Of course not. At least not in the next 10-20 years. I think Bitcoin will last until all coins are mined. That's if developers continue to improve the Blockchain (and it stays decentralized and censorship-resistant).

I'm yet to see if CBDCs will ever become a threat to the very existence of BTC. Governments might go as far as making Bitcoin (and crypto) illegal just to force everyone to use their CBDCs. Just like what China is doing now. I dunno. Maybe I'm thinking too much. Nothing is guaranteed to last forever. So we should enjoy BTC while it lasts.

People don't learn because they're blinded by greed. They think they will get rich quick by buying and holding "meme" coins. But that's not the way it works. Eventually, we'll be left with a only a few "meme" coins due to lack of active development and innovation. I'm confident Dogecoin will survive because it's the oldest "meme" coin in existence. I can't say the same about Shiba Inu, especially when it's relatively new to the world.

Without use cases, I don't see DOGE or any other "meme" coin retaining market prices for long. At least, they're a good way to introduce new people into crypto. Let's hope developers start taking things seriously with "Wall Street" in the game. As long as they focus on quality instead of quantity, there should be nothing to worry about.

Gary Gensler had no choice but to approve the spot ETFs. He was "cornered" in a wall after Grayscale's victory in court. After the SEC approved Bitcoin spot ETFs, Gary quickly went to advise investors about the risks of investing in such an asset. I'd say he's more skeptical of Bitcoin (and crypto as a whole) than anything else. And Elizabeth Warren has always been a staunch critic of crypto. Everybody knows that. Didn't she imply that bad actors where using the tech to avoid sanctions? She even drafted a bill meant to increase oversight on crypto assets. Talk about a Democrat.

Republicans are much softer towards crypto. You didn't see increased regulatory action against the crypto industry during the past administration (under Trump's leadership). Crypto supporters know who'll they be voting for (either RFK Jr. or Trump). We'll see what will happen after Election Day.

It's likely credit card companies will change their business model to survive. Plastic cards will be eliminated, but that doesn't mean they can't issue virtual cards. I'm yet to see how that will work out once CBDCs become public. Maybe they will be the ones offering CBDC services to people instead of the central bank itself? Only time will tell.

With the world moving away from the physical realm, we should expect plastic cards and paper money to become a thing of the past. Everything will be "tokenized" in the future. The question is: Are we prepared for such a drastic change?

I've read that Trezor had some flaws/vulnerabilities regarding the mechanism used to secure the seed (using a passphrase). Not sure if that's been addressed already, though. I'd try out the Passport wallet with the Monero-supported firmware. The device looks nice, although it has a hefty price tag. If there was any cheaper alternatives, it would've been better.



Good to know. If Trezor is a rock-solid choice in terms of security/reliality, what could go wrong? Not sure if I'll get this one or the Passport.



Thanks for your suggestion. But I'm more into mobile devices than PCs. Particularly Android. An open source hardware wallet + Android would be the ideal setup for me. I will keep this in mind if I want to put my XMR in cold storage, though.

Got it! Thanks!

Things will get "better" after the launch of CBDCs. At least, for a while. But first, governments must concentrate on putting an end between the Russo-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts. With world peace, the economy would be able to flourish once again. I sure hope this happens soon. Else, we'd be toast.

I'd say ultra-high inflation is NOT good for consumers. Only the rich benefits in the long run. These are uncertain times we're living into. Thus, we can only hope for the best. 

I guess many will choose to use Bitcoin openly and freely than living in fear. No one wants to be prosecuted by the government. Not all countries will reject Bitcoin. Especially with the taxation benefits it brings. Mainstream governments will only increase regulations to "keep everything under control". It will be legal to use BTC, but with restrictions.

CBDCs will only make central banks bigger and stronger than ever. It should only be a matter of time before we witness a "global reset". Perhaps, the economy will be restored after such an event? Only time will tell. As long as people are able to obtain true financial freedom, nothing else matters.

Was it because of Biden, or because of the FED's policies and the SEC's approval of spot ETFs? These last two don't have anything to do with President Biden (if I'm not wrong). BTC went to the moon in 2017, and Trump was the sitting president. By that time, former SEC chairman Jay Clayton was in-charge. And he had a much friendlier stance towards crypto/Blockchain tech than current chairman Gary Gensler. Even Elizabeth Warren (a Democrat) is a staunch critic of Bitcoin.

You can see Democrats are more against Bitcoin than Republicans. Under President Biden, regulations towards the crypto industry have become stricter than ever before. Gary Gensler was nominated by Biden himself. And under his command, the SEC has been aggressive against crypto by targeting several crypto exchanges. Even such that some exchanges have closed their doors to US citizens (like Bittrex and Binance). With these facts, I think crypto supporters will feel more inclined to vote for Trump. RFK Jr. is also an alternative, but his chances of winning the election are slim. Only time will tell us the fate of the crypto industry in the USA.

That's certainly true, mate. Attacking Bitcoin would require hefty sums of money in order to be carried out with success. It's not really worth the cost. The bigger the network hashrate, the more money governments would need to spend to disrupt the Bitcoin blockchain.

At this point, I think it's safe to say that Bitcoin is "immortal". What governments will be able to do is shut down centralized mixers and exchanges alike. But the core Blockchain network will remain alive for the foreseeable future. This is is only the beginning. Who knows what will happen in the long run? 

Yes. I'm afraid so. Many developers are only looking for fame and fortune these days. They don't actually care about crypto's true principles. If they did, they would've followed Satoshi's footsteps by remaining anonymous. Some of them come up with the excuse that they reveal their identities to make their project look legit under eyes of investors and VCs. Anything that's made by unknown developers/founders would be flagged as a scam.

We will continue to see governments fighting against privacy in crypto for as long as it lives. At least, not all governments will oppose privacy. As long as decentralization is preserved, there should be nothing to worry about.

Are there any good open source hardware wallets which supports Monero/XMR? Don't want to use a compromised wallet like Ledger for my XMR funds. Sadly, the popular Blockstream Jade open source HW only supports BTC. But since it's "open source", maybe someone has figured out a way to make it work with Monero?

Any suggestions and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Have you ever wondered what the future of credit/debit cards will be once CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) go public? People will no longer need to use a plastic card to pay for goods and/or services, as everything will be done through a mobile (or desktop) app. This means people will directly interact with the central bank for deposits and/or withdrawals. No need for middlemen like Visa or Mastercard. At least, that's what I think it will happen.

Do you think credit/debit cards will still be a thing after the launch of CBDCs? If not, why? Will payment processors like PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard survive? Your input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Bitcoin is doing well despite the high fees. It's still the largest and most secure cryptocurrency in the world. Each halving event had a positive effect over BTC's market price. This last one is no exception. Right before the recent halving, BTC reached a new ATH in market price. Who's to say the same won't happen by the next halving? With strong marketing from mainstream media, it's no wonder why many people get excited with the Bitcoin halving.

If you're wondering "what's next"?. then I'd say nothing other than new developments from the Bitcoin Core project. I believe developers will introduce new network upgrades that will make BTC cheaper to use for day-to-day payments. The upcoming halving of 2028 will be a fun and exciting one. The question is: Are you prepared for it?

I hope so. If Monero survives, then decentralization has triumphed once and for all. Everything will depend on how developers (and the rest of the community) are willing to resist the government. There will be pressure from all sides, particularly banksters and regulators. Another P2P exchange went down the drain. But that doesn't mean it's the end of the world. This will only make XMR bigger and stronger than ever.

With "Wall Street" buying all of the BTC, maybe it's time to move to Monero? We can't predict the future. So we can only hope for the best.

There is nothing wrong with the Bitcoin blockchain. It's just that people raced to inscribe Ordinals within minutes of the halving event. The increased demand for block space, led to a substantial rise in network fees. Completely normal, imo.

Right now, fees have declined to a considerable level. When the hype fades away, it's the perfect time to move your BTC across the network. As simple as that. But if you're in a hurry, then I'd suggest you check out the Lightning Network or an altcoin such as Litecoin or Dogecoin for fast and cheap payments. Hopefully, BTC Core developers will introduce a mechanism to prevent fees from spiraling out of control. As long as decentralization is prioritized, nothing else matters.

I didn't know that. Please excuse my ignorance, lol. I guess Bitcoin will become the "Linux" of crypto, while the rest will become the "Windows and Mac" of the industry. I'm fine with that as long as Bitcoin stays true to its principles of decentralization and censorship-resistance.

I know most people will prefer altcoins because of their high performance and cost-efficiency. That doesn't mean BTC will lose its market dominance, though. With "Wall Street" in the game, expect Bitcoin to become a "force to reckon with".



Of course not. But what can you say about L2 scaling solutions (particularly, the Lightning Network)? They allow people to use BTC as currency with cheaper fees and faster settlement times. I know it's not perfect (full of bugs). But it gives us hope that someday the masses will use BTC the same way they use Fiat for day-to-day payments. On-chain scaling is not a solution because it increases centralization in the long run (higher bandwidth, and storage costs for nodes). Who knows how Bitcoin will perform in the future?

So Trump finally came down to his senses. Good, because we need as much crypto-friendly politicians in the US as possible. With how fierce the Biden administration has been against the crypto/Blockchain industry, it's likely crypto enthusiasts/supporters will vote for Trump. We're yet to see if this will help him win the White House. The problem would be dealing with SEC chairman Gary Gensler. Especially when his term ends on June 2026. A Republican majority in the Senate will mark the end of Mr. Gensler's career before the aforementioned date.

For what I know, all cards are on the table. Hopefully, America embraces the revolution before it's too late. Who knows what surprises we'll find by Election Day?

Exchanges are only looking to attract new customers. The more deposits they receive, the better for them (consider how Binance is using customer funds to earn money from staking protocols). I wouldn't trust these entities with my hard-earned crypto, as much as I wouldn't trust banks with my money. Who's to say the exchange won't run off with the money or collapse due to bankruptcy? It's better to stake cryptocurrencies on your own for complete peace of mind.

I've seen attractive rates for stablecoin deposits on both Aave and Compound "De-Fi" protocols. With L2 ETH-based networks, you don't have to worry about high fees and long wait times. Ultimately, you decide what to do with your money. Just control your spending habits, and there should be nothing to worry about.

It's a sad day in the history of crypto. Who would've thought developing a decentralized mixing protocol would bring the attention of mainstream governments (particularly, the US government)? After all, only crypto funds are mixed. Not Fiat. Governments shouldn't have jurisdiction on this.

Unfortunately, Tornado.Cash developers made a mistake by revealing their identities. Now they're paying the price of what they did. Satoshi was smart by staying anonymous during Bitcoin's early days. He knew what was coming beforehand. If all other developers followed Satoshi's footsteps, crypto land would be a better place. Luckily for us, Tornado.Cash and similar mixing protocols are decentralized. If one goes down, another one will take its place. Expect government opposition to keep up for as long as crypto lives.