What is a cryptocurrency? When someone faces the subject for the first time, it can be kind of scary. It is common to read or hear words such as “consensus algorithms” and “decentralization”. And deep down, they do not help to understand what cryptocurrency is. To start chatting, the bitcoin needs to start being thought of as a new technology that changes the way we use the Internet and not as money.
The crypto universe can be defined on the whole as a faster, safer and cheaper way to make bank transactions. So you need to stop thinking about bitcoins as a currency and start to think of it as technology. However, for this to happen, first, it is necessary to understand precisely what cryptocurrencies are.
There are some advantages to putting the information in this way, according to an article by Forbes Brazil. One of them is that it makes it easier to have a more accurate understanding of what the crypto world is. In addition, many people, especially those who are over 40 years old, have seen great technological advances before. And they know how the story ends. More importantly, they know how to profit from it.
Cryptocurrencies as the new Internet Protocol
Therefore the right way to think about bitcoins, cryptography, and public blockchains is like the next stage of all the technological evolution that has happened to this day. The thinking should be: instead of sending only files, e-mail or audios, it is now possible to send money.
For example, online banks and virtual payment services have existed for decades. However, they have always been hybrids or bridges, since they extract each transaction and process them in the traditional physical world.
The breakthrough the cryptocurrencies have brought is that they allow native money to be sent over the Internet. In this case, there is no need for a bank or service provider as an intermediary.
This is a great movement because it allows us to do things that we already do today, however faster, better and more economically. With the bitcoin, financial transactions take about ten minutes. In addition, they can be made free of charge and at any time and day of the week.
So what is a cryptocurrency?
As a result, for the first time in history, we can schedule money. Instead of using lawyers and investment bankers, you can create contracts, trusts, entities or set of financial statements for free and with codes. This means stopping services such as deposit, debt issuance, derivatives, fund creation, fundraising, and others.
And what are these cryptocurrencies? They are the fuel that feeds the public blockchains. That is, to send money to anywhere in the world you need to hold some amount in bitcoin or ether, for example.
Many smart investors are buying bitcoin and ether today before they all discover the value of these new technologies. By allowing money to travel over the internet, cryptocurrencies can disrupt the financial industry. Something similar happened when Amazon changed the reality of department stores.
