The Future of Cryptocurrencies | Utility, Security, Power Consumption And Regulations.
There's no doubt cyptocurrencies and blockchain tech are the future and are here to stay. That they are the future shouldn't be our worry at the moment because that's inevitable.
Our major concern should be how this technology could be improved in its flawed areas of utility, security, power consumption and regulations.
There are tons of cryptocurrencies out there with very little to no use having the most attention while others with great potentials and utility like Hive aren't as recognised as they ought to. I believe this is an issue that would solve it itself in the future as the frenzy around cryptos generally would reduce and more people (investors) would sort those cryptos with utility and long term vision. Cryptocurrencies with no utility would still exist so long people can create them, but the attention would be shifted to those with utility for their potentials and not just for quick gains.
Security is still a major issue in the cryptoverse and the hacks and breach of many crypto wallets and platforms seem unending. This is one of the biggest flaw of cryptocurrencies as many criminal masterminds find this space as a safe haven for their activities and assurance of not getting caught. The solutions to this mostly lies with the tech and dev team as well as the users of cryptocurrencies. I don't visualize much cyber attacks in the future as we have now as I believe in the future, regulations and involvement of the government (not control) would also reduce the chances of security breaches and illegal activities like money laundering.
Power consumption is one major issue that should be addressed when looking at the future of cryptocurrencies. For example, Bitcoin consumes around 91 terawatt-hours of electricity annually and potentially 7.67 gigawatts in the future which is more than the consumption of most small countries. This is a serious issue and one of the major flaw of Bitcoin. Even though the energy consumption is currently managed in ways that have been helpful to sustain mining and other activities, this is a problems and the only key solution I see would be having alternatives to these cryptos that would have massive utility and wouldn't consume so much energy like Hive unless there are other solutions I don't currently know of. I'm a believer of Bitcoin but we gotta agree that it has its flaws as being the first cryptocurrency.
As for regulations, i don't think they stop a project from being decentralised and I believe regulations could help reduce the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrencies by monitoring and eliminating every form of manipulation and deceit associated with cryptocurrencies. Regulations could build the confidence of investors and protect their investments.
Regulation isn't tyranny and that's kinda what I expect from the government instead of the bans and restrictions on crypto. The earlier they accept cryptocurrencies and blockchain tech as the future and work towards regulations to reduce the crimes that come with it, the better for everyone.