Cryptocurrency – Why do Authorities Ban Rather Than Educate?

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  • The UK’s FCA has warned retail investors over the dangers of cryptocurrency many times in the past few months
  • In doing so they are preventing people from teaching themselves how to make life-changing amounts of money
  • Why are authorities so keen to ban cryptocurrency products rather than help people educate themselves?

Two weeks ago the UK’s financial watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) enforced a ban on cryptocurrency derivatives to British retail consumers, citing concerns over the volatility of cryptocurrencies and inadequate understanding of them among their reasons for doing so. However, with the potential for life changing amounts of money to be made for those that do it right, why are authorities like the FCA so keen to ban access to cryptocurrency outright rather than help educate those who want to learn?

FCA Sends Would-be Traders Running For the Hills

If someone takes an interest in cryptocurrency, whether as a trader or from a technological point of view, one look at the FCA site for guidance will send them running a mile in the opposite direction. The site warns of volatility, scams, a lack of fundamentals backing projects, and the lack of protection offered in case of loss. This is enough to scare even the most enthusiastic individual away from making a potentially life-changing amount of money.

Of course there are risks involved in holding and trading cryptocurrencies, but the likes of the FCA make it seem like every single cryptocurrency and blockchain project is a trap just waiting to steal your money. But the truth is very different. The vast majority of the top 200 coins by market cap belong to genuine projects run by people who really are trying to make them work, and by educating yourself you can learn how to separate the wheat from the chaff – which in turn could net you a four-figure return or better from a small investment.

Massive Upside From Cryptocurrency Being Ignored

It is a shame that authorities like the FCA promote abstinence over education. Perhaps this is because they don’t want to go to the expense of providing educational material, but there is plenty out there for them to choose from. Perhaps they simply offer this ‘advice’ as a way of saying ‘we warned you, don’t blame us if you lose everything’.

This is an understandable attitude in some way, but it’s a shame that they don’t promote education of the cryptocurrency sector as it represents one of the few remaining chances for the average person to lift themselves to the next level financially, or perhaps even out of poverty. Instead, people are being scared away when the opportunity is there to learn about cryptocurrency, to learn about investing and trading, and to make the most of this time stuck indoors with nothing but Netflix and snacking to change their lives for the better.

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