If you watched the Super Bowl or ever look up at an Austin billboard, you know there’s a flood of advertising proclaiming cryptocurrency as the money of the future. Ad after ad sells viewers on the idea that cryptocurrency is the next big thing: Don’t miss the boat, you could make a fortune!
Yet, between November 2021 and February 2022, $1 trillion of the cryptocurrency industry’s market value – including $600 billion in bitcoin value – went up in smoke. And this 45% decline was only the second largest in a long history of massive volatility and manipulation.
The seams of this massive, multilevel marketing scheme are showing, and early investors are looking for more people to buy in so they can cash out.
And unfortunately, the city of Austin is the next mark.
Last week in Austin, as SXSW kicked off and the tech bros descended, officials announced two resolutions that would give the city’s imprimatur to the so-called “Web 3.0” movement. Council Member Mackenzie Kelly introduced a resolution that would require the city to consider accepting payments in cryptocurrency, while Mayor Steve Adler wants the city to explore every potential governmental use for blockchain technology.
These resolutions should be opposed for the same reasons we don’t use city resources to encourage people to buy Pokémon cards or lottery tickets. Crypto is an investment scheme that is likely…
