Over the break I had a chat with a highly intelligent lady who was explaining to me the three ‘Crypto’ currencies, including Bitcoin, that she is successfully trading to supplement her income. She had a strategy and plan, and all was going well. But It was clearly a major distraction from whatever she would otherwise be working on.

The very next morning the headlines were plastered with stories of a collapse in the ‘value’ of a Bitcoin. I was not surprised, and the freefall continues today.

But what my mind keeps lamenting was the promise of one Wall Street commentator during the GFC cyclone, that in the future, investors will only want real businesses to invest in. From now on, all these complicated derivatives that don’t serve a real purpose other than a trading vehicle for betting on, will be gone. Old fashioned work ethic will return and if you want a big pot of money you will have to build something that’s real.

Ten years later we are back to punting on things like Bitcoin as proof that nothing changes. There is a section of our brains that will always love a short cut to success.