Letter: Hype obscures blockchain technology’s lack of success
The column “Crypto is a new asset with an old problem” (Opinion, November 21) asks a key question as to why regulators continue to allow cryptocurrencies and the related financialisation to persist, when it benefits a tiny handful of rich traders, but brings financial ruin and debt to legions of unsuspecting people of average means.
I think the answer lies partially in the fact that regulators, politicians and reporters feel obliged to pay homage to the much ballyhooed promise of the underlying blockchain technology which they don’t understand.
The reluctance to speak up obscures the harsh reality that in spite of many years of hype, blockchain technology has yet to produce a single legitimate and significant use case, with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) debacle being the most recent example.
Ram Kelkar
Chicago, IL, US
Gloss