Crypto currency and why it is very dangerous

What is Crypto Currency?

Crypto Currency

Cryptocurrency is a type of money that only exists online. Instead of coins or paper bills, it’s made up of digital code. One of the most well-known examples is Bitcoin. People can use it to buy things, invest, or send money to others over the internet.

Cryptocurrency is different, unlike regular currencyIt doesn’t rely on a bank or government to keep track of transactions. Instead, it uses blockchain, which acts like a digital record book for the public. Any time someone sends or receives crypto, the transaction gets added to this record. The record is shared across a vast amount of computers, so it’s very hard to change or hack.

In lay mans terms, cryptocurrency is online money that people can send directly to each other, and blockchain is the system that keeps everything organized and secure without needing a middleman.

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Why was it created?

  After the financial crisis of 2008 a lot of consumers/ people with money in the major banks did not feel safe. Time and time again financial institutions have gotten too greedy and got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Most of the times leading to said institution being bailed out by the Federal Reserve. 

It was created a way of opening another option for people to keep their money safe and be able to transfer money to and from each other. The initial idea was for it to give consumers more control over their money and make the whole system more transparent.  

 

Who can access it?

The beautiful thing about crypto currency is that almost anyone can use it. It was designed so you don’t have to rely on the big banks or even have a bank account.

The one caveat is that you need access to the internet and access to apps that allow you to have a crypto wallet, most of which are free. After that its pretty much free reign as long as you have a stable internet and computer.

I should say that there are some restriction in different countries with China being the biggest with a complete ban on all trading and mining.

 

Who controls it?

Cryptocurrency was designed/ idealized so that no single entitiy could control crypto or the crypto markets. That is why they use block chain so that everything is under the public eye.

However, that being said there are ways that people or large entities can majorly influence the crypto markets. For instance:

  • Government controls and regulations
  • Large Entities (whales) engaging in collusion/ market manipulation

Given that there are no real controls or regulations on Crypto it is heavily succeptable to these kinds of things.

Is it safe?

Here is a list of some of the dangers associated with Crypto Currency:

  1. Extremely volatile investment (Value moves up and down frequently)
  2. Crypto Scams
  3. Phishing 
  4. fake investment schemes
  5. Loss of access (Forgotten password)
  6. Regulation changes
  7. Security of crypto exchanges (Have been hacked before)
  8. Market Manipulation or collusion
  9. Crypto currency is not backed by anything it is driven by demand and value unlike regular currencies

With no real regulatory entitiy in charge of crypto currency it has become very useful for crime as well. It is estimated that almost $158 Billion has been transfered into illicit accounts in just 1 year.

With all of this information I would struggle to call this currency safe.

Should you buy Crypto?

After reading all of this information I would hope that i dissuaded anyone from purchasing crypto. Yes if you catch it at the right time you could make a lot of money but there is almost nothing but investor demand driving up the price. The counter party risk or who you are trading with alone should tell you not to invest in this currency not even mentioning all the ways they can scam you. And the really messed up thing is that most of the time you cant even get your money back.

Why is physical currency better?

Physcial currency like the US Dollar is much safer for the individuals that trade and use it every day. It is much more liquid than the crypto market. It is backed by the full weight and power of the United states government and all of its economic capacity so it is much more stable. If the US were to make a digitial dollar it would become extremely volatile like crypto currently is and put the greater publics financial futures at risk.

Prompt & Sources

Prompt:

Critique the ideas of others with regard to an object, process or concept of a digital nature. Your critique should incorporate an interdisciplinary perspective gained from other core courses as well as from your major area of interest.
Sources:

Crypto Assets and Financial Stability Risks.” International Monetary Fund, 2021. IMF

“What to Know About Cryptocurrency and Scams.” Federal Trade Commission.“Internet Crime Report.” FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2024. IC3 Report

“Crypto Crime Report.” Chainalysis. Chainalysis

“What Is Blockchain?” Investopedia.

“China’s Central Bank Vows Crackdown on Cryptocurrency Trading.” Reuters, 2021. Reuters

OpenAI. ChatGPT. GPT-5.5 version, 2026. Used as a writing and editing assistant.