Is Cryptocurrency About to Replace Money?

The future of how transactions are done is about to change as a new form of money/currency is rising and is conveniently named Cryptocurrency.

What is Cryptocurrency you may ask? Well in simpler terms, cryptocurrency is nothing but the currency of which transactions are conducted digitally in a decentralized way and records are maintained online on a blockchain. There is no central authority monitoring the transactions. Each user is responsible for their transactions.

But there is much more than just using cryptocurrency as a way to purchase a normal commodity. It is also being used as a form of an asset. Just like investing in the stock market, a person can purchase a part of the cryptocurrency which is called a coin. By investing a small amount in the coin, the person becomes the owner of part of the crypto. Buying the entire coin will make the person the sole owner of that coin but it can be expensive to invest in a coin entirely.

The growth of Cryptocurrency has been tremendous but there has been speculation, especially from governments around the world that are not ready to make crypto legal tender. However even though it might be illegal to use crypto as money, it hasn’t stopped multinational companies and newly created crypto-specific companies from using cryptocurrency for transactions. 

Cryptocurrency’s worldwide market capitalization has climbed to $2.23 trillion USD and is still climbing. Ethereum, with a market cap of 390 billion dollars, is ranked second, while Bitcoin, with a market worth of about 850 billion dollars, is ranked first.

The number of cryptocurrency owners is on the rise and is dominated by India with just over 100 million owners, this is due to the large population of literate adults who have the curiosity and interest in adapting to something new. 

However, investing in crypto is not for everyone it seems as the volatility of the market is what scares many of the small investors away. Many seasoned investors of the stock market do not feel that cryptocurrency can replace money and also work as an asset. 

Currently, there are no specific regulations on the use of cryptocurrency, and the sentiment of the governments has been different for each country around the world. Some technologically advanced countries might adopt crypto as legal tender in a few years by putting regulations in place to see if the technology is useful. 

The first country to adopt Bitcoin cryptocurrency as legal tender was El Salvador announced in September 2021. It is planning to create a bitcoin city that will be funded by cryptocurrency, the president announced in November. The city will have residential and commercial areas, restaurants, and an airport. The country plans to raise 1 billion USD via a “Bitcoin Bond” in partnership with Blockstream, a digital assets infrastructure company.

As fast as the cryptocurrency market is rising the next few years are going to be crucial as more countries decide on whether to adopt crypto or ignore it.