As of this post, CoinGecko lists over 40,000 cryptocurrencies across many genres with silly names — DeFi, DePIN, AI, Web3, infra, and so on.

Almost none of them have any functional utility.

Why do we have so many?

Because they’re cheap and easy to create.

With just a laptop and Internet connection, a teenager from Indonesia can create a new monetary system that is global, permanent, and accessible on demand.

Or, memecoins and scams that induce “investors” to buy imaginary money.

As long as somebody’s willing to buy a token, somebody will create a token to sell to them. It’s all just computer code. They can spin it up in minutes.

At some point, VCs realized they could sell tokens for blockchain-related technology, regardless of whether the technology works or anybody uses it. Fraudsters realized they could traffic these coins for their own gain.

Presidential candidates realized people would give them money for saying nice things about the industry.

Blockchain technology makes all of these uses almost free.

With almost no barriers to entry, little work involved, and little regulatory infrastructure to deal with, it’s amazing we don’t have MORE cryptocurrencies.

Mark Helfman publishes the Crypto is Easy newsletter. He is also the author of three books and a top Bitcoin writer on Medium and Hacker Noon. Learn more about him in his bio and connect with him on Tealfeed.