Theoretically, cryptocurrency could avoid making anyone rich, by deliberately inflating a medium of exchange. You couldn’t profit by having a lot of it. It would become worthless while you watch. The incentive is to get it out of your hands as quickly as possible, by trading it for something more useful or durable, like a prawn sandwich.

This is what I expected when Bitcoin was completely new. Like, ‘hey I could mine this on my laptop’ kinds of new. (Never did.) What I thought everyone saw was an alternative to PayPal - a way to toss petty cash across the internet. Mostly for legal stuff that credit card companies think is icky and credit card users don’t necessarily want on-the-record. This view of the technology is compatible with labor theory of value and opposition to hierarchy and whatnot. It’s a commodity you can e-mail.

But all extant crypto tech seems to be magic internet money scams. Some don’t know they’re scams. They don’t understand how Bitcoin’s constant deflation is a failure case. It was intended as a crypto… currency. You should be able to spend it on stuff. Instead it’s become an unregulated speculation boom with both de-facto gambling and outright money laundering both disguised as investment. Twitch Plays Tulip Mania. So yeah, anyone celebrating how it works at present is either not a leftist or not paying attention.