Firstly, what is blockchain technology?
Blockchains store information across the network of personal computers, making them not just DECENTRALIZED but distributed. This means no central company or person owns the system, yet everyone can use it and help run it. The blockchain uses a form of math called cryptography to ensure that records can't be counterfeited or changed by anyone else. Bitcoin was the first application to use blockchain technology.
Bitcoin is a form of digital cash that you can send to anyone, even a complete stranger. Bitcoin is different from credit cards, PayPal or other ways to send money because there isn't a bank or financial middle man involved. Instead, people from all over the world help move the digital money by validating other's Bitcoin transactions with their personal computers. Bitcoin uses the blockchain by tracking records of ownership over the digital cash, so only one person can be the owener at a time and the cash can’t be spent twice, like counterfeit money in the physical world can.
But Bitcoin is JUST THE BEGINNING for blockchains. There are many applications that can utilize the blockchain technology beyond currency, which is the primary use of Bitcoin. Many people get held up on this point and think that “cryptocurrency” means essentially currency. I think this is a poor word to use to describe what we really mean, which is blockchain technology. Blockchain technology is going to change the future because of its decentralized and distributed nature. It will change the way we verify online data, make self driving cars safer, help protect online identities, track new devices on the Internet of Things, change how we store data. The list of applications is growing and growing, and once you understand what blockchain technology is, you can probably come up with some of your own use cases. Some of the applications being developed right now are revolutionary.
Why is this going to be the future?
You may have already started to realize the potential of how blockchain technology will mold our future. It is a much more secure way of holding and storing data, it is decentralized, EMPOWERS USERS, provides high quality data, creates automation, can create faster transactions, in some cases create immutability or audit trails. The potential is nearly limitless. Over the course of the next 5-10 years, and it’s hard to imagine what may happen over the next 50 years, industries are going to be revolutionized by blockchain technology.
We are only in the beginning of cryptography. This is like the internet of the 90’s and the dot com era. Currently cryptocurrency adoption is at about 0.1-0.2%. The growth rate of crypto currency is about a 100% a year, so we’re about doubling every year. So let me explain that to you. At 0.1-0.2% of people currently using cryptocurrency, about 1 out of 1,000 to 1 out of every 500 people are active. We will be doubling every year so three to four years we’ll be at around 1% adoption. So 1 out of a 100 people. Three to four years later will be at about 10% adoption. And then three to four years later will become ubiquitous, much like FaceBook is right now.
Essentially, we are just in the beginning. Today only about 1 in every 1,000 people are involved in the crypto space. Imagine getting in on FaceBook at that stage. So let’s talk about how you can benefit from this
How can you benefit from blockchain technology?
A lot of people think of crypto has a currency and only that. Some applications that utilize blockchain technology are essentially that, a currency. Bitcoin being the most obvious. Several others (which we call altcoins, i.e. any crypto besides Bitcoin) have been since developed that try to improve on what the Bitcoin blockchain is, but there are actually many other applications that aren’t currencies.
It is better to think of the crypto space as the stock market. There are many new applications being developed and you can support or invest in their projects by purchasing their coins. Very similarly to how you would buy stock of a company you believe in. This coin can rise or fall in price just like a stock and you can buy or sell at any time. But it is important to note, that many of these altcoins are not just currencies. They serve a much different purpose than Bitcoin does. There are hundreds of these projects, Ethereum being the second most well known. The list goes on and on.
Because we are at such a small adoption rate, there is a TON of volatility. Cryptocurrency does not have the adoption like the stock market does and fluctuations are large and frequent. But this is the very reason you have the potential to make humongous gains. I always tell people please only invest what you can afford to lose. But if you have money to risk, you have the potential for 1,000% + gains. There is no other space right now providing these types of returns. You do have to risk something to gain something. Educate yourself and see what the world has to say about crypto. The more you become knowledgeable, the less scary it will all sound and you’ll be better positioned to profit from this.