malsuwaidi

PayPal for b2b transactions, Transferwise and similar services for cheaper remittance transfers. Crypto takes electronic payments and adds an ungodly layer of complexity to them.

I’ve actually outlined both réal-life use cases: 1- initially anonymous online payment (we all know how that went), and 2- fringe -let’s - change - this - corrupt - system types who also would like to get rich doing it (by definition if you want to change a political economy system it’s for you to come out on top on the other end).

What other real world use case has there been for crypto so far that’s actually 1-useful and 2-adoptable ?

Early(ish) adopter here(circa 2013): initially it was a way for nerds who didn’t have street connections to buy drugs. Then it morphed into the biggest, most decentralized multi-level marketing speculative asset class in the history of the world.

The narrative behind crypto reminds me a lot of gold bugs who rave on and on and on about how defective the existing fiat monetary system is , in hopes to push up the fiat prices of their asset.

Every speculative asset needs to have a narrative tied to it to help newcomers rationalize buying in their fomo. (Look at GME, louisiana bonds etc etc etc). That doesn’t mean that it’s not a good tool to make a quick buck if your timing is right.

I work in the field of economic development and this universal basic income debate has been fascinatingly ideological with little grounding in fieldwork reality. There are stones in this debate that nobody wants to touch; the relationship to work of different cultures around the world for one, as well as the very real effect of reserve wages increasing above the economic opportunities available in remittance receiving communities.

I really wish it was as simple as give people money and we will get economic development across the board, if that was the case a lot of sub-Saharan africa wouldn’t be in the situation it is right now.