Right now the general public doesn't really take crypto very seriously - some of that is deserved, some isn't - but either way, it is what it is. But when does that sentiment change?
It changes when we start heading into a recession - the fact that folks in crypto knows what a downturn "feels" like makes them oddly better prepared for the things to come. Maybe then, people might listen to what Web3 folks have to say - assuming that the asset itself stays resilient (or even grows) as many of them predict.
Most other things - including gold - did not really experience the level of ups and downs that crypto did, and people who went through that rollercoaster does have a unique perspective on things that could be of value some day. Maybe not now, but later, definitely.
The vast majority of people put their faith into banks and hedge funds and try not to think about it too much because the returns tend to be consistent. Like savings accounts, sometimes it can be close to 0, but never negative, at least. The 0-interest rate era was a weird period in time where we were actively discouraging people to save - while at the same time, incentivizing them to be risk-adverse. All of that is about to collapse - probably all at once. Sometimes, not taking risks - is the biggest risk of all.
The government won't be there to save you, either - if you watched the debates last week I think that much should be very clear. Character issues aside, you have one candidate who has an incentive to paint a rosy picture because they're currently in power, and you have another who has an incentive to paint a rosy picture because they want to brag about how well they did when they were in power, prior. We are stuck in a time-loop, as far as our public services go - unable to let go of the past, clinging onto ideas and sentiments that lost its relevance a long time ago.
But what doesn't lie, are the numbers - and the actual experiences of the people living through this stuff day to day. People are getting priced out of existence due to inflation every day, and unless something changes, it will eventually consume us all - even the ones at top. That's just what the numbers say. Scary to think about when you actually look at the details, really.
Of course that won't actually happen - economics has a tendency to balance itself out in cases like these. The laws of supply and demand still holds true, even if it doesn't always show up in analysis or reports that are more driven by politics than the truth. At some point, there will be a "reset" - and we often call this the "pop" of a bubble. It's a basic tenant in economics that is tried and true - it's just that America...well, we just haven't had one in a long time. Our egos are inflated just as much as the food prices on the ground, these days.
Time will tell whether or not the blockchain is part of the problem or part of the solution in regard to all of this stuff - there's a bit of both going on and it's unclear where the line is in absolute terms. But it'll be important to stick around people who are honest, trustworthy, and reliable - if the downturn in crypto is any indication, people have a tendency to do unsavory things when they're losing a lot of money, really fast. Even well designed tools can be easily corrupted in the wrong hands - something the industry learned the hard way, in the last few years. Those lessons that the Web3 folks learned - well, that's coming to everyone, everywhere, very soon.
Actually you could say the same thing about fast money, too. What is it about money that drives people insane when there is more, or there is less of it? The root of all evil, as they say. 😅