The rise of cryptocurrency and the underlying technology of the blockchain have given rise to wide-eyed visions. Developers dream of techno-utopias where, perhaps, rent-seeking companies like AirBnB and Uber and Facebook are replaced by semiautonomous corporations built on peer-to-peer, decentralized cryptographic systems. Operating in parallel to this dream are legions of currency speculators seeking fortune on the blockchain; there are now some 1,300 cryptocurrencies. Rampant, sometimes unscrupulous investors have ushered in a new currency craze, whereby valuations fluctuate by thousands of dollars, sometimes even in the same afternoon.
“I think a lot of people, myself included, were much more optimistic […]
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