I heard about Bitcoin in 2013. The philosophy behind it seemed radical and exciting. I started buying it in 2015 when it was at around ~$300. From that point until this year, I have been on the sidelines. I have witnessed how it grows and how it starts to reshape the economy while I've been busy working full time on other projects.
But that changed in 2017 when I quit everything else and decided to focus full-time to work on crypto-related projects. But why? Most people still believe that Bitcoin is a scam, a Ponzi scheme. They wonder why if Bitcoin is a "popular" currency, nobody seems to use it in the US. Even Warren Buffet, a person I genuinely admire thinks Bitcoin is a mirage.
But I think otherwise. Once I understood the mechanics of Bitcoin, I realized how transformative it could be. Coming myself from South America, I immediately saw the potential for Bitcoin to replace currencies in troubled countries like Venezuela. I always wondered why we still trusted banks and governments to create money out of thin air and control us all. The answer is that there was no other practical option, not until Bitcoin came around.
So Bitcoin made sense to me, it's the monetary system for the rebels. And in a way, I have always been a rebel. As a kid in school, I tended to disagree with teachers. I got into trouble with my superiors for not following the rules. I studied engineering in a public school in Colombia, where protest and political unrest is an unavoidable part of college life. While most of my college friends went to get high-paying jobs, I followed the hard path of entrepreneurship. Of course, not everyone using Bitcoin is or will be a rebel. But it takes courage from revolutionists to create something fresh and new.
One the most powerful aspects of Bitcoin is the fact that runs on open source software. That means that anybody that disagrees with it can copy the code and create their own. With money, this has never been possible before. Think about this: because you disagree with the Federal Reserve, you cannot just copy and paste their system and create your own version of USD. With Bitcoin, you can!
To me, Bitcoin is the evolution of democracy: a transparent, secure, open source and decentralized system to reach consensus. It started the revolution, but there is more to it. Bitcoin is just the central star of a big universe. Others cryptocurrencies, crypto assets, and crypto tokens are paving the way for a better future.
Steem is one the crypto projects I am most optimistic. It's leading a revolution in social media that can disrupt Facebook and Twitter. Other applications with big future in crypto, in my opinion, are identity and distributed computing.
What crypto projects and uses cases are you most excited? Why you like or dislike Bitcoin and Steem? Let me know in the comments.