DEV Community: Obafemi Ogunmokun

Is Crypto One Big Scam? The Part Most People Never See

Obafemi Ogunmokun — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:22:20 +0000

Walk into any room and say the word “crypto,” and you will usually get one of three reactions:

“It is the future.”
“It is all a scam.”
Or, “I have no idea what that thing is, but I heard people lost money.”

All three reactions make sense.

Crypto and Web3 have had bubbles, scams, hacks, and crazy price swings. Critics have serious concerns about fraud, energy use, and speculation.

At the same time, there is another much quieter side. It shows up in cross-border payments that arrive in minutes instead of days, in people who never had a bank account suddenly being able to use digital money, and in supply chains that become more transparent and honest.

This article is not here to convince you to invest in anything. The goal is simple: explain why the “it is all a scam” take is incomplete, and highlight where the underlying technology is already helping normal people.

1. Why so many people think crypto is a scam

Before we talk about benefits, we should be honest about why the reputation is so bad.

1.1 Price bubbles and crashes

Many cryptocurrencies have had huge price spikes followed by painful crashes. People buy at the top, lose money, and feel cheated. If your first contact with crypto is a friend who lost half their savings, it is natural to distrust the entire thing.

1.2 Real scams and rug pulls

Some projects were never serious in the first place. They were pump and dump schemes, fake investments, or “rug pulls” where the creators disappeared with people’s money. Criminal groups also use cryptocurrencies for fraud and money laundering, which gets a lot of media attention.

1.3 Hacks and technical risks

Poorly written smart contracts, weak security practices, and hacked exchanges have cost users billions of dollars. This makes the whole space look unsafe, even when the underlying blockchain itself was not hacked.

1.4 Energy use of some networks

Older proof-of-work blockchains like Bitcoin require a lot of computing power. That means high energy use and, in some regions, illegal mining operations stealing electricity. It is easy to look at those headlines and conclude that the harm is bigger than the benefit.

If you only see this side, it is completely logical to say, “This looks like a giant scam.”

2. Technology is not the same as what some people do with it

Now imagine if we judged email only by spam.

Spam exists. People use email to trick others and steal data. Some people lose a lot of money because of fake emails.

Yet nobody says “email itself is a scam.” We understand that:

Email is a neutral technology.
It can be used for good or bad.
The job is to fight abuse while keeping the useful parts.

Crypto and Web3 are similar.

At the core, you have:

Blockchains: shared public ledgers that many computers maintain together.
Digital wallets: tools that let you control your own digital money and assets.
Smart contracts: code that runs rules automatically when conditions are met.

These are just tools. They can be used by serious builders or by scammers.

It is fair to criticize bad projects, bad incentives, and weak regulation. It is not accurate to say the entire concept of crypto, blockchain, or Web3 is only a scam, especially when there are very clear real-world uses already in production.

3. Where crypto and Web3 are already helping society

Here are a few concrete areas where this technology is doing useful work right now.

3.1 Faster, cheaper cross-border payments

Try sending money from one country to another using traditional methods:

It can take days to settle.
The fees can be high, especially for small amounts.
You often get a bad exchange rate.

This is a real problem for:

Freelancers working for overseas clients
Migrant workers sending money home
Small businesses paying suppliers in other countries

Stablecoins are a crypto tool built for this. A stablecoin is a digital token on a blockchain that tracks the value of a familiar currency, usually the US dollar.

They allow people and companies to send value internationally in minutes instead of days, often with lower fees, because the payment travels directly on a digital ledger instead of hopping through multiple banks.

Payment companies and fintechs are now integrating stablecoin rails for remittances and cross-border business payments, not as a toy but as serious infrastructure.

This does not fix every problem in global finance, but it clearly helps people who need to move money quickly and reliably across borders.

3.2 Financial access for people the system left out

Roughly a billion-plus adults still do not have a bank account, and many more are underbanked.

Reasons include:

No local bank branch
No official ID
Low or unstable income
Lack of trust in institutions

Crypto and Web3 do not magically fix all of this, but they lower some barriers:

You can create a wallet with a smartphone and internet connection, without asking a bank for permission.
You can receive and send digital money directly, including stablecoins that hold value better than some local currencies.
Decentralized finance platforms experiment with ways to offer savings, credit, and other services through smart contracts instead of branches.

There are real risks and open questions about regulation and consumer protection. But as part of a larger toolkit that also includes mobile money and digital IDs, Web3 infrastructure can support broader financial inclusion.

3.3 More transparent and honest supply chains

Think about food, medicine, or electronics.

By the time they reach you, they have passed through farms, factories, trucks, ports, warehouses, and retailers. In many industries, it is hard to know where products really came from and what happened along the way. This creates room for:

Counterfeit goods
Unsafe or spoiled products
Mislabeling and fraud

Blockchain-based supply chain systems let companies write each step of a product’s journey onto a shared ledger:

When and where it was produced
How it was transported
Who handled it along the way

Because records are shared and tamper-resistant, it becomes easier to trace problems, prove authenticity, and meet regulatory requirements.

Again, not every pilot will succeed, but this is far from “just a scam.” It is companies trying to use a new kind of database to solve old problems of trust and visibility.

4. Being honest about the downsides

If we want people to trust the real benefits, we also have to be clear about the downsides.

4.1 Speculation and volatility

Many people treat crypto like a casino. Prices can move so fast that normal users are exposed to serious risk. Regulators warn retail investors to be careful, and not every token should be treated like a long-term asset.

4.2 Crime and abuse

Criminals use crypto for scams and money laundering, just as they use cash, shell companies, and other tools. Better regulation, analytics, and enforcement are still catching up.

4.3 Energy and environmental impact

Some networks, especially older proof-of-work systems, have very high energy usage. Illegal mining operations have also stolen electricity a large scale in some countries. Newer designs like proof of stake use far less energy, but the criticism of energy waste remains valid for certain networks and practices.

4.4 User experience and safety

Managing private keys, avoiding scams, and understanding complex protocols is not trivial. Good design and consumer protection still have a long way to go.

Acknowledging all of this does not weaken the case for Web3. It strengthens the case because it shows that serious builders and users are not ignoring the problems; they are actively working on them.

5. How to look at crypto and Web3 in a more balanced way

Instead of “all in” or “it is all a scam,” here is a more useful mindset.

See crypto and Web3 as infrastructure, not a lottery ticket.
Separate speculation from utility.
Ask, “What problem is this actually solving, and for whom?”.
Look for projects that are connected to real needs, like payments, identity, logistics, or financial access.

If a project cannot explain clearly what real-world problem it solves, or if it only promises big returns without clear value, that is a red flag.

On the other hand, if a project:

Saves time and money in cross-border payments
Helps more people participate in the economy
Makes supply chains more transparent
Or makes digital ownership more portable and fair

Then it deserves to be judged as technology, not dismissed by the worst behavior in the space.

In conclusion, Crypto and Web3 are messy, loud, and still very young. There are real scams and real failures. There are also real breakthroughs in how we move money, prove ownership, and share records across borders and institutions.

It is completely fair to be cautious. It is sensible to ignore hype and to avoid investing in things you do not understand. But it is not accurate to say the entire field is only a scam, especially when:

Companies are adopting stablecoin-based payment rails.
Governments and businesses are testing blockchain for transparency and efficiency.
Millions of people are using digital assets to move value in ways that were hard or expensive before.

The truth is more boring and more powerful than the headlines. Crypto and Web3 are not magic and not pure fraud. They are a new set of digital tools. What matters now is how we choose to use them.

What is Web3 in Simple Terms

Obafemi Ogunmokun — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 21:12:29 +0000

Imagine the internet as a big city.

In the early days (Web1), the city only had billboards. You could look at information, but you could not really do much. You just read web pages.
Later (Web2), the city got giant shopping malls owned by big companies. You could chat, post pictures, buy things, and run your business, but almost everything you did had to go through these big malls.

Today, most of our online life sits inside a few very big malls: social networks, app stores, payment platforms, cloud providers. They store your data, control your account, and can change the rules at any time.

Web3 is the idea of building more of the city outside those malls, on open streets and public squares that everyone can see and help run. Instead of one company holding all the keys, many people share control. You can own things directly, not only through a company account.

To understand Web3, we need to understand a few words: blockchain, decentralization, wallets, and tokens.

What is a blockchain

Consider a special kind of notebook that everyone can see and agree on.

Every time something important happens (like someone sending money), it is written as a line in this notebook.
The pages in the notebook are grouped into blocks.
Each new block is locked to the one before it, like a chain.

That is a blockchain: a chain of blocks of information. Now imagine:

This notebook is not kept in a single office. Instead, thousands of people worldwide have a copy. When someone wants to add a new line (for example, “Alice sent 5 coins to Bob”), everyone checks if the rules are followed. If it's valid, they all agree to add it to their copy of the notebook. Because many people hold and check the notebook, it is very difficult for one person to secretly alter the past. That is why blockchains are used to track money, ownership, and other important records.

What does decentralization mean

Decentralization sounds like a big word, but we can break it down.
Picture two schools.

In the first school, there is one big teacher who makes every decision.

The teacher keeps all the test scores.
The teacher decides who passes or fails.
If the teacher makes a mistake or is unfair, there is not much the students can do.

This is like a centralized system. One place, one boss.

2.In the second school, there is a shared system.

Many teachers and students can check the scores.
The rules for passing are written on the wall for everyone to see.
Changing a score is only possible if many people agree.

This is closer to a decentralized system.

In Web2, most things are centralized. One company holds your data on its servers. You must trust that company completely.

In Web3, more things are decentralized. Data and rules are spread across many computers, and important rules are written into code that everyone can see. No single person or company is supposed to be able to quietly change the rules for their own benefit.

Decentralization is not all or nothing. Many Web3 projects are a mix. Some parts are decentralized, some parts are still run by a company. Understanding how decentralized something really is is an important skill.

What is a wallet

In normal life, a wallet is where you keep your cash and cards. In Web3, a wallet is a digital tool that holds your keys.

These keys are not metal keys you put in a door. They are long secret numbers that prove:

You are the owner of certain coins or tokens.
You are the one allowed to move them.

When you use a Web3 app, you often connect your wallet. The app can then see what you own, but it cannot take your stuff without your permission.

You can think of it like this:

The blockchain is the big public notebook that says, “These coins belong to this key.”
Your wallet is what holds that key.
When you send money, your wallet signs a message that says, “I, the owner of this key, agree to send 5 coins to this other key.”

If you lose your wallet’s secret key or share it with someone, it is like giving away the keys to your house. That is why people are told to never share their private key or recovery phrase.

What are tokens and coins

On a blockchain, you can have different kinds of digital items.

Coins are usually the main currency of a blockchain. For example, on the Bitcoin blockchain, the main coin is bitcoin. On Ethereum, the main coin is ether.
Tokens are like tickets or points that live on top of a blockchain. They can represent many things:

Money that tracks the value of real currencies, such as the US dollar (these are often called stablecoins).
Points in a game.
Access rights to a service.
A unique digital collectible, like a picture or in game item.

You can send tokens from one wallet to another, just like you send coins. The blockchain keeps the record of who owns what.

When you hear people talk about NFTs, they are talking about a special kind of token that is unique, like a one of a kind trading card.

What are smart contracts

Imagine a vending machine. You put in a coin, press the button for a drink, and the machine automatically checks the money and gives you the drink. The rules are built into the machine.

A smart contract is like a vending machine made of code on a blockchain.
It is a program that says things like:

If a person sends this amount of money to the contract, then send them this token.
If these two people agree on a trade, swap their tokens.

Because the smart contract runs on the blockchain, everyone can see the code and check what it does. Once it is live, it will follow those rules automatically, without a person in the middle pressing buttons.

This is how many Web3 apps work. They are made of smart contracts that handle things like trading, lending, or issuing tickets.

Putting it together: what Web3 really is

Now we can combine the pieces. Web3 is an internet where:

The important records live on blockchains, not just inside one company’s database.
Control is spread out through decentralization, instead of one central server.
People use wallets to own and move coins and tokens directly.
Tokens can represent money, access, collectibles, and more.
Smart contracts run shared rules that everyone can see.

In Web2, you log in with a username and password and hope the company does the right thing.

In Web3, you connect with a wallet, and the rules for money and ownership live in open code and shared ledgers that many people help maintain.

It is still early and far from perfect, but that is the core idea: an internet where you can not only read and write, but also own and move value in a more open way.