Greetings, Fine Hoomans and Felines of Hivelandia and surrounding communities! Hope this week is treating you well, so far!

New LeoFinance Interface Ahead!

In my own small way, I can't help but to be excited about the "New And Improved" LeoFinance interface going into broad public release on May 1st!

Along with that comes the realization/recognition that perhaps the best path forward for my own wee blogging venture — aside from the inevitable cat pictures for Caturday — might be to get back in the swing of examining the world of cryptocurrency through the relatively innocent (and periodically irreverent) eyes of a cat, which suggests pretty much the same degree of being a neophyte as most people running into the concepts of "crypto" and "blockchain" for the first time.

Of course, I'm not exactly a neophyte in this world, although I am approaching it all from a distinctly non-technical angle.

It may not exactly be a case of "playing Devil's advocate," but sometimes I feel like the crypto-evangelists and blockchainiacs of the world talk way over the heads of the very people they are trying to draw into our little fold.

"Explain this to me like I'm a five-year old" clichés aside, a lot of times we just miss the mark completely, in this field.

Yay for "Light" Accounts!

Perhaps the most exciting thing about LeoFinance is this idea of people being able to create "light" accounts to get started... addressing that core issue that has haunted Hive (and its precursor) since day one: "This is just TOO complicated!"

Fact is, it is too complicated. It's "too complicated" when viewed against the broader backdrop of a world where "Log in with Facebook/Google" is the de-facto standard of usability and simplicity 99% of the world expects to encounter.

And the bottom line of good usability is that you have to meet your users where THEY are, not where you are. It's easy for us to sit back and argue that "it IS simple" because we are myopically hiding behind our own years of developing savvy and experience.

Trust me when I say that when I got involved here (5+ years ago) there was nothing simple about the process.

But What Are We DOING Here?

It's a bit of an ambiguous question... but then we cats tend to be ambiguous and very fluid creatures!

But let's get a bit more specific.

For example, I am here because (A) the idea of having a cat blog on a decentralized blockchain venue makes sense to me, because it seems less likely that Hive will just "fold up the tents and go home" than most conventional hosting sites... and so my content feels "safer" and more "permanently stored" here... and (B) because I am interested in learning, being part of and supporting this new technology/approach to money and finance, which I believe has the potential to become the backbone of the (distant, perhaps) future of money, commerce and finance.

I expect that answer sets me apart from many who'll simply shoot off "I'm here to make money!" and whereas that's certainly a valid answer, it's not really one that's capable of building or sustaining anything.

I won't deny that the chance to earn rewards is very appealing, but I am also (sadly) aware of the dynamic associated with so-called "money making opportunities" and the way such a focus can almost invariably and slowly drain the lifeblood from a venture... any venture.

It's simple math, really: If there are 10 sellers for every one buyer a product/commodity/financial instrument has only one potential way to go!

The "Coming of Age" of Crypto

Likely starting back in the boomtimes of 2017, the Cryptosphere created itself an image that is far removed from its more idealistic beginnings as a borderless and trustless alternative monetary system... this became the world of easy money, instant riches, Wen Moon? and Lambos.

Even with 5-6 years of hindsight, it still feels — at least to me — like the entire cryptocurrency idea was "hijacked" those with far less noble intent... and we're only now slowly starting to get all the wrecked Lambos towed out of here!

I may be sticking my neck out a bit here — and the promise of Web 3 notwithstanding — but if the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the world "cryptocurrency" is "make lots of easy money" then you're potentially part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Nothing wrong with wanting to make some money; being obsess with easy money for nothing is unsustainable.

"Wen Moon" and... Hyperinflation

The other day it occurred to me that part of what always makes me feel uneasy about promises of "300% APY!" and the like is the degree to which such numbers resemble hyperinflation.

I won't get into a long dissertation on why I dislike economists of all colors and stripes, but one primary reason is that most economists live inside a myopic echo chamber where "money" exists as a thing separate from the actual where-the-rubber-meets-the-road economy where human psychology and foibles are at least as important as their theories, and repeatedly derail such theories among mutterings of "well, we hadn't EXPECTED..."

It may well be true that Web3 will bring us to a previously unparalleled level of abundance and prosperity, but that doesn't mean we can recklessly throw the idea of sustainability out the window... and it also means that some variation of the Pareto Principle will continue to apply, within which it will always remain a select few who get those Lambos... and the vast majority of us — even if, perhaps, "better off" — will remain in the "also ran" category.

Personally, I'd rather be chasing something lesser, bot solid and sustainable, as opposed to a lottery-like pipe dream that never had the potential to become reality for more than a tiny handful.

I'm sure there "maximalists" out there who'll disagree... but showing me your wallet as evidence I am wrong will likely not sway me... but if you show me millions of wallets as evidence, I'm open to changing my mind!

Get my point?

=^..^=

Curator Cat Contemplates Crypto is periodic series of articles and editorial commentaries on Hive, it's Communities and the Cryptosphere in general, as seen through the eyes of someone NOT deeply immersed in the technological and financial end of the industry. Equal Opportunity Offender! We've likely got something to piss off everyone, here!

231/550 20230420