Hey everyone, it’s Whatever Wednesdays again. Today will just be a short post on “What’s up with Cardano?” and where it’s going.

For those of you who don’t follow cryptocurrency or my take on it, the long and short of it is that I consider cryptocurrency (in its current state) to be gambling. However, I truly do believe that in the end, it will be transformative technology, I just don’t know when the end is, or who will be left. That said, I think there is an Amazon in there somewhere.

The only two cryptocurrencies I still hold on to are Cardano (ADA) and Ripple (XRP). Nothing has really changed for them in the recent past since my prior posts, but I did want to take the time to do a little update on where I see Cardano heading.

First things first, one of the most important things for a cryptocurrency is for it to be decentralized. In its current state, Cardano is not decentralized, it’s being upheld by a federated model. However, with the release of Cardano 1.5, we will soon bid farewell to the Byron era (1st era) and usher in the Shelley era (2nd era). With this era, decentralization and staking are the most important components.

Why does that matter?

Well, it will be mean that Cardano is no longer being run by a small group of actors, but more of a large collective. In general, the feeling is that the more decentralized a cryptocurrency is, the stronger it is. By stronger, I mean it becomes more difficult to derail or disrupt. There are no real central points of failure to attack anymore and the system itself becomes “faceless”.

More so than that, there will be a stronger development of a sense of community. Prior to Shelley, all the Cardano believers simply held on to their tokens with hopes, dreams, and aspirations. However, with the advent of Shelley and staking, the believers can put their money where their mouths are and lock their tokens up for staking. By doing so, they will be doing their own part to be chosen in the lottery to build the block if selected. Of course, I will be doing this and likely operating a stake pool as well.

More so than just staking, “cold staking” meaning that you would stake from a “cold source” will be available. By “cold source” I mean something that isn’t connected to the internet, which would include a hardware wallet or even a paper wallet. I personally believe this will be the method of choice for many people.

Um… but so what?

You’re right. The real question is where is the value?

That question hasn’t been answered yet. I hate to sound like a broken record, but the value proposition for cryptocurrencies hasn’t been decided yet. There are many who have ideas about what they are, but I don’t think we’ve seen any real success. These things take time and people will disagree with me, but I still think we’re in the very early stages. There is likely 5 to 10 more years still left in development before we see real mass adoption.

Anything else?

Yes, the thing that I think people miss is that cryptocurrency probably won’t have as big an impact on 1st world countries. Yes, we will see some changes but I don’t think it will be as transformative in 1st world countries versus that of the 3rd world.

An example would be like if you had two similar people in different countries. One was riding a bike to work everyday and the other was driving his car to work everyday. They both live 50 miles away. A 50 mile bike ride is physically difficult and potentially dangerous. However, a 50 mile car commute, while potentially onerous isn’t as physically taxing and likely isn’t as dangerous.

Now let’s say I introduce a new form of transformation to both of these people, the autonomous car, which is available to both individuals.

For the person who drives car to work everyday, this makes their commute significantly easier. They are able to get some things done in the car on the way to work, maybe eat breakfest, and maybe even sleep in a little later. Basically, this would allow them to be more efficient with their time.

However, for the guy who rides his bike 50 miles a day, the availability of an autonomous car literally changes his life. Rain or snow doesn’t prevent him from getting to work on time. He can get to work significantly faster and be more safe without being physically taxed just to get there.

That’s what cryptocurrency will be to the 3rd world. I believe it will help them leapfrog a few generations and help them catch up. However, it won’t be easy and it will take some time. Cardano is well-entrenched in Ethiopia to try to make cryptocurrency more accessible there.

Here’s a little snippet from Charles about his vision of Cardano and Africa:

Anyways, just stay tuned. I think 2019 will a year of growth for Cardano as it evolves. However, growth doesn’t necessarily mean there will be an increase in its price.

I’m in Cardano for the long haul, so what it does for the next few years doesn’t matter to me. Additionally, since I believe cryptocurrency to be gambling, I don’t have very much money in cryptocurrency at all. Like I’ve said before, I’m interested in the technology and want to come along for the ride.

Please please please. Only invest what you can afford to lose.

If you have some time, check out this interview with Charles:

TL;DR

Cardano continues to evolve/progress as expected.

2019 should be an interesting year for growth.

However, growth does not necessarily equal parabolic price action.

Only invest what you can afford to lose.

-Sensei

Agree? Disagree? Questions, Comments and Suggestions are welcome.

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