Gaming something out about Cryptos yesterday. Let's assume Russia invented Bitcoin and not the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto or if this person did, then lets assume Russia co-opted it. They like co-opting things. Any crypto blockchain or tangle or whatever you want to call /1
doesn't require going through the Federal reserve. No federal tracking. It moves as fast as the internet does. Yes, it's a public ledger and you can track all transactions, but if you don't know who owns a particular wallet, there is anonymity. Unless you shut down the /2
internet, the crypto can be sent anywhere. Now there's are some misconceptions about cryptos in general. You don't actually 'own' the bitcoin or other crypto. You hold the private keys which access the crypto on the blockchain. Further, you can gain access /3
to you keys anywhere in the world and send crytpo anywhere as well. This is a great and very easy way to move 'stores of value' which can be converted into local 'fiat' - dollars, pounds, euros, etc anywhere you're located. Cryptos are also a great way for governments or /4
countries to have a revenue stream if they're under sanctions. 100s of millions of dollars can be transferred through the blockchain in seconds and with minimal costs (miners, stake-holders etc). Now, instead of sloging millions of dollars in brief cases on airplanes or /5
have the Fed track your wire, your money can appear instaneously halfway around the world. I like aspects of this tech b/c I believe it substantially lowers the costs and fees of moving money around the world and encourages development in other techs among other things. /6
However, in it's current form, it's a great way to launder money and, as stated earlier, evade sanctions. Russia had to know the risk of crippling sanctions were possible when they began this suicidal adventurism against the US and the West. Further, mass adoption of crypto /7
could also lead to the dethrowning of the US dollar. Imagine if the Saudis started using Bitcoin to clear oil purchases. Whoever held even one bitcoin at that point would become very wealthy. At this point, I don't believe this will happen. /8
I do believe cryptos are here to stay as an asset class albeit with governmental regulation as with any other. I believe for cryptos to be safely used by consumers, there is no other viable option but regulation. This isn't a bar of gold sitting in your attic. /9
When Russia and others face their day of reckoning (economies being 'reckt'), controls need to be in place to prevent circumvention of sanctions via cryptos. /end
