This is what’s special about crypto
Ever since the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and altcoins like Ethereum and Solana, people have adopted a different perspective towards the nature of already existing traditional currencies such as the United States Dollar, the British pound, and other local paper bills.
This new payment system, backed by the decentralization, immutability and consensus mechanisms of Blockchain Technology, has proven to offer a different kind of methodology that redefines the way people pay for services, make purchases, save, and even invest.
The inherent nature of cryptocurrencies makes it rare for external actors, especially governmental actors to take control over an individual’s digital asset without their consent. This is usually the general idea centered around a concept popularly known as decentralization.
Blockchain-native cryptocurrencies exist outside of the reach of native governments and other controlling groups, therefore limiting their control and influence over the ecosystem to some measurable extent.
The introduction of cryptocurrencies and blockchains united people all over the world in a fashion much like the internet.
While offering people a shot at financial freedom and privacy, blockchains and cryptocurrencies have also been used for other lucrative things such as philanthropic fundraisers across the world, Decentralized Financing (DeFi), online payments or e-purchases, cross-border payments, ownership of digital and physical property in the form of fungible and non-fungible tokens, creation of decentralized applications (Dapps) — which promises to revolutionize the way we use the internet — and much more, with other promising features to be made of it.
Cryptocurrency and blockchains have long evolved from being simply just a medium of payment. An entirely new and thriving ecosystem has been built from that one foundation into an innovation that is capable of being a full-time player in the world of modern finance.
In 2022, a study from Grand View Research stated that the total global blockchain market size was estimated at 10.02 billion US dollars. With an expected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 87.7% from 2023 to 2030.
Statistically, it’s safe to say that at its current rate of adoption, the use of cryptocurrencies is going to be much more occurring until it rivals and possibly overtakes the use of traditional currencies on a global financial scale.
All over the world, people are turning to this new form of currency, in an effort to ‘unbank’ themselves. This has been most commonly observed in developing and emerging countries, such as India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, Vietnam, Turkey and more.
There’s something these countries hastily adopting the use of cryptocurrencies have in common, and it is that their citizens are either underbanked or are seeking to unbank themselves from the current traditional system of finance.
In the case of countries like Nigeria and Turkey, crypto adoption is a result of a devaluing local currency.
Statistics indicate a surge of crypto and blockchain enthusiasts from these developing countries despite the collapse of the market price in 2022, as the citizens of these countries continue to seek ways to beat things like; inflation, depreciation, and unwarranted scrutiny by banks and governmental bodies.
Known as one of the fastest-growing technologies across the world, with an adoption rate that rivals its ground-breaking adoption rate, blockchains and cryptocurrencies have proven that they are here to stay.
Although the technology is still very young and has barely scratched the surface of its potential and capabilities, as time goes on we’re bound to see more innovative use of blockchains and cryptocurrencies.
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