron T]

The main benefit of smart contracts is SECURITY. In this system all nodes ASSUME other systems are compromised, we haven't had anything like that before this.

This BTW is super powerful. I love ETH for this reason alone. It is an obvious after the fact thing.

 

[Maxboost]

Peter Schiff was on the JRE and talked about Bitcoin vs Gold..

TL;DW- Bitcoin will eventually crash. Gold will always remain valuable.

You guys might want to look into goldmoney.com and buy real tangible gold which can be turned into cash easily.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjqzyqRz_Mc

 

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[loop101]

There is literally no use for cryptocurrency, I have never seen or heard of anyone using cryptocurrency to buy anything, unless its something dark web related.

You could have just Googled "uses for bitcoin".

 

[jpmartin]

Is it a way to make money? Absolutely, there's no denying that. You can invest in cryptocurrency and make tons.

I take it this OP is sincerely trying to find the conviction level to decide whether to get into the crypto invest/trade. If so... let me just say this. You have no idea about Blockchain & Cryptos and ranting about it here won't help. Do some homework, read as much as you can and then make your own decision to invest / trade a small portion until your convinced. Here's a start. It's not our duty to convince you. Meanwhile plenty of people are making money off it. It's like another trade / investment.

There is literally no use for cryptocurrency, I have never seen or heard of anyone using cryptocurrency to buy anything, unless its something dark web related.

There's the retail aspect to it - can you use cryptos to exchange for goods/services? The answer is yes. As much as you would like, no. But companies are slowly opening up to this. The reason why companies like Amazon are not doing it now is because they don't like the volatility of Bitcoin (or any crypto). Once one of these cryptocurrencies stabilize - i.e. moves of 1% or less in a month. Then that currency will become the medium for exchange. Think about it. No one is going to use their bitcoin to buy pizza or groceries if they think the value (in dollar terms) is going to rise by 50%. They'll hold on and not spend it.

I suppose you haven't heard of "smart contracts" (check ETH) and while you're at it - try to understand "blockchain" more than crypto.

Again, you haven't done your homework - it tells. There are over 400 sites offering to accept bitcoin and the number is growing.

Here are some examples of high end uses in real estate (not even retail):

Luxury Dubai High Rise Apartments Will Be Sold for Bitcoin - Bitcoin News
Bitcoin: Now Accepted As Down Payment For UK Houses | Zero Hedge

How does this crap even make sense?

It doesn't make sense to you, sorry. Start diving deep into this and you'll learn more than ranting here. I wrote a primer on this before people were talking about it. If you want to understand in layman terms get it here - The Rise of Blockchain & Cryptocurrency - or go ahead and spend time researching on Google/Youtube.

You'll be surprized at how intangible things are valued more than tangible things these days.

And all these crypto advocates talking about how the US Dollar will fall, crypto is here to save us , blah blah blah.....do you guys realize the implications behind what it is you are saying? And what about the hypocrisy behind such statements?

Again, if you study currencies - you'll understand what is going on. And while the US dollar may be the most used currency for now, there are plenty of other countries and currencies. The value of a currency comes from the confidence in that currency. If more people believe in a currency (whether it is physical or digital or even shells, or cigarettes) - that is the value it gets.

Disclosure: There is a concept called "talking your book" - those who have the stock, talk it up and those who missed the rally or aren't in yet, talk it down. This is normal. So to be transparent here - yes, I own BTC, BCC, ETH, LTC, XRP - not much, but enough to keep track

 

[jpmartin]

I'm going to jump into this discussion just long enough to make a couple basic points. I don't expect the OP to be receptive to those points, so I imagine I won't stick around here. But, maybe he'll actually read them and consider them...

- First, the reason Bitcoin was originally created was to solve the problem of currency disintermediation. With a central banking system, transfers can't necessarily be done instantaneously (have you tried doing a wire transfer on a weekend) and can't be done without fees (Bitcoin has transaction fees, but that's not inherent in all crypto models). Most importantly, it takes out the middleman from the equation -- the bank, broker, etc. If I want to send you $10 without going through an intermediary, there was no way (prior to crypto) to achieve that. I'm not sure why you think any of those things (disintermediation, instantaneous transfers, low/no fees) are a bad thing?

- The value of anything is indicated by what you can buy with it. You can say that there is no inherent value behind a Bitcoin, but if I can buy about $4000 worth of stuff with one of them, I will disagree with you and say that it has very clear value. While you might try to argue that crypto must be turned into fiat to use it, in many cases, that's not true (These Popular Websites Let You Pay for Stuff With Bitcoins). I've both bought and sold things with crypto (and never Bitcoin, btw). And I know plenty of other people and businesses who have as well. While it might not be backed by any government (though not completely true either), Bitcoin is just as much a currency as the US dollar, albeit with bigger fluctuations and not insured for loss.

- You think of crypto as merely a replacement for fiat currency, but that indicates you don't truly understand the underlying technologies. I might agree with you that Bitcoin -- in and of itself -- isn't very interesting. What is interesting is the decentralized model it represents, and underlying technologies that it incorporates. Blockchain will likely change the world (whether you accept that fact or not), and the "currencies" that are built on top of blockchain are more than just used to buy stuff from retailers. The tokens are are often used to gain access to and services from a particular network. The value of the tokens isn't pegged to fiat, but instead pegged to the supply and demand of the tokens for intended use (whatever that might be for the particular application).

- You said in your original post, "There is literally no use for cryptocurrency." Literally? I don't think so. There are millions of (awesome!) uses for cryptocurrencies, though 99.9% of them are not as a replacement for fiat. I have a friend who built a fantasy football application in blockchain, and it uses a custom cryptocurrency as the basis for transactions within the game. Sounds like a good use of cryptocurrency to me! You would probably argue that this isn't cryptocurrency because it's not trying to replace fiat, but if that's your definition, you need to expand your perception of how crypto and blockchain work.

- Along with the above point, there is an entire blockchain-based architecture (Ethereum) geared towards allowing developers to create decentralized financial (and non-financial) contracts between parties without the need for a middle-man, and then execute those contracts automatically and securely. The uses of this technology are literally endless. Use your imagination.

Anyway, I could go on, but I'm sure you stopped reading long ago...

Well articulated. And thanks for covering those points. I was too lazy to write again

Here is another zero to infinity perspective - brings a level headed approach to it - The Three Faces Of Bitcoin | Zero Hedge

 

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[jpmartin]

My question is though, why not just incorporate that blockchain technology to our already existing currency?

This is like asking, why doesn't the rest of the world use US Dollar? (To take your attraction and commitment towards it)

What's the point of creating all these different types of cryptocurrencies and then having to use them for those specific services and such?

Again, why are there are so many countries with their own currency? Ask yourself this question. There are over 1,000 cryptos now... you can chose any one, each has its own purpose or variation. Just look at the market caps and decide which one you want to invest in. If you're speculative - go and by those that are seeing massive spikes each day. I know a hedge fund follows the miners and does this.

Why do I need to use cryptocurrency for your friend's fantasy football game, why can't I just use USD?

You don't need cryptocurrency, there is a thing called an exchange. You can change any crypto/currency at one! Cmon...

 

[jpmartin]

It's being done...all over the world. Here are some examples:

UK Central Bank Tests Ripple’s Interledger Protocol for Cross-Border Payments - CoinDesk

Brazil's Central Bank Considers Blockchain Settlement Prototype - CoinDesk

Two More Indian Banks Conduct Blockchain Pilot Transactions

Details Emerge on Singapore Central Bank's Blockchain R&D - CoinDesk

Colombian Central Bank To Test Distributed Ledger Technology Corda

Of course, these things take time -- governments don't like disintermediation and they certainly don't implement new technologies quickly, if history is any indication.



The idea of proprietary "currencies" has been around for as long as business itself...

Why do casinos have chips? They are just a substitute for currency.
Why do airlines have frequent flier miles? They are just a substitute for currency.
Why do stores have gift cards? They are just a substitute for currency.
Why does Dave & Busters have game tokens? They are just a substitute for currency.
Why do retailers have coupons? They are just a substitute for currency.
Why does Chuck E Cheese have those little paper tickets that can be exchanged for prizes? They are just a substitute for currency.

The reason for all of these is the same -- stores want to tie customers to their brand. Jiffy Lube doesn't want to give you a coupon that you can use at a competitor. Dave & Busters doesn't want you getting tokens and spending them in the supermarket. Harrahs Casino doesn't want you to cash in chips from The Golden Nugget.

Most people don't realize the number of networks that operate in the real world with proprietary "currencies." As another example, just look a how many websites (this one included) that have a point or currency system NOT TIED TO FIAT that is used to gain your loyalty.



First, my point above -- my friend doesn't want people taking his tokens and using them elsewhere. He wants them native to his platform, and useless anywhere else. I have no idea what his tokens are called, but from a branding perspective, the name probably has something to do with fantasy football or the name of his application.

Second, you may not want to play for real money. You can peg the value of a crypto token to $0 and that solves that problem.

But, there's also the problem that you might want to scale the value of the currency you're trading in. For example, let's say that you want to play fantasy football with each person putting in $10 to the game. If you use the real money, every transaction is going to be one of the thousand values between $.01 and $10, at least to start. It has to be, because those are the increments available in US currency (the most you can break $10 into is 1000 parts).

That means that the most expensive transaction processed in that game can't be more than 1000x more expensive than the least expensive transaction. That's pretty limiting. The nice things about crypto is that you can break a coin into a whole lot more incremental pieces (many are 18 decimal places). Instead of getting 100 increments per dollar, you can get quadrillions of increments per coin. You can start with a coin valued about the same as the $10, but you get quadrillions of more permutations for the values of the deals that can be completed.

You did a better job than me answering this. I just haven't had my coffee this morning so feeling grumpy after reading the OP. Ok, guys to make it up... if anyone is interested in a presentation I took (over 50 slides) for EO (Entrepreneurs Organization) on Blockchain and Crypto - please PM. I'm going to be taking another one this month for a larger audience. If MJ is ok, I'll share the link to register for the webinar.

 

[Coalission]

lol OP reminds me of me when I first started participating in forums. There could be a thread already where my opinion could go, but then I wouldn't get all that intoxicating attention all for myself, so I'd make a new unnecessary thread about the same topic, and add some flair and bluster to it to ruffle some feathers and guarantee some replies.

Don't say "but this is about the currency", you simply wanted the spotlight and didn't want to be lumped together with masterneme and fhs in the other thread.

As far as cryptocurrency is concerned, this debate is stupid at this point and I won't waste much time on it. Cryptocurrency is happening whether you like it or not, period, point blank, end of story.

 

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[biophase]

Thank you for your response, it's the only one that came off as informed and knowledgeable about the subject lol

This is because Jscott was nice enough to take the time to type it. The rest of us thought it was pointless to argue with an uninformed person who did not understand the basics of currency.

 

[fhs8]

Even if Bitcoin goes mainstream (I believe it won't) it would still be a bad investment. In theory it's return would only follow inflation. US inflation is expected to be about 2.5% for the next 30 years.

Almost all the transaction volume on Bitcoin is nothing more than daytraders and "investors" passing tulips around.

 

[BrooklynHustle]

This thread is a crock of shit and since we can't have an ignore thread function I'll start the vote.
landfill

Have to admit he wrote a great headline though... Look at the engagement

#landfill

 

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[bettereveryday]

First of all, to all of you on your high horses, and to all of you who talk as if you are enlightened due to your support of cryptocurrency...

I am quite aware what blockchain technology is, I am quite aware what smart contracts are, I have/had nothing negative to say about those ideas/technologies.

I have spent hours reading the code on the Hyperledger project, a project based on developing blockchain technology for industry use (sponsored by companies like IBM, Cisco, Red Hat, etc). I even a took a course on blockchain technology through IBM. Only reason I point this is out is because you guys are making it seem I am ignorant about the TECHNOLOGY behind the currency, which I see great value in.

How many of you even use the technology behind these cryptocurrencies? Have any of you used or developed a smart contract? Any of you know how to code or read Solidity?

Have any of you developed or used an application based on the Ethereum blockchain?

Has anyone here used Sia Coin in order to rent out hardware space on someone else's computer?

Is there even a use for any cryptocurrency outside of Bitcoin and Ethereum?

I bet most of you that have experience using cryptocurrency never even used it outside a a retail context, or for investment purposes.

 

[bettereveryday]

Go on most of these crypto websites and they use the same buzzwords, "Scalability, decentralized, private, secure, etc"

It's all a bunch of crap, 95% of the crypto's aside from Bitcoin and Ethereum use the same exact code that Bitcoin and Ethereum were made from! But with their minor adjustments of course.

 

[bettereveryday]

It's being done...all over the world. Here are some examples:

UK Central Bank Tests Ripple’s Interledger Protocol for Cross-Border Payments - CoinDesk

Brazil's Central Bank Considers Blockchain Settlement Prototype - CoinDesk

Two More Indian Banks Conduct Blockchain Pilot Transactions

Details Emerge on Singapore Central Bank's Blockchain R&D - CoinDesk

Colombian Central Bank To Test Distributed Ledger Technology Corda

Of course, these things take time -- governments don't like disintermediation and they certainly don't implement new technologies quickly, if history is any indication.



The idea of proprietary "currencies" has been around for as long as business itself...

Why do casinos have chips? They are just a substitute for currency.
Why do airlines have frequent flier miles? They are just a substitute for currency.
Why do stores have gift cards? They are just a substitute for currency.
Why does Dave & Busters have game tokens? They are just a substitute for currency.
Why do retailers have coupons? They are just a substitute for currency.
Why does Chuck E Cheese have those little paper tickets that can be exchanged for prizes? They are just a substitute for currency.

The reason for all of these is the same -- stores want to tie customers to their brand. Jiffy Lube doesn't want to give you a coupon that you can use at a competitor. Dave & Busters doesn't want you getting tokens and spending them in the supermarket. Harrahs Casino doesn't want you to cash in chips from The Golden Nugget.

Most people don't realize the number of networks that operate in the real world with proprietary "currencies." As another example, just look a how many websites (this one included) that have a point or currency system NOT TIED TO FIAT that is used to gain your loyalty.



First, my point above -- my friend doesn't want people taking his tokens and using them elsewhere. He wants them native to his platform, and useless anywhere else. I have no idea what his tokens are called, but from a branding perspective, the name probably has something to do with fantasy football or the name of his application.

Second, you may not want to play for real money. You can peg the value of a crypto token to $0 and that solves that problem.

But, there's also the problem that you might want to scale the value of the currency you're trading in. For example, let's say that you want to play fantasy football with each person putting in $10 to the game. If you use the real money, every transaction is going to be one of the thousand values between $.01 and $10, at least to start. It has to be, because those are the increments available in US currency (the most you can break $10 into is 1000 parts).

That means that the most expensive transaction processed in that game can't be more than 1000x more expensive than the least expensive transaction. That's pretty limiting. The nice things about crypto is that you can break a coin into a whole lot more incremental pieces (many are 18 decimal places). Instead of getting 100 increments per dollar, you can get quadrillions of increments per coin. You can start with a coin valued about the same as the $10, but you get quadrillions of more permutations for the values of the deals that can be completed.

Here's the thing;

I can't take a chuck-e-cheese coin and sell it for more than what it is, or even sell it for that matter. I can't use Frequent Flier miles other than what it's intended to be used for.

I can take Sia Coin for example, which is made to rent out cloud space from other people's hardware, not even use it for what it's made for, and then sell it months later for a higher price simply because more people have bought it, thus increasing it's perceived value.

But you see, all I did there was use the Sia Coin to make more $$$$$$. Good ol USD right?

If the cryptocurrency is made and intended to be used for a specific application or service, then fine, I understand where you're coming from with the whole branding thing.

But if that's the case, why are you even investing in cryptocurrency in an attempt to make profit? Why not use it for its intended purposes?

What's is the point of having any crypto, aside from Bitcoin ( because they came in the game first), and Ethereum (because of its real world applications)?

 

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[bettereveryday]

This is because Jscott was nice enough to take the time to type it. The rest of us thought it was pointless to argue with an uninformed person who did not understand the basics of currency.

So you took the time to come into this thread, read what I had to say, type out multiple comments without making any sort of valid statement, and then say its pointless to argue and on top of that, call me uninformed?

How does that make sense to you? If I'm so stupid and uninformed why even take the time to come into this thread and comment?

 

[bettereveryday]

lol OP reminds me of me when I first started participating in forums. There could be a thread already where my opinion could go, but then I wouldn't get all that intoxicating attention all for myself, so I'd make a new unnecessary thread about the same topic, and add some flair and bluster to it to ruffle some feathers and guarantee some replies.

Don't say "but this is about the currency", you simply wanted the spotlight and didn't want to be lumped together with masterneme and fhs in the other thread.

As far as cryptocurrency is concerned, this debate is stupid at this point and I won't waste much time on it. Cryptocurrency is happening whether you like it or not, period, point blank, end of story.

You came into this thread and made literally no valid points, all you did was attack "OP".

That's called an ad hominem.

How about you actually contribute something of worth?

J Scott came in and did that and moved how I think about cryptocurrency.

And to justify the validity of cryptocurrency because, "it's happening whether I like it or not", doesn't even make sense. That's something a 12 year old would say.

Selfies are also happening, whether I like it or not. That doesn't make taking selfies not stupid.

 

[lowtek]

Didn't read the thread in its entirety, but the value of bitcoin and other crypto currencies is in the blockchain itself - not in the fact that we can use it as a medium of exchange.

It's pure unbridled anarchy and it will change society forever.

Get on board or get steamrolled - choice is yours.

 

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[jon.a]

Didn't read the thread in its entirety, but the value of bitcoin and other crypto currencies is in the blockchain itself - not in the fact that we can use it as a medium of exchange.

It's pure unbridled anarchy and it will change society forever.

Get on board or get steamrolled - choice is yours.

Steamrolled? I'm sure that I'll be okay in ignoring it. I can count on one hand the number of times that I've even touched a smart phone so far and I'm doing fine.

 

[G-Man]

Previously knowing nothing about crypto currency I've read the several lengthy threads about it in the last few weeks, and here's what I've learned:

I still have no F*cking idea what any of you are talking about, which puts me very ironically in the same boat as some of the more cantankerous and opinionated participants in these discussions.

 

[TonyStark]

The only way we'll know for sure is in time.

 

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[bettereveryday]

You're conflating two things: Why do other cryptos exist and why are people investing in it. Those are two very separate questions, and when you look at them completely separately, the answers are clear.

WHY DO OTHER CRYPTOS EXIST?

I partially answered that above (customer loyalty and branding) and you answered that yourself above with your Sia example. You even said, "I can take Sia Coin for example, which is made to rent out cloud space from other people's hardware..."

Like you said, SIA is made for the purpose of renting out storage. How about other coins? CVC is made to pay for verification services. AVT is made to compensate for a peer-to-peer ticket sale. PAY is made to facilitate decentralized exchange trades. I can go on and on...

While certainly all of this can be done with one main currency (BTC or ETH), there is value to associating a "currency" to a brand. Just like with casino chips, frequent flier miles, etc. It's not necessary, but it's advantageous to the brand owner.

Additionally, the whole point of Ethereum is to allow companies to create sidechains off the main blockchain. Since you seem to understand the technology, I probably don't have to tell you the advantages to sidechains. That's the other reason for the existence of alt coins.

I really think these reasons are sufficient enough to justify the existence of alt coins...if not, there's probably nothing I can say to convince you.

WHY ARE PEOPLE INVESTING/TRADING COINS?

As for your other question, this one is much easier. People invest in and trade coins because they want to make money. Speculation on assets (and commodities) has existed as long as their have been economies and currencies. Why do people invest in and trade stocks? Gold? Silver? Corn futures? Artwork? Baseball cards? Etc?

Because they see an opportunity to make money. And given how inefficient the crypto markets are these days, making money is VERY easy.

Why can't people BOTH use a crypto for it's intended use AND trade it?

You may not like the answer to that question, but it's hard to deny that the answer is very clear and straightforward -- people are greedy and want to make money in the easiest way possible. Crypto appears to be pretty easy these days, so people flock to it.

Does that answer your questions?

Fair enough, I get what you're saying and where you're coming from.

I can't deny the presence and growing influence/value of cryptocurrency, my opinion doesn't change that.

Do you think this will be ever adopted by the masses though?

If you explained what cryptocurrency is to the common man and woman they would have no idea what the F*ck we are talking about.

I had to read books to understand what blockchain technology is.

I doubt 95% of people are willing to read a book on how to use "money" and why they should trust this new "money"

 

[lowtek]

Steamrolled? I'm sure that I'll be okay in ignoring it. I can count on one hand the number of times that I've even touched a smart phone so far and I'm doing fine.

The blockchain is more fundamental than smartphones.

The blockchain is analogous to HTTP - it's a protocol for exchanging information.

I'm certain your life has been changed by HTTP, since you're here and conversing with the rest of us on the interwebz. The proliferation of blockchain technology will be no less transformative than the spread of the internet.

But, to be fair, I was being hyperbolic in my post. I do that sometimes You won't actually get steamrolled, but you will have no choice in the matter.