Here’s the story of the funny high-flying money that flew too close to the sun – and then…

There are times in life when a moment crystallizes in your mind, and more and more, at least for me, where you can anticipate when that last “hot topic” is about to “jump the shark”.

My father, an astute businessman and longtime savvy investor, is many things; however, he is not the guy who knows about all the new and different things. A few months ago he pulled me aside to seemingly share something of great value in confidence. In a close whisper, he offered, “They’ll stop using paper money soon, son, probably time to start moving a few bucks into that cryptocurrency stuff.”

At that exact moment, I knew that if dad knew about the existence of cryptocurrency, this investment bubble was about to burst. Thanks for the advice dad; using the reverse logic, you were out of the money. I am certainly not a savvy investor. Real estate has always done pretty well for me. I’m a regular saver and my investments lean hard towards the more conservative side of the ledger: money market CDs, municipal bonds and blue chip stocks. The risks of e-cryptocurrency have largely kept me away, but I can also admit that I don’t quite understand the concept.

Cryptocurrency appears to be an endless chain of coding, mostly zeros and ones moving to infinity, in supposedly limited supply, while being mined and manufactured daily in data farms around the world. International regulations are practically non-existent; the market is new enough that the federal government is still figuring it out. And extended passcodes that can be lost create complex access even to your own crypto assets.

Cryptocurrency miners run computers in large warehouses on racks at top speed 24/7 and consume huge amounts of electricity, currently comparable to Norway’s home energy consumption. This electricity cannot come from sustainable sources, which means that industry is also a net polluter. And whether your cryptocurrency of choice is Bitcoin, Luna, Ethereum, or a lesser-known electronic currency, they all share one thing in common right now. After reaching record prices in 2021, their values ​​have all fallen by more than 50%. In fact, the only part of the e-money industry operating in the dark is e-money exchanges. They each earn a small commission whether prices go up or down.

The Federal Trade Commissioner (FTC) also reports that over 46,000 Americans have been stung by crypto scams since January 2021, as many still believe the myth much more than current market dynamics. And of course, crypto boosters will tell you that all markets are cyclical and their prices and value will recover. For these crypto cheerleaders, I have five words to ponder – electromagnetic pulse and blackouts.

Global confidence in our US economy and the dollar is not what it once was. The mighty dollar’s days as the world’s reserve currency may be numbered. Those who doubt this might take note of the sharp fall in the value of the Euro, mainly caused by the Russian attacks on Ukraine.

At the national level, the latest green energy bill soon to be enacted is expected to accelerate huge market shifts – driven by government policy and tax credits – toward electric vehicles and more energy sources. durable. These are laudable goals; but as we are seeing globally and nationally with brownouts and blackouts during this record-breaking hot summer; these “green” energy sources generally cannot provide high-demand baseload in the same way as coal, natural gas, or nuclear-generated electricity. Nor is our network designed for the growing attraction of electric vehicles to every residential garage. Unless we commit to a much larger new nuclear reactor fleet soon, we will not be able to meet the demand for baseload electricity generation in many urban areas during the summer.

Yes, the most trusted cryptocurrencies and mining farms have onsite backup generators, but even the safeties fail. Who knew kryptonite for high-flying cryptocurrencies could be a combination of green energy policy and sporadic, unpredictable power outages? Innovation can still save or transform any industry that is seemingly headed for a rapid exit or downturn. I’m no expert, but maybe I’m adding an endless string of XXX to all those zeros and ones – it sure seemed to work well for the porn industry.

Bill Crane is also a political analyst and commentator for Channel 2’s Action News, WSB-AM News/Talk 750 and now 95.5 FM, as well as a columnist for The Champion, DeKalb Free Press and Georgia Trend. Crane is a DeKalb native and business owner, living in Scottdale. You can reach him or comment on a column at [email protected]

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