Crypto Currencies In Our Work and Personal Lives - Why the Big Push?

Finishing up our previous discussion of several items I noticed with my set of "fresh eyes" from my recent vacation, it's time to get into the whole Bitcoin/crypto currency thing. The reason we're spending extra time with this is simply that it is having and will have an impact on our work and our personal lives.

To start, have you noticed that these have been even super-aggressively promoted lately? When a client recently emailed me that it was "clear" that he should own some Bitcoin, I realized it wasn't just me feeling the propaganda push. As for why it was so "clear," to the client that he ought to have some, I haven't had the chance to get into their logic. But I suspect that relentless promotion and propaganda may have a lot to do with the urge to buy.

Yes, propaganda. Cryptos are simply dripping with it. When Bitcoin was first "mined," a small group of tech types mined a philosophy that went along with the digital "coin." Bitcoin was off the grid. It was free from the government's greedy claws. It would be a new digital store of value to counter the loss of purchasing power of the US dollar due to the Fed's money printing. All of this was laced with libertarian/anarchist themes. And indeed some early miners made a mint on their original purchases.

From an initially mysterious, even obscure beginning, now cryptos are mainstream. We're not going to get into a detailed exposition of what these are (if they are indeed anything). Just know this: Besides Bitcoin, there are literally thousands of other crypto currencies. Estimates range from 4,000 to 10,000. No one really knows. For me, the mere proliferation of these raises a red flag or at least a few yellow ones. If anyone can just make this stuff up - which is basically what's going on - what value could it possibly have?

So with that as background, now let's attempt to put the propaganda into some sort of rational context. The analysis is strictly my own. We'll focus on how all this might impact our work and our personal lives. While there is a fundamental distinction that can be drawn between Bitcoin and other cryptos, we'll just lump them all together as cryptos for today's discussion.

In my area, I've been getting invites to more webinars that either include or are exclusively addressing matters related to: using cryptos in buying, selling, paying. More businesses claim they will exchange goods and services for some crypto or other. (Fewer actually do this than you might think, by the way.) The most visible of these would be Elon Musk's Tesla. If you've followed any of this, you'll know that he's flip-flopped recently. But other businesses may now begin using virtual currencies.

Will this effect you at your work? It depends. If your company accepts virtual currencies, you'll be learning protocols regarding how that will work. Maybe vendors will accept Bitcoin/Cryptos, or offer to pay you with them. Again, it's not all that common, but the claim is it's growing. 

What about being paid in crypto? Some accept payment this way. Will your job offer this alternative? If so, will you accept the offer? If you run a business, will you accept payment from customers in crypto? 

The fact is cryptos are being created by the dozens, hundreds, thousands, and pushed and promoted by more and more individuals and institutions. We've already mentioned Elon Musk last time as one who feels compelled to opine - yea and nay as it turns out - on cryptos. Now a good institutional example: JP Morgan Chase. Their CEO Jamie Dimon notoriously condemned cryptos for years. Then, as the price continued to rise and more corporations announced they were buying cryptos ("investing" they call it), all of a sudden JPM did a 180 and not only endorsed cryptos, but created an ETF (an investment vehicle) targeting their institutional and rich individual clients. Heck, if there's a buck to be made, Dimon's in - despite his previous "conviction" that cryptos were a waste of time and money. 

Do you see where all this going? Cryptos are being jammed into the mainstream. From every direction, you'll find them being pushed and promoted. Businesses may be forced to deal with them. Individuals will be enticed by prospects of getting rich.

(The push and promotion reminds me of similar efforts with the COVID jab - which we discussed last time. And, as with the jab, anytime the pushing gets too forceful, my first reaction is to ask "Why the push; what's the rush?)

The result all around will be a build-up of pressure to get in, not to miss the boat. You may already feel this pressure. If so, I urge you to do your homework and fire up your brain cells. I'm not telling you what conclusions you should draw - just think this through. 

In my professional work, I've done my own homework. I've made my personal and business decisions. At this point, I'm just standing aside and watching the fireworks. So, as you might suspect, I'm not pushing and promoting this stuff. Part of what's driven my view is a recent re-reading of Charles Mackay's Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. If you've never read it, this might be a good time.

One last comment: These things are under high scrutiny by the government, especially the IRS. We don't have time to get into the tax traps they present if you own them - buy do learn of the potential liabilities you'll incur when you buy and sell them. Know also that governments are right now concocting digital currencies of their own. It's hard to imagine them allowing competition if they decide to go all-in on the use of and official digital currency to be used in all commercial transactions. Will they ban or at the very least regulate and control cryptos? Your guess is as good as mine. But I wouldn't bet against it.

For now - for me - it's business as usual. We don't accept cryptos, don't pay vendors in cryptos. So far, so good. What the future holds, we'll all find out. 

But work's my priority right now. And with a prayer for the grace to ignore distractions that take my attention away from my work, I dive in.

Back to work.