> Damodoran called cryptocurrency "currency made by the paranoid for the paranoid." [paraphrase] Let's be honest, cooperating with the government is not high on the crypto nerd's list of priorities. The "cryptocurrency" concept seems to be based on a mistrust of government-issued currency and a mistrust of government more generally.
Given the history of cryptocurrencies, that was indeed the base - Bitcoin really took off once Silk Road crossed the threshold from "only drug nerds know about this" to "everyone and their dog buys research chemicals on SR". Unfortunately, the best days of Silk Road were something like an Eternal September event, as people then discovered that Bitcoin might also be used for speculation...
Given the history of cryptocurrencies, that was indeed the base - Bitcoin really took off once Silk Road crossed the threshold from "only drug nerds know about this" to "everyone and their dog buys research chemicals on SR". Unfortunately, the best days of Silk Road were something like an Eternal September event, as people then discovered that Bitcoin might also be used for speculation...