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The original was posted on /r/cryptocurrency by /u/fan_of_hakiksexydays on 2024-01-23 17:09:38+00:00.
Cons:
1- The trilemma hasn't been fully solved yet.
This is probably the biggest one. More so than having some scams making their own shitcoins.
For those who aren't familiar with this, the trilemma means the dilemma of having a system that's secure enough, while being decentralized enough, and having enough scalability, so that none of those points are points of weakness.
Bitcoin, for instance, scores very high on security, just high enough on decentralization, but can't scale without L2s.
And right now, there's no crypto that scores high on all 3. There are promising projects that score high on maybe two, but just need more nodes and more decentralization.
If the trilemma isn't solved, it doesn't necessarily make crypto useless. It will just make it only specialized on one or two aspect, and not a very complete technology, and maybe not as reliable.
2- Scams.
Wherever there's money, and also technology that gives some kind of edge or tool that gives some level of power, there will always be scammers and criminals who will want to take advantage of it too.
So it's not something that will ever go away. Just like the internet has been also a powerful tool that can also empower criminals and scammers, and can be tied to money or access to it.
There will always be an armed race against scammers. But the crypto space could do a little more to target scammers, and create more security layers for users.
As much of a Fort Knox blockchains have been, what's happening outside of it in the space, has been pretty flimsy.
3- Volatility.
This is not really an issue with the tech itself.
But it's probably a major issue for people entering the space, and even people using it just for the features and tech.
It's not very helpful as a currency or even a functional token, if there's too much fluctuation.
But many people are still using it for speculation, and can get burned with the volatility.
Pros:
1- Decentralization, control, security, and sovereignty.
These are some of the core benefits that I really like in crypto, and that I hope projects will try to stick to. There's a lot of projects that stray away form that, but still enough projects that target those values.
There is still more development needed in this area, but crypto already stands out in what it's been able to achieve.
And it's hard to deny the benefits that blockchain technology can provide in those aspects.
2- A door to a world of solutions.
It's really interesting to see how big of a door has been opened to an entire world of solutions, to creating decentralization, security, efficiency, transparency, etc... to a variety of solutions and technologies, expanding far beyond just peer to peer payment.
One of the big explosions in tech solution came from smart contracts. Being able to put code and executable programs on the blockchain.
But we've also seen with utility tokens and chains, how the space has been able to expand solutions into oracles, indexing, logistics, web 3.0, databases, cloud computing, and is even being experimented on this sub with a social media token or SocialFi.
3- Ease of use.
This one used to be a major con.
For the first time, I'm able to now put it as a pro, thanks to the recent development and progress in this space.
It used to be a little complicated for the average person to use, trade, buy, and secure. At least not to the level where your grandpa could use it.
But now, they've dramatically simplified a lot of the apps and steps compared to the last several years.
There are still the more advanced features that still remain complicated, like running your own node, bridging, participating in liquidity pools, etc...
But anyone who knows how to use a smart phone, will have no issue buying crypto, or using it in a store, and use all the basic features, thanks to the new simplified apps.
On many of the simplified apps, buying and selling is just a matter of entering how much you want, and hitting the buy or sell button.
Hot wallets are much simpler to setup now. And there's even semi self custody wallets on Coinbase, for those not ready to venture into cold wallet full self custody.
Using it in a store is much easier with simplified apps like Flexa. And they even have crypto cards where you can use crypto just like you would a credit card, with just a tap of the card, for those who really can't learn anything beyond a credit card.
To the point where even my grandpa who can't figure out how to use self checkout lines, has figured out now how to jump on crypto, and can use all the basic features. Granted, I still wouldn't want him to go into the more advanced features.
Now the tools exist to make it simple for the average person, and even for grandpa and grandma.
