The story of Cryptocurrency and why it is here to stay 

Cryptocurrency is the “new” investment trend that everyone is talking about at the moment. Elon Musk was talking about it on Saturday Night Live, companies are starting to accept Cryptocurrency as payment, and you can now buy it on your phone. 

You’re probably wondering what Cryptocurrency is, where this trend has suddenly appeared from, and how long it will be sticking around? Will it be a passing trend, or like the Internet, is it something that is worth investing in before it gets too big?

Today, we will be answering all of those questions for you. 

What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is a form of currency that is not affiliated with any government. It is a type of digital asset that can be bought, collected, and sold at the push of a button. 

Cryptocurrency has no physical form, instead, its code is stored in blockchains. These blockchains are run by computers across the world. The way these blockchains are stored means that they do not fall under the jurisdiction of one country and won’t unless one country claims sovereignty over the Internet. 

Because no government has jurisdiction over Cryptocurrency, it is unregulated. This allows for the opportunity for buyers to get good deals when buying Cryptocurrency but it also means there are no laws to protect them if their Cryptocurrency is stolen or they are involved in a scam. 

The History of Cryptocurrency

The concept of Cryptocurrency has been around for decades, but it wasn’t put into practice until the technology became powerful enough to realize the idea.

Before Cryptocurrency

The first step toward Cryptocurrency happened in the 1980s when David Chaum invented a series of code called “the blinding algorithm”. The code allows information to be exchanged but not edited. Without this online banking and other forms of online trading would not be possible. 

In the mid-1990s, a software engineer called Wei Dai released a paper on the topic of b-money. While not exactly being what we know as Cryptocurrency today, a lot of b-money’s traits are visible in modern Cryptocurrency. 

B-money was never actually created but the paper led to the birth of Paypal – the first real online money trading platform. Which in turn paved the way for the creation of Bitcoin – what many consider to be the first proper Cryptocurrency. 

Bitcoin and the start of Cryptocurrency

The four characteristics of a modern Cryptocurrency are: 

• Built-in scarcity
• Records kept in the blockchain
• User anonymity
• Decentralized control (i.e. not run by a government or central bank)

Bitcoin was the first Cryptocurrency to combine all four of these elements. Its creation heralded the start of the Cryptocurrency era. 

We do not know who created Bitcoin, however, they used the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in a paper they published about the coin in 2008. The coin was then launched in 2009. Within a year around a dozen more Cryptocurrencies had been created. Now there are thousands of Cryptocurrencies on the market. 

Most people think that Cryptocurrency is something that has only come about in the last few years, but it has been theorized about for around 40 years and has existed for at least a decade. 

If you had bought one Bitcoin in 2009 it would have cost you 10 cents, doing the same now would cost you $66,623.50.

What is the Future of Cryptocurrency?

In the last few years, the Cryptocurrency market has seen a huge boom. With some coins going up in value by millions of percentage points. 

Cryptocurrency was supposedly created to give everyday people access to an asset acquiring platform like the stock market. However, many coins are now reaching prices that would lock most people out of the market. So, what is the future of Cryptocurrency? 

Well, we can tell you one thing – the market isn’t going anywhere and we may even reach a point in the future where you can pay for some of the things you shop for with Cryptocurrency. 

Because Cryptocurrencies come in limited amounts, some currencies are only going to get more valuable. But, don’t worry, you won’t be locked out of the market as new Cryptocurrencies are arriving on the market everyday. 

All you have to do is pick out the right coin before it goes “to the moon” (gets popular). But, how can you tell what is going to be worth investing in? Well, that is where the risk comes in. That is a choice you will have to make for yourself.