“Cryptocurrencies… What the fuck is that?” you probably are wondering right now. If you, like me a while ago, are clueless about what cryptos like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Dash and Litecoin are, then you are in luck. I will give you a very down to Earth, no bullshit, introduction to the -still- biggest of them all: Bitcoin.
Think a few years ago. Picture it in your pretty little head. There are no other alternatives to “real money” rather than, well, real money. But that’s what everyone knows and nobody questions it that much. Some central bank in some country says “This is our currency and the value of it is XXX.” Simple, right? But, also, not very transparent nor open to the public. Why can they decide the worth of a piece of paper (a.k.a. “a $50 note,” for example)? And, most importantly, why all of this decision making is centralized and being done behind closed doors? Nobody knows. I mean, nobody outside that hidden circle, that is. Very convenient, no?
At some point, this balance was broken. In 2007-08, the Subprime mortgage bubble popped and shit hit the fan, hard. People lost everything, banks collapsed -although a lot of them got their asses bailed out later on- and the whole financial system was questioned. We needed a champion to fight for us. So here’s where Satoshi Nakamoto (probably a pseudonym, though; don’t get too excited) came in the picture. He was not a warrior -nor a samurai, which makes me very disappointed-; but he, as a very skilled mathematician, came up with something revolutionary: a new, decentralized and transparent currency. Bitcoin was born.
(This is where I should explain to you what “mining,” “the blockchain” and all the technical mumbo-jumbo are, but that’d be boring and I’m not here to waste each other’s time. Let’s keep a fast pace, instead.)
Flash-forward to the future, along with Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies appeared. But, what’s a crypto to begin with? In plain English, it’s a digital asset that can be used to pay for products or services, or as a way to transfer funds to different accounts, without the intervention of a regulated, centralized bank (and its limitations.)
By now, Bitcoin has proven it’s worth and became the number one alternative to ordinary currencies. So long gone are the days where you could buy more than one thousand Bitcoin with $1 (and, if you are one of the guys who did, I wanna say “Respect!” and “Fuck you!” at the same time.)
With the sudden rise in the price of Bitcoin, it became increasingly expensive to buy it, which, for people willing to get in the action, it’s a big barrier. But not all is lost. Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency out there, nor it is the most attractive in terms of technology and potential (of course, in my humble opinion.) Wanna know what else is there? Take a quick look at http://coinmarketcap.com and check out all the other cryptos out there. Bananas, innit?
I’m sure by now you are experiencing an attack of the infamous “FOMO anxiety.” Don’t be afraid! My aim in future posts is to provide you with a few resources so you can grasp the amazing nature of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. But, if you cannot wait, head to Bitcoin’s official website (https://bitcoin.org), watch the intro video in the homepage and, if you feel inspired, read up on the resources available there. Although Bitcoin is not my favorite crypto, it’s the one that started it all, so it’s worth checking it out as an starting point.
I hope you like my -perhaps crappy- article and follow me, to catch up on more to come. Cheers!