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I agree with Kate Thompson Davy’s observation that “2023 is a pivotal year for crypto’s perception” (“Have we moved through winter and into the era of crypto consequences?”, June 21). I can’t however, get on board with her reasoning — crypto’s reputation past this year won’t hinge on bitcoin’s volatility or the sentencing of scammers.
Recent declines in the crypto market have come primarily from alt-coins, suggesting a positive shift towards less speculative trading. The “foundational” cryptocurrencies, bitcoin and ethereum, have held their own through this crypto recession. As a result, even BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has issued a crypto ETF.
Criminals such as Sam Bankman-Fried should and will be prosecuted and go to jail, just like those who commit tax fraud or who run mafia rings. The law sometimes takes a while to catch up to new kinds of crime, but it eventually does. With reports from Chainalysis showing that illicit activities only account for 0.24% of transactional volume, similar to that of credit cards, it is certainly time to move the crypto conversation beyond volatility and crime.
Dubai’s government will soon become the world’s first blockchain-powered government, saying it will unlock 5.5-billion dirham in savings each year from document and payment processing alone — equivalent to one Burj Khalifa’s worth of value annually.
Closer to home, blockchain is being used to enable investment in solar for some of the least well-off South Africans, securely and without government interference or corruption.
The reason this year will determine crypto’s future is that the “useful, social purpose” of blockchain technology is now being tested, and the results are looking positive for blockchain.
There are countless ways that the low transactional costs, speed, security, and transparency of blockchain can aid society, and it is a pity that these aren’t being more enthusiastically discussed.
Ahren Posthumus Via email
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Volatility and crime do not define crypto
I agree with Kate Thompson Davy’s observation that “2023 is a pivotal year for crypto’s perception” (“Have we moved through winter and into the era of crypto consequences?”, June 21). I can’t however, get on board with her reasoning — crypto’s reputation past this year won’t hinge on bitcoin’s volatility or the sentencing of scammers.
Recent declines in the crypto market have come primarily from alt-coins, suggesting a positive shift towards less speculative trading. The “foundational” cryptocurrencies, bitcoin and ethereum, have held their own through this crypto recession. As a result, even BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has issued a crypto ETF.
Criminals such as Sam Bankman-Fried should and will be prosecuted and go to jail, just like those who commit tax fraud or who run mafia rings. The law sometimes takes a while to catch up to new kinds of crime, but it eventually does. With reports from Chainalysis showing that illicit activities only account for 0.24% of transactional volume, similar to that of credit cards, it is certainly time to move the crypto conversation beyond volatility and crime.
Dubai’s government will soon become the world’s first blockchain-powered government, saying it will unlock 5.5-billion dirham in savings each year from document and payment processing alone — equivalent to one Burj Khalifa’s worth of value annually.
Closer to home, blockchain is being used to enable investment in solar for some of the least well-off South Africans, securely and without government interference or corruption.
The reason this year will determine crypto’s future is that the “useful, social purpose” of blockchain technology is now being tested, and the results are looking positive for blockchain.
There are countless ways that the low transactional costs, speed, security, and transparency of blockchain can aid society, and it is a pity that these aren’t being more enthusiastically discussed.
Ahren Posthumus
Via email
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
KATE THOMPSON DAVY: Have we moved through winter and into the era of crypto consequences?
Crypto remittances cut costs for migrants in UAE
SIMON BROWN: Alternative assets: what you need to know
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