The current cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Etherium, Bitcoin Cash, have risen in popularity to unimaginable levels by the time they began, and with their popularity, also the price and the fanaticism of many people towards them, so in this post, that It may be a bit controversial for some, I am going to explain why cryptocurrencies are not the future of currencies (as we have been sold in recent years), but perhaps, Blockchain technology.
Energy consumption
It is not hidden that due to the decentralization nature of current cryptocurrencies the energy consumption for each transaction (which can be $ 0.1 or $ 1k, no matter the amount) is monumental, in fact, a study by the University of Cambridge revealed that the miners network consumes more energy than all of Argentina in one year (121.36 TW / h), consumption that increases as more miners join the network.
People who advocate for cryptocurrencies, crypto-lovers, are justified in that the energy expenditure is "lower" than that of the Visa / Mastercard network, but this is wrong, since the consumption of a bitcoin transaction is compared with the consumption of the entire Visa / Mastercard network, the correct thing would be to compare the consumption of a bitcoin transaction (580 KW) with the consumption of a transaction with a Visa / Mastercard card (2 W, 0.02 KW), with which this excuse it would be totally dismissed.
The problem of energy consumption lies in the fact that even today a large part of the energy sources are non-renewable, thus making cryptocurrencies and its mining network one of the largest polluters in the world, increasing the polluting brand.
Lack of control
One of the characteristics most loved by cryptocurrencies is that cryptocurrencies are not subject to any regulatory entity, so you can operate with them in a totally anonymous and untraceable way, which is virtually impossible with traditional currencies.
But this characteristic is the one that has most slowed the acceptance and use of cryptocurrencies worldwide, since world governments are not willing to stop having control, in addition to that, control is not necessarily bad:
The control that governments and banking entities have over people's money is practically not noticeable, unless you do illegal acts and use your account, otherwise the controls imposed on banks will not affect you at all, since no bank blocks people's assets, unless the origin is illegitimate.
Easy tax evasion
Thanks to the previous point, tax evasion is extremely easy, since your wallet is not linked to you, therefore, there is no way to prove the creditor of the account.
However, today there are different platforms such as Binance or Coinbase, which do connect your identity with your account, making it difficult for both tax evasion and money laundering.
Price manipulation
As happens with Fiat money, compared to cryptocurrencies in the lack of origin control, it also happens in quotes compared to, for example, the stock market.
Cryptocurrencies, as a general rule, do not have an entity that regulates prices, so prices may be manipulated on different occasions by companies or even people.
Great examples of this are Bitfinex, a company that inflated the price of Bitcoin when it fell, and on the other hand, Elon Musk, who on multiple occasions for just one tweet has caused the prices of cryptocurrencies to collapse or increase.
Not used as coins
It seems illogical, but today most people who buy cryptocurrencies, do not do it to use it strictly as a form of payment, but as a means of investment, buying and selling them when their price rises, getting a profit.
Unless acceptance rises, and they become a standard in the world (difficult thing, arguing the above points), most people will continue to use cryptocurrencies as a medium-term form of investment and not for the purpose they were created, to be the next generation of coins.
Not everything is lost
However, not everything is lost, since Blockchain technology, the basis of current cryptocurrencies, can be present in the currency of the future, a Fiat currency (of agreed value, such as the Dollar), with the correct regulation on the part of an impartial entity, and centralization with this same entity, would be the solution to the problems that cryptocurrencies present, solving the problems they have.