The State of Cryptocurrencies is Strong (Even months after the bubble)
As someone who first found an interest in cryptocurrencies since mid-2017 (this is considered “late” in the crypto-world, even though the industry barely began about 9 years ago), I’ve witnessed and lived through my first “bubble”. I’ve ridden the waves of positive and negative emotions, checking the prices on a daily basis (which isn’t healthy at all), chasing the newest “token” and trying to dig deeper and further into the industry, which in general terms, is a relatively new one.
Having been a participant in this market for about a year now, I’ve come to realize that the 2017 bubble burst has been a blessing in disguise. The crash that follows the pop helps weed out the bad projects from the good ones. Also, instead of users checking the price on a daily basis and discussing “how high it can go”, programmers and entrepreneurs can focus more on implementing better technology, facilitating scaling, increasing daily usage and adoption of their respective cryptocurrencies (which is what really matters in the long run).
My perception of the whole market and the very concept of cryptocurrencies has vastly changed over the year as well. When I began getting involved, I really had no idea what they were or how they worked; I was blind to the very core fundamental principles of it all. People thought “these coins are going up in price and I want in!” with no logical basis regarding their decisions and no true understanding of the technology behind their purchased coins, of how they work, or what problems they solve. People like myself at the time helped contribute to this bubble. Oops! Thanks to bubbles though, the movement also gains another wave of followers which further increases with every subsequent bubble that occurs.
In these past few months, I’ve dedicated much of my time and effort in trying to understand how this industry and technology all work (which is a never-ending process). I’ve managed to convince myself that this is truly a technological revolution we are witnessing here. This industry, to me, has been one of those where you decide you’re going read an article about it to learn more, but suddenly, you find yourself reading your 20th article two hours down the road, going to sleep late, waking up tired the next day and realizing what the hell happened. The world of crypto has sucked me in.
It’s impressive in that, it’s not just simply a new invention; this truly has the potential to move and influence the economy at a global scale. There are many case scenarios in our world at the moment; failing economies such as Venezuela, Turkey, Iran, to name a few, that could benefit from cryptocurrencies. In fact, I believe every country could benefit from them, even the good ol’ U.S.A.
The question I hear a lot is, why should we use or trust cryptocurrency when we have a perfectly healthy working dollar (or Euro, or Yen…)? The real question to ask, in my opinion, is does our current currency actually work perfectly well? Is our economic system the most efficient and are the hard working people of these nations being treated fairly for their hard work in regards to the money they earn? One of the major steps required to innovate is questioning the way things currently are.
Is it fair that a group of very wealthy decision makers (with ties to many other, wealthy business owners), can decide to print an excessive amount of money to decrease the value of the money you make, year after year? The Federal Reserve Bank is the orchestrator of our money. Are we in good hands trusting them? Have they consistently made calls that favor the general population?
I’d argue not. I’m convinced that consequences have come to light in a very clear manner of what could potentially occur in a nation where the flow of money can be vastly modified thanks to the likes of a small, powerful group of people making the major calls.
Thanks to the revolution of Bitcoin, the puzzle to create a decentralized peer to peer currency has been solved. There is no single group or entity that controls the entire ecosystem. The currency is controlled by its very own users. Not to mention, it is a deflationary currency. If demand is consistent over time, a bitcoin would actually tend to increase in price as years go on, unlike our very own U.S. dollar that is worth less every year.
Every four years, an event called a “halvening” occurs (the next halvening will be in 2020), in which the amount of Bitcoin that can be mined is cut in half. Essentially, this is as if gold or diamonds suddenly became more difficult to find. If demand persists, the price will increase.
Would you rather be holding a dollar, that would surely be worth much less in 5 years than it is today, or a Bitcoin, which over time, becomes less available to the public? Should we be trusting a small group of decision makers with their own personal financial interests to make the calls regarding our national currency, or should we prefer more of the power to be in the hands of the people, the users? I believe cases such as Venezuela (and many others) show us that perhaps, centralization is not a good answer, nor are the attempts for governments to create centralized cryptocurrencies (such as the Petrocoin), which could prove to be very dangerous (having an authority controlling every aspect to a digital money does not sound safe!). Decentralized cryptocurrencies are what we should strive for, and fortunately, they are available to the world.
As more countries undergo economic recessions at the hands of poor government policies, I become continously amazed by the gravitation towards cryptocurrency adoption that occurs thereafter by the people. As a Reddit user, I remember reading about Venezuelans helping their families and friends become involved in cryptocurrency mining and receiving crypto donations, attempting to earn a currency more stable than their nation’s very own. It was also interesting hearing about the massive surge in activity on cryptocurrency exchanges in Turkey when the Lira dropped. These are just a few instances. I’m a firm believer that as more nations begin to fail economically, more people will begin drifting towards decentralized and deflationary currencies.
Keep in mind, not all cryptocurrencies are decentralized and deflationary (such as Bitcoin and Litecoin); some are quite the opposite, so research is definitely recommended. Not all serve the same purpose nor are used for the same activities.
Ultimately, the path to fulfilling the mission of cryptocurrencies will not be an easy one, it’ll receive opposition, big banks being one, some politicians being another (In the U.S., one of the most outspoken anti-Bitcoin politican receives the majority of his campaign donations from a credit card company; speaking about personal interests!). Also, some banks are making it difficult to send money to/from cryptocurrency exchanges, but eventually, history shows us that when a necessary technology persists, it typically ends up winning. For example, the war of banks on cryptocurrencies is already forcing users to directly use cryptocurrencies for goods and services, altogether avoiding having to convert their coins back to fiat currency. If banks are making your life difficult, what’s the next step? Why not purchase one? Crypto-related companies are starting to acquire significant stakes in international banks! “When there’s a will, there’s a way”.
I’ve come to realize that the entire “crypto” community as a whole is impressive to say the least. Many programmers that are working on their respective coins are paid strictly in those coins, which in a way, makes you need your coin to succeed. There are thousands of people volunteering to help their coins gain global adoption. There are people who have made this their reality, their life’s mission, to try to increase cryptocurrency usage and spread the word. There are hundreds, if not thousands of new companies being created associated to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology that are coming to light.
If this work intensity is maintained and adoption is increased, which seems like a likely scenario, we will be heading towards a future where it’s not necessary checking your cryptocurrency’s value is in comparison to the USD; 1 Bitcoin will equal 1 Bitcoin. People who are aware of the success of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will be preferring your crypto for the purchase of their home/car instead of your devaluing USD.
The fact that you can instantly send a coin to anyone on this planet in a matter of seconds makes this a global movement as well. Borders and set-backs are removed from the equation and every person on earth has the potential of becoming involved.
These are all prime examples that help me realize, we aren’t just dealing with “currencies” here, we’re talking about a full-on revolution with a support group of die-hard followers. This is when you know cryptocurrency is going to be alive for a very good while and even though times may get tough, it’s going to be impossible to stop. The craziest thing of all? We’re barely 9 years into this long, bumpy ride.
