Cryptocurrency Craze – The Rise of Digital Money
Cryptocurrency is considered a disruptive innovation as it is a decentralised system of trust in securing electronic transactions without the need for a central control authority. Hence eliminating the need for third parties such as VISA to confirm transactions allowing a faster and cheaper global fund transfer.
Emergence of Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin
- First launched in January 2009, invented by a group of unknown programmers under the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. [1]
- It was predicted that the global crypto ownership rate at 42% in 2023, with over 420 million crypto users globally. [2]
- Ethereum [3]
- In 2013 Vitalik Buterin came out with the idea, and it was a crowdfunded project due to insufficient resources.
- In 2015 he successfully created and launched Ethereum.
- Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency, with around 14 million owners and 10 million users. Aside from being a payment medium, the Ethereum blockchain ecosystem enables a wide range of applications.
The Blockchain revolution
Blockchain is a digital record book that ensures the security of cryptocurrencies. It’s a unique method of storing data in which each component is linked to the one before it. This makes it impossible to make changes after it has been recorded. With cryptocurrencies, this ledger keeps track of who owns what and ensures that transactions are secure and cannot be tampered with. However, blockchain isn’t just for money; it can also be used to create self-executing contracts, verify who you are without giving too much personal information, and even track things like where your food comes from. It’s like a super-secure digital assistant who is changing the way we do a lot of things! [4]
Sources:
- https://money.usnews.com
- https://triple-a.io/crypto-ownership-data
- www.banklesstimes.com
- www.investopedia.com