Now that the dust has settled from bitcoin's revolutionary split into two diverging currencies, economists, investors, and financial analysts alike are finally in a position to reevaluate the future of cryptocurrency's future outlook. This says nothing of Ethereum, Monero, and other fledgling projects whose rapid adoption further fuels global confidence. Given the continued success of bitcoin and the rapid rise of the new bitcoin cash, arguments that cryptocurrency is merely another blip in a long string of tech bubbles is no longer a viable argument.
With that in mind, 2017 marks a clear point in cryptocurrency history in terms of establishing what role this medium of exchange will play in shaping the future of global economic interactions and internet commerce as a whole. This isn't mere idealism; rather, cryptocurrency's future outlook is merely a question of scale. In other words, to determine cryptocurrency's progression, one need only look to its current successes and extend them to the international community.
E-Commerce and Transaction Safety
It's self-evident that bitcoin and other digital currencies have more or less solved the difficulties once thought inherent to online transactions. Transaction fraud is a significant threat to online payments and as brick-and-mortar stores become more obsolete in the face of e-commerce, finding solutions to this issue is essential for both commercial survival and customer confidence. The distributed nature of digital currency data effectively negates this problem. Individuals ultimately form the bedrock upon which economic systems thrive and cryptocurrency possesses the necessary features to foster both the accessibility and confidence needed for widespread adoption.
National currencies hinge on centralization for value, making them vulnerable to intrusions that digital currencies simply are not. The fact that traditional currencies pass through bank accounts which are in turn linked to debit and credit cards along with Paypal and other third-party management systems only adds to the list of places vulnerable to attack and fraudulent use.
While digital currencies are distributed, they ultimately boil down to a single blockchain, essentially giving them all the advantages of distribution without any of the setbacks. In that sense, cryptocurrency is the ideal mode of securing online transactions by effectively placing the responsibility for security directly in the hands of the community, rather than outside parties.
Cryptocurrency and the Global Community
Regional currencies are an unfortunate holdover of the rampant nationalism that plagued the 20th century. With the world rapidly moving towards broader inclusiveness, it's undeniable that a broad system of exchange that reflects this new perspective is necessary.
Uncoupled from national interests, the volatility of regional economics or politics, and other innately unpredictable factors, cryptocurrencies perfectly meet the needs of a global community that transcends these dying idiosyncratic qualities that form much of the baggage left over from outmoded nation-states.
Cryptocurrencies draw value directly from investor and market activity, thereby obviating any dependence on local interests. This gives individual users equal standing and spending power regardless of geography, a condition clearly needed for true global togetherness. Digital currencies transcend national lines, opening up new opportunities for investors to inject much needed vitality into nations previously inaccessible because of this currency divide. This investment will inevitably lead to benefiting nations transitioning to these same cryptocurrencies, scaling them to the point where digital currency will by necessity be the money of the future.