What The FUD Is Really Going On?

What's up, everyone? What's going DOWN this week? I think now is a great time to discuss the current State of the Market.
It's come to my attention that everyone is nervous, and maybe even a little scared about the way the BTC and altcoin prices have been deflating rapidly over the last few days. But really, what's the real reason for that? Let's take a look at some of the facts that we know:

1. The Tether FUD: There's been a huge amount of FUD over the increasing drama surrounding Tether (USDT)- more specifically, whether or not they actually have the capital to back up the supply of USDT that they've distributed. (Remember, USDT was supposed to be backed by a reserve of USD equivalent to or greater than the amount of USDT in circulation, to ensure that it holds it'd value against the dollar. While it's certainly troubling- I don't see any reason to panic yet, at least until there's an official audit and we have more confirmed information about this situation.

2. The India FUD: Okay, this one makes a bit less sense to me, after evaluating what it all actually means. So the basic gist of it is that India passed legislation stating that cryptocurrency can no longer be used as a currency in India. Now at first read- I can absolutely see how that could send people into a bit of a state of paranoia. However, that's only on the surface. The newly passed legislation does NOT ban citizens from owning, investing in, or trading cryptocurrencies on markets or exchanges. Most people don't realize that the US Dollar (USD) also can not be used as a currency in India, yet we don't see the value of the US Dollar crashing (any more than usual, at any rate). So my take on this is that it's nothing but FUD, and that there's really no reason to let this affect your view of the future of cryptocurrencies.

3. The FUD coming from Wall Street and the Banking Sector: Now this has been going on for quite some time now. Perhaps even before BTC had it's major bull run back in late November/early December, however at that time there were a lot less investors in the markets and a lot less people following the news around these markets so closely, so maybe it wasn't as publicized as it's become in recent months. Throughout it's brief history, Bitcoin has been criticized and chastised by everyone from lawmakers, to corporate tycoons, to "financial advisers" (financial advisers, undoubtedly, who have a connection or ties to Wall Street, The Banking Industry, or Big Business in Corporate America). The reason for this? Well that depends on who you ask. Some people think there's genuine concern that cryptocurrency will be a failed experiment that will leave more people in massive debt than there already are. Others seem to think that there's a lot of fear in the Banking Sector and on Wall Street and that cryptocurrency is being viewed as a 'threat' to their livelihood or is in some way endangering those markets. However, while I'm not dismissing any of these theories, and I'm absolutely NOT a professional financial analyst or adviser- my own personal suspicion is that members of Governments, the Banking Sector, and Wall Street are trying to create as much uncertainty as possible to try to scare away the vast majority of the general public from investing in cryptocurrency. What would their motive be for this? Simple: they drive the price into the ground by creating fear and driving out investors- so that they can then grab up all of the crypto themselves and maintain control of 99.9% of the wealth, just like they always have.

So what's the takeaway from all of this? Well- I can't tell you what to decide or what to do in this situation, as I'm not a qualified financial adviser or consultant. So to reiterate- please do your own research and draw your own conclusions- but maybe take some of my points into consideration. I, personally, will not be deterred by the current state of the market or by all of the FUD that's been so rampant lately.

I've been a firm supporter of BTC since 2011, when I first learned about Blockchain Technology and I became interested in it's potential. While cryptocurrencies are revolutionary and in my opinion a wonderful idea and a way to put people in control of their own banking and more in-control of their privacy- I feel that the underlying technology, Blockchain, has the potential to change nearly every aspect of our lives. Creating more decentralized ledgers for various purposes and industries would protect against corporate fraud, hacking attacks, voting fraud, embezzlement, and countless other problems that exist in traditional record-keeping methods. Blockchain Technology is here to stay and it's only going to grow. And in time I have confidence that even the scalability issues (like a limited amount of transactions per second) will be solved in time. As more applications are thought of for this tech, the more it's popularity will continue to grow- which will lead to even more innovation. As interest and usage grows, more investors will inevitably be drawn to the market which will lead to more money pouring in, which will mean the overall market cap will steadily increase.

So my opinion on all of this? I think the best course of action right now is to try to ignore the FUD, and to take the opportunity presented by this dip to get in on some coins or tokens that maybe were too costly before the dip, or to perhaps reinforce a position in something already owned, while it's 'on sale'. For all the Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt floating around the forums these days, I think people are overlooking the big picture. It's easy to get tunnel-vision in the midst of a dip like this following a huge bull run like we just had. But let's stop and rewind the clock to just half a year ago- at that time the BTC price had never even reached $8,000.00 USD as an ALL TIME HIGH... So tell me again why the price dropping below $9,000.00 is suddenly the End of the World? My strategy for now is going to be to Buy the Dip, HODL, and wait for the inevitable upsurge, whether it happens in a week or in a year. I'm confident that it WILL happen.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and to hear my views. But what I'd really like is to hear some feedback from you guys. I'd like to know your take on the current State of the Market, and your opinion on all of the FUD that's been going around. Do you guys agree with me that all of this fear is (mostly) unfounded? Or do you guys think I'm crazy, and that cryptocurrency is on a downward death-spin? I'd love to hear what you guys think, even if it doesn't align with my own opinions. I learn a lot from hearing others' views and from researching several different views on a topic. Please speak your mind- there's no wrong answers here!

Looking forward to reading your feedback!
Jay Schaffer