In February, IMF’s Executive Board published their Elements of Effective Policies for Crypto Assets.

In this report, they acknowledge how quickly crypto technology is evolving, how poorly governments have adapted to its usage, and how significantly it will change modern finance and the way that money moves. They worry about what it will mean for their members.

At a Congressional hearing earlier this month, Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell wondered why any cryptocurrency has a price higher than zero because none of them have any intrinsic value.

Maybe they’re too technical in their thinking?

Maybe crypto doesn’t need intrinsic value or the backing of governments, it just needs to give people choices and opportunities that the legacy financial system can’t provide.

Cryptocurrency is money for people, not institutions. It’s money for you and me, not governments and investment funds.

Our legacy financial systems do great things, but they don’t do everything great. Why can’t they let us see if crypto can fill some of those gaps?

Give them their CBCDs, competitive moats, and private blockchains. They can figure out lots of ways to squeeze profits from the technology. They can charge us for picks and shovels, keep us from sending money to their enemies, and block people from countries they don’t like.

Let us have DeFi, NFTs, distributed data storage platforms, and all the other things that legacy financial technology can’t deliver. We can figure out lots of ways to make finance more accessible and affordable for the poor and disenfranchised. We can contribute our time, money, and computing power to vast global networks for a share of transaction fees, staking rewards, token delegations, and other benefits that come from participating in the financial networks of the future.

Keep crypto separate from the legacy financial system.

That way, hackers and frauds can attack our protocols until they’re robust and resilient. Our gains will be more durable. Our wealth will be more difficult for others to confiscate or dilute. Our monetary systems will be more resistant to attack and manipulation.

To each, their own

If bureaucrats and corporations want the full faith and credit of the US government, why is that so bad? If cryptocurrency is really as good as we think it is, they’ll come along when they’re ready.

If we want cryptocurrency, why is that so bad? If the legacy financial system is really good as they think it is, they should not worry about what we’re doing.

Capital will flow to whichever system best serves the needs of those who use it.

Will our financial elites lose their authority and credibility if crypto can serve people’s needs better than they can?

Maybe. It’s also possible that this will create an opportunity to embrace new concepts and monetary applications.

We have a role to play, too. Do we need to pin our hopes on $1 million bitcoin predictions and self-serving airdrops? Must we opine about complicated fiscal, financial, and economic systems that we barely understand?

Keep your head down, build great things, and show people all the ways cryptocurrency can make their lives better. Talk less, smile more. Accept other points of view. Invite the financial elites to learn, not debate.

The truth is, crypto has a long way to go before it can replace legacy financial technology, and it won’t get there on price alone.

Yes, chase those airdrops, hunt down those altcoin gems, and stack those sats. Just remember, the time to get rich with crypto has long passed. At best, you can build and protect your wealth by owning a stake in these new financial networks.

Instead of chasing Lambos, focus on bridging the chasm of adoption. Do that and everything else will fall into place.

Once that happens, we will not need to worry about the financial elites shutting us down.

They’ll be struggling just to keep up.