There is a revolution happening right now. The Blockchain Revolution.
No, it’s not the resurgence of an ’80s hair band or people marching in the streets to get Alice in Wonderland banned from the library. This revolution is technology that has the potential to globally change (almost) everything, and it’s happening right now.
It’s not all Bitcoin. But Bitcoin is (and will be) responsible for changing almost everything as we know it.
One Year Ago
The word “Bitcoin” didn’t exist in most people’s vocabulary. Today, however, Bitcoin is likely the most popular word at office coolers everywhere.
When a $100 investment seven years ago is now worth over $28,000,000, and people are cashing out millions all around, it’s hard not to get wrapped up in the cryptocurrency revolution. We are greedy humans after all.
However, Bitcoin is just one asset. Think of Bitcoin as the head cheerleader of cryptocurrency, where everybody knows it name but it’s only a small (but very significant) piece of the equation. For the near future, most tokens (aka coins) will be generally called a Bitcoin and that’s fine. People still call any search engine “Google,” any tissue paper Kleenex, and don’t get me started on the word “Hoover” for a vacuum cleaner. This intuitive self-labeling is simply a result of great marketing more than anything else. We are puppets to ad dollars, after all.
What Is a Bitcoin?
This is not an easy question to answer. Both the speaker and the listener truly have to understand the concept of digital currency, the challenge of the Byzantine fault tolerance, why immutable ledgers are important, how to think globally and more. I wouldn’t want to try to explain Bitcoin to anyone, with the most important reason being people are already doing it better.
You could start with Satoshi Nakamoto’s original Bitcoin manifest, but listening to Andreas M. Antonopoulos, who has been explaining Bitcoin for years, is probably the better place to start. One of his most popular videos is appropriately called “Introduction to Bitcoin.” He describes it as an entry-level talk about Bitcoin — not just as a form of money, but more about it as a technological invention changing the world forever.
If you saw this video five years ago and had the courage to dive in (yes, investment in change takes courage), then odds are you would likely be a gazillioniare by now.
If you prefer not to watch a video (which, by the way, is a yuge sign that you are not ready to learn), then here’s a good article to start with custom titled for you.
If you already understand the basic concept of blockchain and wish to explore the technical aspects more, AkitaOnRails has published this solid piece: “How does Bitcoin force consensus among Byzantine generals?
It’s up to you to decide how deep you want to dive into blockchain technology, but nobody will ever fault you for learning something new. In the case of cryptocurrency, you may just end up cashing out on that knowledge, or at least make new friends. You may even pick up a kitty.
Learn more.
Don’t be afraid.
The Bitcoin Revolution
Bitcoin’s popularity has not only inspired many new cryptocurrencies (such as Ethereum and NEO), but also launched an entire world of possibility for entrepreneurs. You may have heard stories of people making millions in ICOs (initial coin offerings), and it’s true. However, these investments have nothing to do with a single dollar invested in the original Bitcoin.
Many of these opportunities were launched in the last couple of years — and many in the last six months. For example, if you had invested $20,000 in the ICON Foundation’s token, ICX, four months ago, it would be worth over $1.5M today. If you had put $117 in Verge earlier this year, it would now be worth over a million dollars.
Yes… $117 => $1,000,000.
Unbelievable numbers, right?
Maybe, maybe not — but this return on your Benjamins is real.
Sustaining those numbers and growth is another question for the market overall but the answer depends on many variables including the team, the potential reach, speculation interest and more.
Think about this : How many people are going to really use self-driving cars or take rocket ships to space? Crypto literally has 1,000 better uses than much of the technology already raising billions (and somehow deemed Main Street worthy).
What we probably can agree on is that most top companies in the cryptocurrency space have an opportunity to make a global impact, and not just a local one. The opportunity is so large that many financial analysts may have a hard time forecasting the real value of these companies that have little or no revenue right now.
We invest in the future all the time and blockchain technology is no different of an investment. It’s just something you may not understand…yet.
Don’t be afraid.
Is Bitcoin a Scam?
No, but you have probably heard others say the words “scam” or “fraud” about Bitcoin before, and that’s okay. People are often afraid of change, critical of things they do not understand and jealous of high-returning investments they missed out on. We are silly humans, after all.
Of course, there are scams around — just like there are scams around in any industry that relies on supply and demand.
How about those timeshare meetings for a coupon to Disneyworld? Or the $1.99 item with a $39 shipping fee AS SEEN ON TV? Then we have extra baggage fees, valet parking at public parking lots, GST tax charged on top of PST and more. Scams are all around. You are probably in a few right now.
As adults, we have a responsibility to ourselves to research investments and not depend solely on the opinions of others. This means doing your homework, understanding both sides of the fence and, more importantly, understanding what you are investing in and your own personal risk level.
With that said, cryptocurrency is new and (very) disruptive to the traditional brick-and-mortar companies. The entire coin market is also (in my opinion) heavily influenced by traders and long-term holders are likely a much smaller percentage compared to blue chip stocks. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing — especially if you are a trader — and it can be paradise.
At the end of the day, you simply need to do more research before investing.
I know it sounds incredibly painful to have to understand what you are investing in right?
Cry me a river.
But the guy on TV called it a scam.
You mean the same person who literally gets up in the morning (with pride) to report on celebrity pregnancies, or the one who screams from your TV like he enjoys verbally abusing people before 6 am? Maybe its the person running a billion-dollar hedge fund who would LOVE to buy more cheap?
I’m confused — who is solely on your side?
You are — that’s who. No one else.
Learn more.
Don’t be afraid.
Many Bitcoin Opinions Exist
Mainstream opinions are everywhere. Some people love Bitcoin. Others despise it. However, these “popular” extreme opinions (positive or negative) are often the result of a lack of understanding or a defensive nature. We have seen this story many times before.
Remember when some said Paypal was a scam? Or that Instagram would never be worth a billion dollars?
Traditional company naysayers often even provide entrepreneurs with the inspiration for innovation, such as when Blockbuster inspired one if its customers to start Netflix.
JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon stated “It’s a fraud” and “worse than tulip bulbs” when referring to Bitcoin on September 12, 2017 — only for it to be later reported that JP Morgan bought on the dip.
Banks. I mean, really, how can you believe anything they say?
Scams are everywhere, but you can’t agree or define something as a scam if you don’t understand it. Now, I get it. We live in a “headline” world. Add a “computer term” to the mix and many more people think it’s a big old sham. You know, because “the internet” is a scam, too.
Imagine what gold owners thought when somebody offered to trade a piece of paper for their gold. I would bet paper money was considered a scam by many back then also.
You must understand something in order to call it a scam. You likely don’t understand Bitcoin or blockchain if you think either is a scam, and that’s okay. You can change that today by learning more.
Maybe a good place to start is not with Bitcoin, but by understanding the role of money in general. Almost no article words it better than “You Don’t Understand Bitcoin Because You Think Money Is Real” by Maria Bustillos.
You may also want to look at this chart from The Money Project, which shows how much “cash” there is in the world versus how much money.
Read that last line again.
Derivatives already rule the world, and they’re basically nothing more than digital contracts on cash.
Does Bitcoin Need Wider Adoption to Go Higher?
No. Not at all.
Some could even argue that Bitcoin’s current high transfer fees at times of heavy block activity are somewhat meaningless for BTC since it’s more attractive as a wealth preservation tool than an actual currency to buy goods and services. Bigger and better tokens are already being built and improved upon without such obstacles, like Ethereum, NEO, Wanchain and more.
What Bitcoin has done, more than any other digital currency so far, is lead the charge towards global digital currency adoption. That’s the real value of Bitcoin — not whether or not it’s affordable to buy an ice cream with it.
Now, in a perfect world, consumers would likely feel more comfortable paying with Bitcoin because of its brand recognition — but many digital currencies have a chance to become more widely adopted for commercial use than Bitcoin. Even just the challenge of asking customers to pay in decimal points is enough of an issue to create chaos at cash registers. New currencies have minted billions of tokens where one token will get you that ice cream, not 0.000055675565 of a Bitcoin.
Of course, people may still call every coin a Bitcoin, but that’s life. Math isn’t a specialty for the masses.
Geeks Continue to Lead.
I am a geek. I can use that word.
Let’s face it. A lot of traditional brick-and-mortar businesses are led by people with much less experience and exposure to the tech world. Some don’t care to understand it, others are afraid of it, and some simply aren’t smart enough to get it. This scenario is pretty much standard in any industry of age, but today’s generation has connected the world faster than ever before.
Think about it — 10 years ago, none of these products or companies existed:
iPad / Google Chrome / Snapchat / Airbnb / Spotify / Instagram / Kickstarter / Lyft / Pinterest / Uber / WhatsApp
Now ask yourself: Do your managers understand most of these? How about their managers?
The future is changing rapidly and blockchain technology has provided that extra oomph to make global change possible. In fact, it’s so important that many executives are leaving traditional brick-and-mortar companies all around the world to join crypto companies.
Sounds like another reason why some might call this a fraud. After all, who wants to see good employees leave?
Don’t Be Afraid.
At the end of the day, it’s simply important to learn more about Bitcoin and digital currencies. The world is changing, and you’re either on the train or you’re not.
The past has seen many opportunities, from registering domain names in the ’90s to buying tech stocks after the bubble in the early 2000s to even buying real estate after the bust. Bubbles will come and go, as in any other industry, but digital currency is here to stay.
Should You Invest in Bitcoin?
From an investment perspective, Bitcoin seems very attractive for many key reasons, the primary ones being its rarity and liquidity. However, if you are asking for an opinion from some random dude on the internet without understanding Bitcoin, then you are already setting yourself up for failure.
Investing in Bitcoin — or any cryptocurrency — is no different than investing in anything else. As an adult, you must do your homework. If you don’t understand cryptocurrency (or any other investment), then search for knowledgeable people and content produced by people who are not trying to sell you something. Only write a check for money you can afford to lose, and completely understand that there are no lottery tickets to wealth.
Who Am I?
Well, I’m not the guy trying to sell you a Bitcoin product. Nor am I the person who created the amazing Pineapple Fund (deep respect, whoever you are). And I’m not a Bitcoin millionaire.
However, I got lucky a few times in life and bought Bitcoin in 2013 under $90 a coin. I’ve also had my fair share of dark days and times when I felt like rock bottom was near. In fact, I’m pretty much like most of you riding this roller coaster of life.
Every time I find something with potential, I decide to learn more. Some are winners, some are losers — but I am able to make an educated decision on what my investment (aka gamble) is. Sometimes research will even show that I just need to roll the dice.
I suggest you do the same.
Don’t Be Afraid.
These are also some good articles:
“How does Ethereum work anyway?” by Preethi Kasireddy
“There Is No Such Thing as ‘the’ Blockchain” by Joshua Oliver
And some bad things that, unfortunately, are a result of Bitcoin.
“Bitcoin is ruining the planet” by Eric Holthaus — on how Bitcoin mining consumes more electricity than 20+ European countries
Author Disclaimer: Of course I own cryptocurrency. I like it a lot. I also like many other investments. ROI doesn’t often correlate to how much I like some thing. Do your own research, learn, ask questions. At the end of the day you are responsible for your own money. You can also find me on Twitter. If you lose more than you can afford find a therapist. I can’t help you.
