It could reasonably be argued that the only constant in human society, is change. Throughout recorded history we have seen customs, traditions and beliefs come and go. One minute things are a certain way, the next, they are being done in a new way.
During these societal changes that we experience from time to time, there is always a case of the old guard having to adapt to the incoming new kids on the block.
For instance, during the long transitional period from feudalism to capitalism, the old guard was made up of royalty and their barons. Land owners and tax collectors that had long been used to having everything their own way.
The new kids on the block were the merchants, fuelled by travel and mechanisation these nouveau riche traders ran things differently. Suddenly power came down to the contracts you secured, rather than the families you were born into.
Members of the old school who understood they would have to change, survived, the ones that bitterly clung on to the lavish lifestyles to which they had become accustomed to, perished. For examples of the former we can look to the royal families of England and Spain, for ones of the latter we go to witness the grisly deaths of the French and Prussian royal families.
No matter where you stand on the subject of cryptocurrency, it is hard to argue that it hasn't already had a major effect on society, and changed the way a lot of people interact with finance.
The players of the unfolding drama are easy to identify; the royal families and their barons have been replaced with the governments and their federal banks.
The banks, like the robber barons of old, in many cases have far outgrown the power of their previous benefactors, it is they who rule the land in all but name.
The incoming new kids, are of course represented by the various blockchains, with Bitcoin at the forefront of the sweeping changes taking place.
We have seen some of the banks coming out making cautious noises in support, and with events such as the CME creating a futures market, it is easy to believe that history is repeating. The banks that get on board with the new paradigm will survive, the others won't.
The question is; are any of them really on board?
Goldman Sucks, sorry I mean Sachs, announced last year that they were to start a Bitcoin hedge fund. This move sent out a clear message, that as far as they were concerned, investment was investment, regardless of what form it takes.
On the surface, this seems completely natural, after all, they are an investment bank, they are not responsible for the printing and control of fiat currency, they merely attempt to increase their profits year upon year.
However it is hard to ignore that they are a bank, and as such are part of the same club as the very people who control our money.
It is not too hard a stretch to imagine they may want to keep these powerful members of their club as happy as possible.
If that is indeed the case; then why would Goldman Sachs turn to Bitcoin?
The most obvious way to destabilise an emerging market such as Bitcoin, would be to manipulate it in such a way that you can crash it, and thus discredit it.
However the structure of Bitcoin, and indeed the nature of all cryptocurrency, makes it very difficult for one entity to gain control of enough of the market to have any long lasting effects.
Maybe though short term effects are enough, and it is definitely possible to control enough Bitcoin to cause mini flash crashes.
By doing this you create countless sob stories of people who bought at the top and lost, those heartbreaking stories filter through the market, as people who lost their money cry scam.
I'm not sure if it is possible let alone probable; I suppose at the end of the day, corporations such as Goldman Sachs have a huge warchest. Whether they are prepared to lose some of that money in order to crash a market they see as a potential threat, is another thing entirely.
One thing I have to concede though, is even if Goldman Sachs are completely innocent of such a dastardly plan, it doesn't rule out other nefarious banking organisations.
I feel that crypto, and especially Bitcoin has become too big to fail completely, regardless of the price, it will always be there, and I will be there too, using, spending and investing in Bitcoin and other cryptos.
To that end; vive la revolucion!
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CAN YOU THINK 0F ANY WAY THE BANKS MAY TRY AND STOP THE EMERGING CRYPTO MARKETS? OR DO YOU SIMPLY THINK THAT WON'T HAPPEN? AS EVER, LET ME KNOW BELOW!
