Many on HN have seen the promise of crypto since 2010-2011. We mined some, we bought some, we dealt with technological issues, we were ecstatic for a while. Y

Many on HN have seen the promise of crypto since 2010-2011. We mined some, we bought some, we dealt with technological issues, we were ecstatic for a while. Yet the big crypto promise is to be fulfilled and we are now on 3rd or 4th big hype/decline cycle. We see the big negatives of various cryptocurrencies(energy usage, affecting various hardware markets, supporting fraud on massive scale, insecurity for normal folks, etc. etc.) but do not see any big positive developments. Sure, if you are able to be paid in crypto in some country with a lousy banking system that's great but you are in a tiny minority then. All those tales of normal non-tech people using crypto for every day tasks are closer to fairy tales. The worst is the tendency for various cryptosolutions to tend back to centralized PRIVATE control. Tether is the worst offender in this regard. The cognitive dissonance is fantastic here. I have no doubts that there will be another hype cycle attracting new followers with blinders. For a brief moment in 2013 crypto(Bitcoin especially) actually seemed useful as a currency. To conclude, maybe in 2023 someone will come up with a killer app for crypto but crypto kitties is not the answer. "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."