Crypto, Trading and Steem: Not Available in Your Region...

I'm sure the whole experience of the "modern Web" and what is now being called "Web 3.0" is an interesting — and at times challenging — ride for all of us.

I some ways, my own journey has potentially been marked by more frustration than celebration of this new step of the technological journey.

Regulations, Regulations...

I'll be the first to admit that it frustrates me when I get on YouTube to watch some clip a friend suggested, only to be met with a "Video is not available in your region" message.

Figure this shit out, people... leave the end users out of it!

Of course, that doesn't have anything to do with crypto or Web 3.0... just an illustration of regulations getting in the way of people's enjoyment.

I first ran into "regulation obstruction" during my earliest days in the Cryptosphere.

I discovered that living in the beautiful US state of Washington is "not good" when you're involved with crypto. Sadly, it had little to do with crypto and a lot to do with our state's progressive views on legalizing cannabis and cannabis products.

Weed was legalized... and taxed.

But growers and dealers were bypassing tariffs and taxes by transacting in crypto, as a result of which the state imposed draconian regulations on handling crypto, just in this state.

I bumped into that issue again after becoming part of the Steemit community... less than a year after starting, my Poloniex account was shut down for no reason other than my geographical location.

That was what I was using to buy and sell Steem... but that was the end of the road for that option.

In 2017.

Now we have these years later, and the situation has actually gotten worse, rather than better.

In the years in between, we lost Bittrex — ironically based in Seattle, Washington(!) — for (mostly) regulatory reasons.

And, as of a couple of days ago, Binance became unavailable to customers based in Washington state... again, due to regulatory issues.

Ironically, we can loop back to marijuana which used to have many regulations in various states under which you could have some, but you were prevented from buying or selling any. Or growing any. I guess you were just supposed to obtain it as magical unicorn farts dropping from the sky?

Of course, many who read these words are not living in the USA, and perhaps you experience fewer regulatory hassles and other obstructions.

Decentralization and (NO) Ease of Use

Of course, this all seems like a powerful vote for the need for Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) to bypass the hassles.

That said, whereas DEXes are a great idea, few do anything like a decent job, and it doesn't take long before you run into all sorts of hassles and limitations... from cross-chain difficulties to lack of matching trading pairs that you can actually use.

Maybe you can mount your moral and ethical high horse and trade on "but you're supporting DECENTRALIZATION!" but what does that amount to, if the system isn't tangibly functional?

And it's confusing! Because USDT isn't the same as USDT on Ethereum as USDT on TON as USDT on BSC.

And our own Steem token? Forget about it! Because it's not very "major," you see...

Meanwhile the few options that do work — like the SimpleSwap service — seem to be making life harder by substantially raising their minimum transaction size.

Last I checked, SimpleSwap had raised their minimum transaction amount from about 115 Steem to about 600 Steem... so much for having options for "the little guy!"

I try to find a measure of solace in the possibility that this is all part of the "growing pains" of what essentially still amounts to a very new industry that's trying to find it's own version of level ground.

Alas, it's "cold comfort," because the "Not available in your region" paradigm continues, and could very easily make a person feel not very inspired to continue.

A lot of people hold a quiet (or not so quiet) hope of being part of a movement to see crypto somewhat change the world. But much of the time, it feels more like a hope with a tightening noose around it's neck!

For those of us who engage in crypto activities outside the Steemit community, life is often challenging. The TON blockchain has taken off like a rocket, thanks to its connection to Telegram's 900 million users... but the myriad tokens based around TON are supremely difficult to trade because TON doesn't "talk well" with other networks.

Binance has released their new Web 3.0 self-custodial MPC crypto wallet which looks super useful, but I can't get one, because I can't have a Binance account... an example of regulations even invading the decentralized space.

Oh well.

Maybe it's also the nature of new projects that a lot of effort goes into creating them, but little effort goes into making sure they are functionally usable.

Oh well, again.

This isn't really intended as a "song of complaint," more a pointing out that we all — as part of the crypto world — have a long way to go before this gig becomes "something for everyone."

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!

How about you? Do you find it easy or difficult to transact in crypto? Are you involved in other crypto-based endeavors, besides Steemit? Are there many crypto regulations where you live? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2024.08.22 14:44PDT
x827/2061