Where is Technology Taking Us?

Apparently, I am not the only old fart who is worried about the direction technology is taking us all!

Technologists should be proud of what they create, but they lack an understanding that what they are developing will cause problems for themselves and others in the future.

I have had the honour this week of a visit from my old trading mentor, someone I have known for 40 years. So as you would expect, we had much reminiscing to do.

We both started in the days before computers went mainstream; neither of us had ever considered ourselves a salesman or commercial person trying to drum up business. And many of today’s ways of working feel very alien.

Luckily, I have managed to keep up with the various technological developments in the markets over recent decades. My old friend was a bit more of a Luddite.
That said, while I am writing this report, after looking at what the markets are doing, he has probably already sold and bought, bought and sold, and gone home without a care in the world.

And that, my friends, is the mark of a real trader. Someone who makes money by risking his own money. Someone who rarely looks at a chart or reads endless reports because trading for him is as natural as breathing.
More importantly, he has no interest in telling others what he does or why he is doing it because his trading is his business.

To have access to such a trader is a rare privilege. So I asked him a few questions about today’s business and his feelings.

Firstly, I asked about cryptocurrencies.

He rightly or wrongly believed that much of the business was bullshit, so he had always refused to get involved.
However, he did add something worth repeating. How can anyone expect a thriving business that has grown because it is outside of government control to survive when it is surrendering itself to government wishes? If you want people to have trust, you have to be consistent.

Block chain technology has value, but we should not compare the future of blockchain technology with the value of cryptocurrencies, and they are not the same thing.

As I mentioned, my friend is a Luddite. But still, his questions have merit.

On the question of CBDC, he is resigned to the fact that they are unstoppable. But I needed to be more impressed.
At the end of our active careers, we are incredibly grateful that these CBDCs have not stopped us from enjoying our lives because they can only damage aspiring people in the future.
He said, “Why would anyone want to create anything that gives the government more control over people’s lives?” Indeed, there is a certain naivety about making money from creating software that gives the government control over the money you make. “Who in their right mind would be so stupid?”

When it comes to the technocrats and computer guys, while my friend said he uses online platforms to trade, in his view, “the investment world will have to be careful, or it will sink out of sight.
Whether we like it or not, things are changing, and all we can do is make as much as we can while we can still do so because few are doing anything to protect or extend the life of our markets.”

Some of the things he said were highly worrisome.

I am sure many will want to disagree with what my friend said. But who is doing anything to change the direction of travel?

Technology is a fantastic thing. But if you ask a developer and a citizen of China about how technology is making our lives better, the answers might be different.

Many will happily cast aside the views of an old trader, especially one who has amassed his wealth without modern technology. But does casting aside such views without giving them serious consideration help anyone?

It may be time to stop selling stuff others have already developed and start focusing on what people will need in the future—a real alternative to CBDC.

Perhaps we still need to build on the success of Bitcoin and add to its original promise, instead of diluting its original ideology for 40 pieces of silver.

Maybe all we have done is make it easier for governments to take more control of our money.
And what will happen to speculative markets when CBDC is how we all transact with each other?
Will the government allow individuals to speculate, or will it use our investment capital to pay off the national debt?

I am following my friend’s advice, I am going to make as much as I can for as long as I can, and as I do this, I will continue looking for alternative places to store my wealth outside of Western FIAT.

Until next time.