The ramifications of blockchain technology?

[jamest]

When I sold my crypto I had still made very significant gains, which I then reinvested about 18 months ago. So yes, I currently own very significant amounts which I do not intend to sell until next year.

Its intrinsic value is no less than the US dollar or any other fiat currency, since none of them are backed by anything either. And crypto is not useless since if permitted it can be used exactly like any other kind of money, or in bitcoin's case as a store of value also.
And yes, it's had a volatile life, but that's because it's young and is yet to achieve mass adoption. Regardless, in spite of its volatility anyone who has invested and held for several years (even during bear markets), has made gains.

There is a chance that it could all turn to shit, but what you don't seem to realise is that there's a very real chance that the $ (et al) and the banks could all collapse at any moment. There is no safe haven in holding your dollars (notwithstanding the inflation that gnaws away at them continuously). In fact, I personally think that the system is on the verge of collapse and one of the main reasons I want to hold crypto is because it is decentralised. The governments of this world will rob their peasants when they need to, as they have done before.
Even if you have little faith in crypto, you should own a bit of it just in case that happens.

[Thommo]

There is no safe haven in holding your dollars (notwithstanding the inflation that gnaws away at them continuously). In fact, I personally think that the system is on the verge of collapse...

We know. As of 2020 (yes, that's over 4 years ago and counting) you told us we were heading for four figure inflation and only had days or weeks left to act before the imminent total economic collapse and death of over half the people in the world.

You were forecasting this collapse to be so severe that it was necessary to invest in vegetable seeds to grow your own and chickens to ensure you would still be able to get protein.

My best guess is that there's only days/weeks left to save yourselves from it, so do what you can. Good luck, etc..

The real question at this point is just how long you can carry on pretending to yourself you weren't and aren't completely wrong about this.

While I'm here I may as well point out that it's not really accurate to portray an equivalence between a cryptocurrency which is decentralised (i.e. backed by nothing by design) and a regular currency which is centralised (i.e. backed by a central bank and government with the ability to generate revenue by levying taxes) in terms of intrinsic value or stability.

It's also worth repeating for the umpteenth time that inflation is only an issue for your savings if you mattress stuff. If you do what most people do and invest in real estate, gilts, stocks, a basic savings account or other investment the situation is entirely different.

I have found it interesting watching bitcoin this year as the latest expansion of the bubble has underperformed revenue (and stock price) growth of companies like NVIDIA. Even for the truest of believers it will inevitably become harder to maintain the case for bitcoin speculation in preference to stock speculation when the rates of return are lower than investments which are underpinned by actual revenue and regulation, even amid favourable tailwinds like the legalisation of bitcoin ETFs.

I was also interested that the guy claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto is coming up on fraud charges.