In a post titled “This is what the future holds for cryptocurrencies”, the World Economic Forum has surveyed the dark past of crypto and indicated the course that can shape its future. The WEF is an international NGO and lobbying organization founded by engineer and economist Klaus Schwab in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland.

The post concludes by presenting “responsible competition” as a way out of scams and failures, and calling crypto and blockchain “integral parts” of modern economic tools.

“Herein lies the regulatory and policy conundrum with the epic crypto failures in 2022. The countries that enable responsible competition will shape the future. Cryptography and blockchains will continue to be integral parts of the modern economic toolkit, despite the great harm these tools may have caused when wielded by the wrong people.”

The article notes the “terrible year” that 2022 has been for cryptocurrencies, the huge decline in total market value and the losses suffered by millions of investors. It’s ironical given that bitcoin arose as a reaction to the 2008 recession and bank crisis. The recent crises and scams of crypto have lent support to the doubt that regulators entertain about the huge risks associated with cryptocurrencies.

Re-labeling the ongoing crypto winter as rather an “ice age”, the post hopes for “a Cambrian explosion for responsible, always-on internet finance.” Hope can be derived from how the dot com bubble burst in the 2000s led to better internet businesses and today’s Web 2.0.

Calling crypto and blockchain “a protagonist in the global financial world”, the article points to the ‘U’ turn that JP Morgan’s bitcoin hater Chairman and CEO had to make, followed by the announcement of the JPM coin.

What about the Silk Road darknet and the early days of bitcoin enabled drug trades? The article takes a broader view of neutral or good technologies used by “bad actors”. “… crypto punishes the errant at speed, giving bad actors few places to hide.” Moreover, there is great good in banning or quitting e-mails if Wannacry happens.

More than that, even something positive could come out of such exposures, as was the case of the founder of a micro-tasking network who realized the attraction and utility of bitcoin when he saw someone use it to buy marijuana.

In a free market scenario, it will be “responsible competition” that will shape the future of crypto.

The full article can be read here: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/future-of-cryptocurrencies-davos2023/