By Lauren Sarah
Steven has lost more bitcoins than most people have. Growing up on the islands of Shetland, he dropped out of school at the age of 13 to trawler before building, eventually earning £85,000 a year building for Crossrail.
The most common are the production of cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrencies, alcohol, and money laundering services and their lives. In a fog of multiple deprivations, he lost five to 10 bitcoin ‘addresses’, making his digital treasure – now worth up to £300,000 – impossible.
Steven, one of the crypto-gamblers has the potential to be a bitcoin for money and cash exchange. But even if he had the money now, his addiction would mean that the money would soon be wasted.
“Trading is gambling, no question,” he said.
“I studied and studied. I myself learned how to be a good trader and tried to keep track of my account and comply with various rules.
But my mind is twitching and I will do everything, like a poker player who thinks he has the perfect hand. I am sure that I will become a bitcoin millionaire.
Steven is standing at the Castle Craig Residential Care Clinic in Scotland, worried that the power of youth will be lured into risky and addictive relationships based on unspeakable wealth.
“A whole generation thinks that with a small phone they can work, that they can … conquer the market,” he said.
“This scares me out of my shit.”
Stevens’ fears are based in part on the rapid emergence of cryptocurrencies into the mainstream. When he started investing in 2015, digital currencies meant nothing to most people. They are now seen as a democratic alternative to the monopoly and practical international financial system.
As The Guardian revealed on Friday, the cryptocurrency firm launched its largest promotional campaign in London last year, targeting millions of passengers with 40,000 advertisements on billboards, tube stations, wagons and double-decker buses.
Advertisers contain rather vague names like Hex, Kraken, and Puglife that consumers know little, if any, about. At the same time, football teams and players, not to mention world-famous stars, are supporting cryptocurrency through social media every day.
An Instagram post on EthereumMax, targeting 250 million Kardashian followers, could have been the biggest financial presentation ever, according to leaders from the British Financial Services Authority (FCA).
But despite their rise – and warnings that the government could suffer “unlimited” losses, cryptocurrencies remain ungovernable in the UK, pending a review by the Treasury. This means that the FCA, the UK’s Financial Services Authority, has no power to influence the conduct of the industry. While some digital asset trading platforms are managed because they also offer more traditional financial instruments, cryptocurrencies and tokens are not.
Crypto Asset executives don’t have to prove they are capable and capable of taking people’s money. The companies they manage do not need to have sufficient liquidity to repay investors in the event of bankruptcy. There is also no need to worry about the FCA provision that financial initiatives, such as those launched on public transport in London, are fair, clear and not misleading.
