Crypto
America will be just fine without crypto
Carmona is a fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is a public voices fellow on technology in the public interest with The OpEd Project.
Once again, the world of cryptocurrencies has been thrust into the spotlight after the recent dethroning of the crypto kings, Sam Bankman-Fried and Changpeng Zhao. As crypto industry actors aim to distance themselves from the failed crypto moguls (Bankman-Fried was found guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy and Zhao pleaded guilty to money laundering violations), some claim their demise will enable the industry to “turn the page.”
To clear the path for crypto, many may pour money into efforts to convince legislators and the public that crypto isn’t all that bad, and that America actually “needs” it. In fact, an industry-led grassroots campaign is already under way aiming to do just that, focused especially on saving American “crypto jobs” and “innovation.” There are also crypto-focused super PACs emerging to support pro-crypto candidates in 2024 and show they “attract the jobs of the future.”
Since memories tend to be short in the crypto world, it should be made clear: Crypto isn’t essential to the American economy. Crypto might be great at grabbing headlines, but it hasn’t created a ton of jobs or driven innovation. On the contrary, crypto companies, services and products seem to hurt consumers more than help them. Not to mention the proliferation of money laundering and fraud involved.
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Though some industry actors claim that embracing crypto in America will create “4 million jobs over the next 7 years,” the numbers they assert seem highly unlikely. In my recent research at Brookings, we examined the number of job postings requiring crypto and blockchain skills, a measure of overall hiring and employment activity. We found that even at peak, which took place around March 2022, the number of crypto industry job postings was extremely small: less than 0.15 percent of all postings, with the level lingering at less than 0.08 percent by April 2023. The job postings were also not evenly distributed, concentrating in powerful, pre-existing tech hubs like New York and San Francisco – leaving most other places behind.
Another way to look at this data though, is that, according to our analysis, while the total number of job postings across all industries is around 4.7 million, the crypto industry had only about 5,000 monthly job postings nationally at the height of the crypto boom. This is about the size of job postings in religious organizations, book publishers, or waste treatment and disposal – not exactly industries known for rapid job growth. Now, compare those 5,000 crypto-related monthly job postings (at peak!) with large industries such as consulting services, which had 90,000 job postings a month during that same period. Computer systems design had 70,000 and software publishing had 10,000 job postings a month.
Not only does crypto not appear to be significantly creating jobs, it’s not driving innovation either. Much like the prices of cryptocurrencies themselves, entrepreneurial activity in the crypto ecosystem has been incredibly volatile. For example, startup growth and declines appear to mirror bitcoin and crypto values, such that when bitcoin prices have plummeted, so too have the number of crypto-related startups. At the same time, venture capital dollars, which play an important role in fueling innovation (for better or worse), are pouring out of the crypto industry and into new gold rushes, where more exciting entrepreneurial ventures and investments like artificial intelligence can be found.
Despite the fact that cryptocurrencies have been around for nearly 15 years, there are few current use cases besides speculation; for example, crypto does not boost financial inclusion, nor solve the needs of the unbanked or those seeking to build wealth, despite its proponents’ claims. Comparatively, look at how much cell phones have evolved over the past 15 years and impacted our lives. The crypto industry will have a tougher time proving crypto is a revolutionary, innovative or new technology worth investing in as time goes on.
In fact, if crypto has achieved anything at scale, it’s been causing substantial – even spectacular – harms to consumers and communities. Rather than generate more jobs or stimulate innovation, the crypto hype cycle resulted in troubling pollution and energy costs for communities, failed business projects, and an outbreak of scams and hacks. Many individuals also faced significant losses, not just due to FTX’s implosion, but also to a crypto edifice replete with fraud. Is this really an industry America “needs?”
To be sure, proponents will say that by not supporting crypto, we are enabling American leadership in the global financial system to fall behind other countries. However, there are far better ways to demonstrate leadership in our financial system than propping up an industry that does little but harm consumers or bolster fraud and money laundering.
Rather than invest more time and resources in crypto, it would make more sense to focus our energies on technologies or industries with far more economic potential. America has legions of knowledge workers who could direct their talents to proven or vetted technologies – from biotech and artificial intelligence to quantum information science and advanced energy. We shouldn’t limit their talents to underperforming and inefficient technologies.
As the federal government’s crackdown on crypto continues to spotlight the industry’s missteps, the public should ensure that policymakers concentrate on bolstering industries that are essential to our economy rather than draft policies based on dubious claims and pad an industry that has harmed so many consumers. Regardless of what crypto proponents say, America never needed crypto in the first place.
Famed investor and former Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charles Munger, who recently passed away, in a candid interview last year perhaps said it best in offering his opinion on crypto: “I don’t welcome a currency that’s so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth, nor do I like just shuffling out of your extra billions of billions to somebody who just invented a new financial product out of thin air.”
And so, when all is said and done, the downfall of Bankman-Fried and Zhao might just be the reminder everyone needs: America is better off without cryptocurrency.
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A cryptocurrency nonprofit has launched a political action committee (PAC) with the intent to support crypto-friendly politicians in the 2024 House and Senate elections.
What Happened: “Stand With Crypto,” a cryptocurrency nonprofit, has launched a PAC to raise funds from its 440,000 members to support a bipartisan group of candidates, Reuters reported on Wednesday. This move is part of a broader effort by the crypto industry to elect politicians who support crypto and blockchain.
This involvement comes at a time when the industry is under scrutiny, especially after FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of stealing from customers.
Unlike super PACs, Stand With Crypto’s PAC is established to collect funds for candidates or political causes and cannot receive donations of unlimited size or coordinate directly with campaigns.
See Also: Tom Brady Roasted For Cryptocurrency Investment In Netflix Special: ‘Tom, How Did You Fall For That? Even Gronk Was Like—Me Know That’s Not Real Money’
“The goal is to endorse candidates and support candidates that are protecting the rights of our advocates of Stand With Crypto throughout November,” said Nick Carr, chief strategist at Stand With Crypto.
Why It Matters: Other crypto super PACs such as Fairshake, Defend American Jobs, and Protect Progress have already raised over $110 million this election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records. The involvement of crypto in politics is not new. Earlier this year, the Fairshake PAC received a significant financial boost from the Winklevoss twins, founders of the Gemini crypto exchange, as part of their larger fundraising efforts.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has also publicly endorsed cryptocurrency, declaring it a significant election issue, contrasting with President Joe Biden‘s perceived unfamiliarity with the crypto world. This endorsement has led to a surge in the MAGA Coin, a cryptocurrency themed around Trump.
Read Next: Here’s How Much $1,000 Invested In Dogecoin Would be Worth If You Invested When Elon Musk First Tweeted About DOGE
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Investing.com– Bitcoin price was unchanged on Friday as traders remained largely averse to crypto markets even as soft U.S. labor data pulled down the dollar and reinforced bets on eventual interest rate cuts this year.
Fears of more regulatory action against crypto were a key weight on prices this week, amid reports of more moves by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against major players in crypto. The shutdown of a popular privacy coin trading platform also rattled sentiment.
This kept trading up 2% over the past 24 hours at $62,745.3 by 01:24 ET (05:24 GMT). An overnight drop in the dollar, following soft labor data, afforded some strength to Bitcoin.
Sustained outflows from crypto investment products- particularly spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds- also weighed on the token over the past three weeks.
Bitcoin price unchanged over the past 7 days
The world’s largest cryptocurrency was largely unchanged over the past seven days, and remained comfortably in a trading range established since its fall from record highs in early-March.
The token had fallen as far as $57k last week, entering a technical bear market from its March highs.
While Bitcoin had since recovered from those lows, any further gains in the currency were largely stymied by concerns over more regulatory scrutiny against crypto.
The shutdown of LocalMonero- a popular platform for peer-to-peer trades of the Monero privacy coin- rattled sentiment.
The SEC this week postponed the planned public listing of crypto wallet operator Exodus Movement on the New York Stock Exchange.
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This came as trading app Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:) said it was facing potential regulatory action from the SEC over crypto tokens traded on its platform.
The SEC was also seen postponing a decision on spot Ethereum ETFs to June, and is then expected to reject applications for the offering given that it is also reportedly pursuing an investigation of whether the world no.2 token is a security.
The regulator has similar cases against exchange Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:) and issuer Ripple.
Crypto price today: altcoins see slim movements with US CPI on tap
Broader crypto prices were also muted as anticipation of more cues on U.S. interest rates, from key inflation data due next week, limited any major trades.
rose 0.8%, while fell 0.7%. Both tokens were trading down for the week.
was an outperformer, rising over 5% on Friday and staying on track for mild weekly gains.
While weak data spurred some optimism over eventual interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, the central bank is still only expected to do so by September- a trend that is set to pressure crypto markets in the near-term.
Crypto
Five Leading Cryptocurrency Winners This Week: BlockDAG Surpasses Helium, Ethena, Sei, & Monero » The Merkle News
Top 5 Cryptos This Week: BlockDAG’s Detailed Roadmap Outshine Helium, Ethena, Sei, & Monero
In the midst of a recent market downturn, where many cryptocurrencies have lost value, a few have shown resilience and registered significant gains against the U.S. dollar according to market charts. BlockDAG has emerged prominently in the presale arena, claiming a spot in the top five cryptocurrency winners this week alongside Helium, Ethena, Sei, and Monero.
BlockDAG’s rapid ascent is powered by notable achievements and a freshly updated roadmap from its initial development stages to coin vesting and tokenomics. A notable sale of over 8.7 million coins during its 10th presale batch led experts to forecast an impressive 30,000-fold potential ROI.
Helium’s Rise: Potential Future Prices
Helium (HNT) has recently seen a 17% increase, touching a price of $5.575 and marking a 44% weekly growth from $3.98 to about $5.57. CoinMarketCap reports a trading price close to $5.70 with a market capitalization of $920 million and a trading volume spike of 225% to $69 million.
The charts suggest a bullish trend for Helium, potentially driving its price further up. Continued buyer interest could reach $8.0 or even $10. However, it could decrease to lower support levels if it fails to hold the $3.50 support level.
Ethena: A Strong Buy in a Volatile Market
Despite an 18% drop due to market fluctuations, Ethena (ENA) has bounced back with a 20% increase since its launch. This rise is fueled by its growing adoption and partnerships with key wallet providers such as OKX and Bitget. Currently priced at $0.88, analysts are optimistic about its potential to climb to $3.91 by 2024.
Sei Coin: Market Fluctuations and Future Prospects
Sei coin has shown volatility, oscillating between $0.53 and $0.67, with a 4.79% rise last week despite a 25.56% drop over the month. Over six months, it has surged by 451.89%. The current price suggests mixed trends.
A rise to $0.75 could indicate further gains, potentially reaching $0.88, while a fall to $0.47 might lead to a decrease to $0.33. Stability indicators like short-term averages around $0.61 and an RSI of 57 suggest a balance between overselling and overbuying.
Monero: Stability and Privacy Amidst Market Turmoil
Monero (XMR) continues to show strong market resilience, focusing on secure and private transactions. Despite general market declines, it has gained 0.62% last week. Its trading volume has increased by 7.91%. Forecasters remain bullish, anticipating a rise to $270 by 2024.
BlockDAG’s Accelerated Mainnet Launch: Detailed Roadmap Out
BlockDAG stands out as a Layer 1 blockchain that utilizes a Proof of Work consensus mechanism to merge the best features of blockchain and DAG architectures. Recently, BlockDAG has sparked excitement in the cryptocurrency community by revealing an accelerated mainnet launch in its updated roadmap, advanced by four months due to swift progress.
The development process for the X1 miner application is meticulously outlined, starting with wireframe and UI design to create a user-friendly interface. This is followed by user onboarding, streamlining the account setup and initial configuration.
The roadmap concludes with a Community Section, which focuses on developing features to boost user interaction and provide support within the app, underscoring BlockDAG’s commitment to user experience and community engagement.
Key Takeaway
Reviewing the week’s leading cryptocurrency gainers, each coin demonstrates the potential for substantial returns. BlockDAG, however, sets itself apart with unique features outlined in its detailed development roadmap, promoting fast, scalable, and secure transactions, and enabling mobile mining via the X1 app. With a successful presale crypto coin that raised $23.9 million by its 10th batch, experts foresee a significant 30,000-fold return on investment.
Join BlockDAG Presale Now:
Disclosure: This is a sponsored press release. Please do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any projects. Read the full disclosure here.
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