With each passing day, the world's economy is evolving into a digital ecosystem. People now transfer and invest money on digital platforms without the hullabaloo of paper works. The new digital platform that is playing into the limelight and making payment and investment easier is cryptocurrency.
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What is cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is a medium for specifically exchanging digital information as in the exchange of normal currencies such as USD. According to Investopedia, cryptocurrency is defined as a decentralized digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security making it difficult to counterfeit. Cryptocurrency cannot be taken away from you as it is not owned by the government or any external authority, it is decentralized.
As earlier said, digital currency is now playing into the limelight as a result of these good reasons below.
Fraud proof: one very important reason people find cryptocurrency interesting is that the information and identities of coin owners are encrypted, leaving little or no room for fraud or counterfeiting. In cryptocurrency, all confirmed transactions are stored in a public ledger, and no one, not even the government has control over it.
Identity Theft: All cryptocurrency transactions are stored in a public ledger. In this ledger, there is a comprehensive and accurate calculation of balances and transactions between digital wallets. The public ledger also known as transaction blockchain ensures that the coins used are owned by the current spender. This technology has impacted our lives by providing end-to-end encryption that ensures the security of digital transactions thus preventing fraud and theft.
Accessibility: As long as one has a mobile phone and access to the internet, there is automatic accessibility of the cryptocurrency market, unlike traditional exchange systems where accessibility is a hard nut to crack.
Instant settlement: More reason you should use cryptocurrency for digital transactions is its ease of making payments and money transfers. To achieve this, all you need is a smart device and an internet connection. Instant settlement is the major reason cryptocurrency is in high demand.
.You are the owner: In the traditional mode of monetary or financial transactions, the account is not owned by you. But in cryptocurrency, the account is owned by you.
A brief history of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin was introduced in the year 2009 as the first decentralized cryptocurrency using blockchain technology. In the last five years, it has increased its gain to 155% over a 6% annualized loss. Cryptocurrency is now the biggest investment phenomenon in modern history as it is now worth 4000.000/coin USD today as compared to 0.06/coin USD In 2010 when it started. Over the years, bitcoin has gradually grown to become popular, increasing its worth, due to the trust it has gained among investors.
Recently, banking institutions and technology companies such as Intel, Walmart, and Barclays have trusted and believed in the promises of bitcoin and Ethereum, which are cryptocurrencies. This awakening has made countries that have issues of weak currencies adopt digital currency in place of traditional notes. Some of the countries which accepted or adopted cryptocurrency early enough are Turkey, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil.
Some wealthy countries are exploring adopting cryptocurrency as a legal tender. Such countries include Japan, the European Union, and Holland.
Conclusion
Cryptocurrency is taking over the digital economy space. The evidence can be seen in its worth which is 100 billion dollars to date which is due to its adoption being championed by various countries and companies. People in these countries now mine, invest and participate in cryptocurrency without fear of fraud, confiscation by the government, or theft. The question now is, are you ready to join the future of the online economy?