Last month, I hit upon the first fifteen ways Bitcoin is changing how money works worldwide. It turns out that was just the beginning, as Bitcoin is a concept of few limits and compromises and many empowering capabilities. This week, we double-down on why your best people should start using cryptocurrency now and in the future. Let the good times roll!
Ability to replace, or compliment, the legacy fiat currency system
For consumers, you can live on bitcoin, and replace fiat currency altogether. Many people, like bitcoin wizard Andreas Antonopoulos, get paid, live, and travel exclusively via bitcoin. Nations are very, very unlikely to adopt a decentralized digital currency to represent their nation, but it could be done. Governments are all about control.
The word government even means "control mind" in the Latin root. What Bitcoin can do is be the next version of PayPal, only so much more than that, as you’ll see. Everybody can have a bitcoin account to move money easily online while still using a government-issued currency for income and taxes. You can have the best of both worlds.
Digital currency means programmable money
Programmable money means you can program bitcoins to only be spent in a certain city, country, or even purpose. You can give a child a bitcoin, to spend on schoolbooks, and the bitcoin can be programmed to reject all other uses. This is not widely done, but it is well within the protocol's capabilities. Bitcoin security can have as many levels as you want. And there is so much room for business growth to exploit these innovative features.
Bitcoin builds new industries, businesses and jobs worldwide
Politicians are starting to see that Bitcoin means new businesses, which means new jobs as entire industries can be born. Security for bitcoin, trade, bitcoin services like legal, marketing, and social media equals high-paying IT job growth, which only increases with adoption.
The cheapest way for money to fly
Transferring money is one of the world’s oldest and most profitable businesses. Just ask Western Union, who has made hundreds of billions of dollars over the years because they have virtually zero competition in many parts of the world.
They can charge people up to 15% in fees to transfer money from one country to another depending on where and how much you are sending. Bitcoin can do the same thing for mere pennies, regardless of the amount of or the location of the transfer. Plenty of businesses see an opportunity for growth here. This money is better spent by the people receiving it, and the investment in their communities.
Makes Identity Theft Obsolete
You aren't sending your personal information when you make a Bitcoin transaction. When you swipe you debit card, your whole account, with your name, social security or national ID number, address, and balance are all sent into third-party systems. You HOPE the information is safe there. Then it goes to a clearing house, your bank, and there are plenty of people touching your transaction along the way.
These stops along the way attract hackers like flies, and most current systems are nowhere secure enough to stop hackers in 2015 and beyond. No wonder almost 5% of people in the U.S. have suffered identity theft. Bitcoin users wouldn't know about identity theft. The best way to protect user information is to not attach it to financial transactions in the first place. Bitcoin enters stage left.
Record Important Files within the Blockchain Forever
People have been married on the Bitcoin blockchain. Books have been "etched" there. Contracts, Wills, and many more agreements are becoming normal fare for Bitcoin's public ledger. Now, real estate ownership in less secure areas of the world is being verified with Bitcoin technology. This will be one of the greatest uses of the blockchain going forward.
Natural Appreciation
If you are currently saving your fiat currency in the bank like people were taught to do decades ago, you are losing money every day. Real-world inflation in the U.S. is around 5%, and that easily beats any interest being accrued. Bitcoin is designed to increase in value over time and is anti-inflationary because there will always be the same amount of bitcoins.
Ask people who bought a thousand BTC 5 years ago how they're doing. A little bit better than your savings account, I can tell you. Five years ago, 1 BTC was worth a nickel. Now, it's worth about US$280. The Mt. Gox/China bubble is all that has stopped the fiat currency value from being a smooth progression upward, but it has gained about 60% in value over two years ago, and about the same since the middle of January. Plus, with Bitcoin’s production halving scheduled for next summer, expect the value to go higher by the end of 2016. Usage has steadily increased and supply will drop noticeably to 12.5 BTC every 10 minutes, so call the second half of 2016 a period of hyper-appreciation.
Endless Security Options
Bitcoin can be more complex, but at least Bitcoin is as secure as you want it to be. The best way to lose bitcoins is to give someone your "private key." Many people today place convenience above all else and throw bitcoins away. The options are many, including multi-sig technology, passwords, PINs, paper wallets, vault storage, cold storage or offline storage. Humans are not very good at storing information over physical items, but Bitcoin is ready for that when you are.
Power to the People
Bitcoin gains value and economic power the more people use it. So....what are you waiting for? A new form of money has emerged that can empower billions of people by removing barriers, friction and corruption. Bitcoin brings economic power to anyone on the planet ready to take control of money themselves. Are you ready to wield such power?
Encrypted security worldwide
The most basic and essential reason for the success of Bitcoin is the encrypted technology behind it. Through encryption, which has been vetted through your military and banking systems for decades, you can send currency worldwide in seconds, with total protection. It’s like putting your money into a vault that can only be opened by your friends/customers. No central bank control.
A Bitcoin Lives without Borders or Limits
A land’s borders are meant to keep us apart. Bitcoin is meant to bring us together. Being the world’s first global currency, a Bitcoin in Japan is the same as a Bitcoin in Sydney. It is not indigenous to one nation, and you should find plenty of people looking to buy your BTC in many of the countries you travel. Omnipotence is a standard feature.
Bitcoin doesn’t know how to discriminate
The Bitcoin protocol is called a "dumb network." This means it doesn't care how much money you have, how old you are, what color you are, where you live, or how old you are. Are you a citizen of the country you are in right now? Bitcoin doesn't care, and it doesn't discriminate. If you have a wallet, you can use Bitcoin, anywhere, anytime, for anyone. It is truly technology for The People. All of the people.
Capped Bitcoin Limit of 21 Million Units
This is a big idea so simple that fiat currency today misses it. Bitcoin has been agreed upon to be held to a 21 million bitcoin limit, to end production in the year 2140. In order to change this, the entire block chain would have to agree to change this value, a highly unlikely scenario. The benefit of a limit is appreciation in bitcoin value now, and forever. Since bitcoin can be broken down to a Satoshi, i.e. 100 millionths of a bitcoin, the ability to obtain bitcoin on a global scale is retained.
Massive information transfer capabilities
Technically speaking, money is speech according to the U.S. Supreme Court and information. A bitcoin can send one thousand bits of information with secure encryption. Send pdfs, digital files, combinations, and more in complete security.
Gives 20th Century Banking Systems a much needed Upgrade
As has been in the news this year, the world’s largest banks cannot use a decentralized currency, but banks love the blockchain concept because it’s faster and smarter than their ancient systems. They are working on making their own altcoins and versions of blockchains for internal uses. Maybe in five years wire transfers will take minutes, not days. Kinda like the abilities Bitcoin provides users right now, only they take your information and a fee to do so. Aren’t they clever?