NEO's future: Should we be worried about China's clampdown on ICOs?

 

Being new to this platform and to the world of cryptocurrency and of blockchain, the knowledge I have garnered within the past two to two and a half weeks is hardly the tip of the iceberg, however, it is a lot. As with any nascent technology, what we have come to know as blockchain, and the technologies built on it is fraught with many uncertainties. One is confident though that the older it and its off springs get, the less volatile things will be. 

It is with this in mind that I, like many, look on with concern at the recent announcement that China is clamping down on ICOs. The motive here, I assume, is to ensure that NEO delivers on its promises. We often hear that it is ‘The Ethereum of Asia’. It’s slump in recent days have caused so many to sell their holdings and they are wondering if NEO will survive.  

https://www.bittrex.com/Market/Index?MarketName=BTC-NEO

NEO is the first alt coin I have ever purchased, and while many people are freaking out over its falling value, I am more concerned about the move by China. What I know about crypto and by extension blockchain, is that it was supposed to undermine the whole idea of centralization. Being someone who lean towards libertarian principles I am concerned about this move by Beijing. The article below gives a rationale for this move. Actually, it gives seven.  

https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinese-exchanges-issue-ico-warnings-amid-death-penalty-panic 

While I note some of these concerns, one wonders if it is the government’s business to protect people from cons. Wherever there is a lot of money to be made, you will have those unsavory characters emerging. This is not to say that they are all that way. Many offerings are quite genuine. The fact, however, is that most will fail, which is nothing unique to cryptos. This is just business. My advise is, let the market decide. Some will lose and some will gain. The lesson here is that experience and learning the hard way is the only true shield from government overreach. 

And so, the big question is, will we, as ordinary citizens, be truly liberated from the shackles of governmental control? If today it’s China, then which government will strike next. For while western governments may not take that same heavy handed, aboveboard approach to cryptos, it is not farfetched to see them trying to exercise some degree of control. We who have even a small idea of what this technology is capable of know that anyone in power is scared of what will happen if it takes off. 

Now, I am not seeing anyone on the other side of the Atlantic trying to exercise this control. Maybe because it is not so easy in our so-called democracies. But as Douglass said in the quote below:  

 

It is hard to see anyone controlling something that is decentralized. Internet access, however, is perhaps another matter entirely. The Chinese government controls internet access. A handful of western corporations exercise great leverage re: the internet. The question as to how much control they will seek to exercise is a pertinent question. As it pertains to the latter, one assumes that there will be another push to procure net neutrality. It is hard to see this succeeding. Irrespective of what happens, it is hard to see people with so much to lose go down without a fight.