[relax88]

I never really changed my mind about Bitcoin.

I always thought that Bitcoin is an interesting and novel technology, and risky speculative asset.

I’ve also always thought that most of the crypto ecosystem is fraudulent schemes designed to separate people from their dollars, and that this unforgiving nature and lack of institutional and state control will likely preclude mass adoption as an actual currency.

So no, not much has changed, though the second point has gotten much, much worse.

[majora2007]

This is spot on with my belief. Cool tech, but for the most part, all I see Crypto being used for is scams. Meme coins, pump and dump, token offerings only to cash out.

I haven't seen anything that actually makes Crypto worth the mining.

[relax88]

Agreed. The only clearly justified use cases I’ve seen are illegal or unsanctioned activity.

The only things Bitcoin and Monero really excel at is avoiding sanctions, buying drugs on the dark web, ransomware, and as an alternative if your entire country goes to shit (e.g Venezuela).

I think for this reason crypto will always be around in some form, but I doubt it will ever be mainstream.

Central Bank Issued crypto currencies will almost certainly be a thing though.