Trust

I suspect like most people I haven’t really understood cryptocurrencies or Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs). The former seems to be something quite useful for criminals and users of the dark web. That in itself is enough to dissuade me from seeking to buy ‘Bitcoin,’ and I have to add that the wild fluctuations in its value is another disincentive. As regards NFTs they seem to exist in a world of their own, with as the name suggests no fungible value. I’m not sure what they’re worth, and not just in a monetary sense. NFTs don’t seem to confer any rights, and the concept of owning one appears so shallow as to be meaningless. As somebody on the radio said, it’s like buying the receipt. I heard that the demand for NFTs has slumped by 90%. That still leaves 10% who think they’re the bees’ knees. But it has to be said, a £10 note in itself isn’t worth tuppence, it’s only a form of IOU which in the normal run of things is never expected to be redeemed. What would you get if you went to the Bank of England and demanded £10 for your £10 note? The only value invested in any currency is our collective trust in it. Perhaps we’ll have to see whether those who put their trust in Bitcoin were idiots, visionaries or simply Ponzi schemers.