Crypto Is Changing the World Like the Internet Once Did. But What's Next?
An anonymous reader shares a report`: On October 1, 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto shared a paper that would lay the foundation for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that came after it. Even though we think of blockchain as an invention that came along with Bitcoin, this technology existed way before its white paper was published. The idea behind decentralized money actually dates back to at least the 1980s and "e-gold." According to Nick Szabo, this cryptocurrency run on a central server was quite popular back in the day -- but due to lack of transparency and regulation, it eventually collapsed under scandalous circumstances...Blockchain isn't just another financial technology; it's thought of as the next stage in evolution for money. "For the first time, two people can exchange a piece of digital property, without any third party," says blockchain investor Naval Ravikant in an Andreessen Horowitz podcast in 2017...
And just like the internet disrupted publishing and other industries in unforeseen ways, it's becoming clear that blockchain will disrupt everything from healthcare to insurance , logistics to energy . This is largely due to its ability to decentralize things -- i.e., take power away from large incumbents and give it back to individuals. In fact, this is already happening with money itself: cryptocurrencies are challenging conventional banks for supremacy ...In 2008 Satoshi Nakamoto published a paper called Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System . In it he argued that conventional financial institutions, like banks, created unnecessary friction in the system. This affected everyone -- especially in places where access to capital was scarce, like Africa...
We're Already Living in a Digital Cryptocurrency Economy: The advent of blockchain and cryptocurrency into our lives might not be as obvious as new social network apps. But its impact is already here, and it's growing exponentially...
The first signs of this new economy are already here: AirBnb and Uber both run on top of smart contracts . You can buy gift cards for Amazon or any other ecommerce site with cryptocurrencies . And some governments (like Venezuela) have even established their own cryptocurrencies to replace their fiat currency...
As we move toward a fully digital society , which seems possible given how much we rely on mobile devices today, it makes sense that blockchain would play a crucial role in our future...
"I think every human has 'money,' but only some of us have MONEY." -- Stephen Pair