Cryptocurrencies are not revolutionary anymore.
This may seem like an inaccurate statement considering the fact that many people haven’t heard about cryptocurrencies yet, but when we look at the statistics, the rise of popularity of some of them (especially Bitcoin) and the number of people who are investing in crypto for trading crypto or who are producing crypto (or in other words, mining) we can easily come to the conclusion that cryptocurrencies are slowly but surely becoming the new normal – what was once considered as future, is now our present, and what was considered as science fiction – is now our reality.
That being said, digital currencies can be used for almost anything. This means that they are almost as equal as traditional currencies all around the world – since you can use them to purchase properties and extremely expensive items, while at the same time you can buy why a slice of pizza or coffee; and you can get paid in Bitcoin and not in dollars or other currencies, if that’s what you want.
When it comes to investing, cryptocurrencies have really changed the way we perceive the process of investing and they have also made tectonic changes in the global economy; they have become one of the most powerful financial assets one can have in their portfolio. That’s why many people are comparing cryptocurrencies and gold since these two assets have certain similarities and are more alike than for example cryptocurrencies and stocks.
However, not everyone is ready to embrace modern technologies which is why cryptocurrencies coexist with other types and forms of money and investing solutions. But the biggest change both in people’s mindsets and in reality is the fact that crypto is being treated as something that’s equal to traditional financial institutions and financial instruments, and that is somewhat revolutionary. Visit this site to find out more.
But how did crypto even enter our lives? This is a question a lot of people ask especially if they don’t know much about Bitcoin, Dogecoin or other popular crypto at the moment. What you’ve probably heard about is the fact that BTC was invented 11 or more years ago as an experiment or in other words as an alternative to everything that was known to us before.
Still, the whole concept and the idea of decentralized money has become popular just recently, so it’s been a long way from the invention of this type of asset and it’s acceptance within the society (and by the society). Why is it like that? It has been proven that people accept new things, but they’re not completely open to them and although investing itself and by its nature, is a very risky field, the majority of people didn’t want to make a mistake, lose their money and gamble with their investments.
However, over the years, they figured that cryptocurrencies are nothing like gambling or some kind of scam but they’re rather a fantastic investing opportunity that is more secure than the traditional cryptocurrencies and more importantly – doesn’t depend on anyone but the owner and the community of owners as well. On websites such as bitcoincodedenmark.com, you can find extremely useful tips and information about this topic.
Third parties cannot enter the system nor they’re in charge of it, so this self regulated system works perfectly fine and is almost completely resistant and resilient when it comes to cyber attacks, which is a fantastic thing for everyone who wants to save their identity and make sure their private information such as personal information and of course their assets will not be exposed and used in criminal activities.
People are usually curious to find out how these coins are being made. We know that banks make money – they print it, but what’s the case with Bitcoin? The answer is simple – when you hear a term mining, you will know that this is how Bitcoins are being made. What’s special about this currency compared to traditional currencies is the fact that there is only a limited number of total bitcoins, while money can be printed endlessly which is why we have inflation and also which is why crypto is a better currency if you want to invest or even save money. So what is mining anyway?
Simply put, Bitcoin mining is a process in which sophisticated computer systems solve the most complicated math problems, and as a result, coins enter the system. The only way mining can work is by using the most powerful computers that could be bought or made and many other sophisticated IT components are being used so that the process can be more smooth, faster and more efficient. Solving extremely complex problems and puzzles, computers produce Bitcoin. New coins are being added to the blockchain as a new block and need to be verified which is a part of the self-regulated system. Finally, all of this can be done only if using enormous amounts of energy or in other words electricity. But how much is that in reality? Let’s dig into it:
It has been shown that Bitcoin mining consumes more power than an average country when it runs 24/7. Shocking, isn’t it? There are a lot of different country sizes, but people usually connect Argentina with Bitcoin – or in other words they say that the process of putting Bitcoins in uses more power than this country, and this fact is slowly becoming one of the biggest concerns about cryptocurrencies in general. Why is that? The answer is simple – when something consumes so much power, it means that it will emit different sorts of waste which is definitely something that our planet doesn’t need at the moment, since we have so many problems with our climate.
The process of mining is very intense when it comes to energy. Computer components such as graphics cards need a lot of power in order to work and mining rigs or places where the mining happens are usually made of thousands of rigs which finally not only generate heat (which then results in in having to find a way to cold down the place) but they also burn a lot of energy, emitting carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. In fact, it’s been proven that only one mining transaction needs so much energy, that an average household would use the same amount – but in 60 days. 60 days of power in your home, compared to one BTC transaction? That indeed sounds like a lot, doesn’t it?
If you’re into exact numbers, then you should know that the process of mining takes around 123 TWh a year, which is a lot, but it doesn’t seem like this will change anytime soon. The mining industry is still growing, and it reaches unprecedented levels – only this year, it reached almost $2 billion! What will happen in the future, and how will this affect our planet, we can only wait and see for ourselves.
