>>3957
No. Really. Real currencies are baked by something tangible, like gold, or petroleum, or represent a slice of the issuing nation's economic productivity. Crypto is based on absolutely nothing. There's no "there" there.
Let me lay it out for you. Crypto was created as a thought experiment in decentralized economics, then immediately seized upon by people who thought--incorrectly--that it would allow them to buy fentanyl and CP anonymously and untracebly over the Internet. Crypto is based on massively complex mathematical calculations that can be used for cryptography, you see. That's the "crypto" part of the name. When you set up to "mine," you are doing crypto calculations that, once completed, you can barter and trade with other "crypto" enthusiasts, sometimes for real-world money, which is the only point at which it intersects with anything whatsoever that's real.
Mining gold creates wealth and enriches not only the mine owner but the society in which he lives. Extracting petroleum creates wealth and is good not only for the oil man but his nation. Growing food creates wealth and also increases the supply of a commodity in constant demand, making the farmer's country better. Generating crypto hashes, by contrast, creates abso-fucking-lutely nothing. Crypto miners plug the machine in and press the button and it sucks up electricity, making it more expensive for everyone, and--if they have gu