In defense of crypto: Why digital currencies deserve a better reputation

cointelegraph.com:

Ever since its inception and throughout its turbulent journey toward mainstream acceptance, crypto has elicited both enthusiasm and trepidation in equal measure. After the unfair battering it has received over the years, the time has come to defend digital currencies.

Unfortunately for crypto, first impressions count. Bitcoin (BTC) initially gained a tawdry reputation in its early years as the currency of choice for illicit activities — favored by dark web users, ransomware hackers, drug traffickers and money launderers worldwide.

But, the world has changed since the first Bitcoin was mined in January 2009. There are now more than 18 million of them in circulation, and more than 90,000 people have $1 million or more stashed away in Bitcoin, according to cryptocurrency data-tracking firm Bitinfocharts.

There are, indeed, signs that crypto is, at last, gaining mainstream acceptance. Just last year, El Salvador declared Bitcoin as a legal tender in September and in October, the first Bitcoin futures-linked exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Payments giant Visa also launched a Global Crypto Advisory Practice in December, helping financial institutions advance their own crypto journey.

There are even talks of crypto becoming a medium of exchange in Afghanistan, offering a very real example of crypto enabling financial transactions in a situation where the monetary system itself is breaking down.

Related: How are Afghans using crypto under the Taliban government?

Despite these success stories, nagging doubts persist among the public and objections have been expressed by politicians who fear a decentralized currency that puts the general public in charge of their own money.