For me it started with my contractor. He told that every dollar he saves he buys bitcoins. He strongly suggested me to do the same. He told that he bought his bitcoins for $100 each. Then only after four years it was $4800 each!I felt he had a winning argument and decided to try it.
I instructed my money manager to buy $10000 worth of bitcoins so I could learn what is going on.This is a speculative bubble, he said. And I did nothing.
This week CopPay, a startup company from Belarus, asked to help them develop a strategy on how to go forward.
Meeting with CopPay Team
What business are you in, I asked?
— Cryptocurrency, bitcoin being one of them.
I warned that I knew nothing about this field and they need to educate me on their wallet. Still they agreed.So, I spent two days learning.
At the end, I ended up buying several cryptocurrencies and accepted to be member of the board and consultant for the company for some equity. And here is what I learned so far.
History
Basic principles of Blockchain technology, peer- to- peer network, existed for many years before Bitcoin appeared. (You can see Wikipedia).Bitcoins, as an electronic cash, overcome the disadvantages of paper money (aka fiat money) which are:
- Central bank can print money and thus create inflation. Bitcoins are fixed in quantity.
- Government can seize money. It can’t do it with Bitcoins as the owner has a hidden electronic code that cannot be hacked.
- Government can tax fiat money, but not bitcoins as it the wallet owner is unknown.
- Moving money from one country to another might be prohibited or costly. Bitcoin crosses political boundaries electronically.
Due to those advantages, Bitcoin had the possibility of becoming a global currency, not necessarily to replace fiat money but to run parallel to it.It became a vehicle for speculative investment because there was demand but limited supply. The price of bitcoins went up from $100 in August 2, 2013 to $4817 on September 1, 2017.
The increase in value attracted other programmers. So, cryptocurrencies (CC) were born. One of the new ones was Ethereum (ETH).The increase in value of cryptocurrencies made stores interested in owning bitcoins and they started to accept cryptocurrencies.
Now CCs are not just a speculative investment but also a transaction vehicle. A real currency.What is happening now?
There are millions of people worldwide owning cryptocurrency, (CC). The value of all cryptocurrencies in the market, as of now is over 120 billion dollars. There are hundreds of CC exchanges where you can buy and sell CC. And there are hundreds of stores that want to accept cryptocurrencies.That’s why people need a vehicle to exchange goods for a cryptocurrency and the cryptocurrency for cash, in real time, easily and cheaply.
That is where CopPay comes in and adds value.
CopPay developed, alpha and beta tested, a virtual terminal which can be downloaded into any computer or mobile device. The company will offer it to stores for free.
And there will be a big poster in the store announcing which CC’s it accepts.A buyer will look for a store that accepts CC. (That is another reason why stores should accept the CopPay terminal. It attracts clients.)The store inputs the data: what CC the buyer is going to pay with, how much what he wants to buy is worth in dollars and let us say that the store wants to be paid in cash.The CopPay terminal seeks a CC exchange that is willing to buy CC for cash at the highest rate. The CC exchange has either cash in its reserves or a buyer that wants to buy the offered CC for cash. CopPay executes the transaction: the buyer paid in bitcoin from his electronic wallet, the store got the payment in cash and it is recorded in its bank account. CopPay charges a commission for facilitating the trade which it adds to the rate of exchange it charges the buyer. The commission is lower or the same to what the buyer could get by himself if he went to the exchange. If there is no exchange that is willing to buy the CC for cash, the CopPay terminal rejects the deal.How CopPay gets a better exchange rate? CopPay analyzes many Exchanges and gets the best rate for free or for lower commissions.
This is a win- win proposition to all involved: the buyer can use his cryptocurrency. The store can convert CC to cash. The CC Exchange is happy too. It is getting lots of deals. And CopPay is also happy — it earns commission from exchange transactions.
Where is the problem?
Will government accept all of this going on? They have two choices: join the circle dance or try to stop it.Many countries are joining the dance: Japan, Germany, Holland, Estonia, and many others are considering legalizing cryptocurrency.
The need for CopPay is there and it is solid. From October 16, 2017, for a month, CopPay is selling COPs.That is all good, but why CopPay is a good deal? Why buy COPs?
Many of the extra services the company will offer via its terminals will be paid in COPs. Furthermore, 10% of the resources raised in the ICO will be used to create a fund for buyback of COPs at the market price when there is a need. The number of issued COP tokens will be fixed. Also, COP holders will be eligible to vouchers that can be used as a discount when paying for goods and services thru CopPay terminal.
I suggest you to explore this new crypto- world. You just create for yourself an electronic wallet. There is a video How to buy Ethereum that teaches how to do it.On October 16, buy one ETH, and with it buy COPs. (You cannot buy with dollars. Only with ETH coins.)
Ok, you might lose your money. But for less than $300 you can learn what is new crypto-economy. I believe it is the future.
To know more about CopPay, the web site is www.CopPay.io
This time not only thinking, but acting.
Excitedly yours,
Ichak Adizes