We’re reduced to comparing Bitcoin to casino games now? Hah!

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have exactly one killer application — crime. Whether it’s money laundering, drugs or weapons purchases, or tax evasion, cryptocurrencies have proven very effective for criminals to move money around.

For the rest of us, after a decade there is literally not one single actual application. On small transactions, I can go into a shop today and buy something in a few seconds at no cost with a card — or I can pay with some cryptocurrency, wait several minutes at least for a confirmation, and be charged a fee. On large transactions, I can pay a marginal fee and have a transaction which is traceable, legally enforceable, and even reversible if there is fraud.

The Panama Papers show us that a large portion of the world’s economy is being hidden from taxes by the ultra-rich. As long as that continues, cryptocurrencies will flourish.

But an ethical individual would not participate in this.