How is Crypto Not a Scam?

NFTs are better thought of as technology than as a “thing.”

Anyone saying “crypto is a scam” needs to recognize that they’re taking a verbal shortcut to avoid spelling out their full reasoning — “crypto is a technology predominantly used to scam people, and therefore I don’t want to be involved.” People are entitled to their opinions, but if everyone rejected technology because it had been used to scam people, no one would use email thanks to the many Nigerian Princes out there.

The right approach is to evaluate the costs and benefits of the technology. Understand its potential. See if we can craft solutions from it. Create guardrails to prevent its misuse. Then, after due consideration, if a technology hurts more than it helps despite our best efforts to control it, we can reject the tech.

Crypto, or more formally blockchain, is a revolutionary technology the implications of which society has barely begun to explore. Being a subpart of blockchain, NFTs float in the same boat. Have NFTs been used to scam people? Of course! But that fact is only one part of the calculation serious thinkers should contend with.

• What is the true potential of NFTs?
• What solutions can they help create?
• Can we guard adequately against their harms?

Only after answering these questions and more can we come to a reasonable conclusion on how the technology should be treated. To arrive anywhere near an answer, we’ll first need to understand What the Hell an NFT is and Why Anyone Should Care.