Beyond Bitcoin -The truth about cryptos – far more than you ever knew are dead and dying
Bottom Line: At the onset I'll state that I've never traded cryptos, never would trade cryptos but some who have become incredibly wealthy doing so and there's a chance there's a long-term place in the world for them. It's also important to note that crypto currency is nothing new. They've been attempted as long the internet has existed. More than 40 were created and failed in the 90's. In recent years cryptos gained traction as a means of transacting on the black market – which is still a huge driver for their success. At one-point last year the United States was the largest holder of Bitcoin in the world (due to criminal seizures).
With all of that as a backdrop here's the crypto update. DeadCoins.com tracks all cryptos worldwide and last week a new milestone was reached. Over 800 crypto currencies are now "dead" or defunct. That means that anyone holding any of those cryptos would have nothing to show for whatever they put into them. This as the biggest of them all, Bitcoin, is at $6,330 as of this entry which is a 70% plus decline over six months ago. What's important to know is that Bitcoin, nor any crypto currency retains any inherent value. It's worth whatever someone else is willing to pay for it as long as there are others that are willing to pay for it. That means that you should never consider any crypto currency as an investment. It's sheer speculation. For that reason, you should only use money that you'd being willing to gamble with or use to play the lottery for example.
I'm inclined to believe that there will be a place in the world for some type of crypto currency because there's enough interest to will it into existence but there's no credible person who could reasonably assert a projected value or even what currency, or currencies will survive.