Cryptocurrency: The «Internet» of money that is conquering our world
Gandhi once said: «First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win».
Cryptocurrencies have experienced all of these stages, and are now well on their way to winning this «war», if you want to call it a war.
Bitcoin felt that ignorance and indifference of the world, for the first four or five years of it's «life». It only recently became 10 years old. Most people lived their lives totally unaware of Bitcoin's existence, while at the same time the news media didn't bother dealing with some mysterious and disruptive digital form of cash.
All this time however, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, fin-tech startups and all the people involved in this financial revolution, are quietly working in the background, in the «shadows», paving the way for a more decentralized economic future.
How times change
Nowadays, it's hard to find someone who hasn't at least heard of Bitcoin. The media coverage has also skyrocketed, with the biggest financial sites and newspapers featuring entire news sections just for cryptocurrencies. Of course, it wasn't easy getting to this point.
Soon after Bitcoin introduced itself to the world, people would laugh at it, calling it fake money, something like «digital monopoly bills»! People still do it, mostly due to ignorance, due to our inherent tendency of dealing with incomprehensive and complicated concepts (such as cryptocurrencies or blockchain) by mocking them, by diminishing them.
Then came the winter of 2017 and one of the most phenomenal rallies in the history of stock markets. Bitcoin, which was once worth much less than a penny, roared to 20.000 dollars a piece, shocking the world, sending a message to the non-believers that this is no game and thus, starting a «war». Many entities saw (and still see) Bitcoin as a threat, which led to an on-going battle where even dirty tactics are deployed.
An unrelenting force
This comes as no surprise. A cryptocurrency is a disruptive technology that, in order to be used (and implemented to the world), needs to radically change or even completely disrupt the current financial system, which is, in our case, banks. A bank is a centralized institution that issues or manages fiat currency (like euro/dollar etc), and this, by definition, collides with the decentralized nature of a cryptocurrency.
But that's not the only reason bankers dislike cryptocurrency. They see it as a threat because crypto transactions are super-fast, low cost and they also eliminate borders, excessive paperwork and human errors, thus being superior in almost every way compared to traditional payment systems.
When the first car was introduced to the public, however fascinating it was, it didn’t appeal to much of a world with a transport system dominated by horses (and professions linked to horses).
When the e-mail was invented, nobody would use it at first, and the standard mailman certainly didn't like that super-fast self-traveling piece of magic. But what happened eventually? Progress came, and everyone adapted. These are two examples of disruptive technology that shaped the world as we know it today, whether the people liked it (and were ready for it), or not.
The evolution of money
After the Internet and the world wide web was invented, it was only a matter of time before an electronic cash system such as Bitcoin appeared. Cryptocurrency is the natural evolution of money, in an ever-changing world where almost everything is being digitalized, whether we like it or not.
However, banks don't have to go anywhere, at least not yet, but they certainly have to accept and adapt to the new digital reality of FinTech. Financial institutions are already starting to see that there is more to be gained by working together in harmony and achieving a balance, than by fighting.
And that is because cryptocurrencies are already in the final stage of Gandhi's cycle. They are winning, little by little, every day, with exponential growth that is achieved through adoption, by people, merchants, companies etc. The very existence of Bcash (and our ATMs) is the living proof of it.
So get out there, and grab yourself a slice of that digital future. Become part of the biggest financial and technological revolution of the global economic system in over 50 years!
