A year ago, if you could have told me that both Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) would he trading at current levels of $6,700 and $396 respectively, I would have called you insane or too excited about new technology. This is with the terrible effort of trying to ignore both coins’ individual highs in December and January: Bitcoin peaked at $20,000 and Ethereum at $1,400.
But as history would have it, the two coins have spearheaded what can be called the magnificent take-over of cryptocurrencies in the worlds of technology, investing and media.
Cryptocurrencies have proven to be secure on the blockchain due to encryption. They are also irreversible and hence no one can commit fraud. The entire blockchain is decentralized in a sense not one entity has full control. Cryptocurrencies are also fast with Ripple (XRP) leading the way with 3.3 seconds transaction times. The transactions are also cheap with Ripple again leading the way with a fee of $0.0004 per transaction.
Also, cryptocurrencies have proved that the world can be borderless in a sense that they can be accepted anywhere in the world without going to pricey Forex exchange bureaus. The German Tourist Board is now accepting Crypto: so are apartments for rent during the 2018 FIFA Football World Cup in Russia.
Perhaps it is these qualities that have led several large organizations to embrace the them and blockchain technology. Therefore, allow me to outline more reasons why Cryptocurrencies are here to stay.
Firstly, banks are using the Ripple technology to settle their bank to bank transactions. Ripple has partnered with over 100 international banks and 40 – 50 of them being Central Banks. Ripple has also partnered with money remitting service providers such as Moneygram and Western Union. Also to note is that IBM is currently running 9 Stellar Nodes around the globe. These are all clear signs that crypto is the future.
Secondly, we have countries musing over issuing their own digital currencies. Venezuela has led the way with the Petro. China has expressed its interest in going digital to keep up with the times. So is India. Russia had also thought about going digital earlier in the year.
A third reason why Crypto is here to stay, is the conversion of prominent Bitcoin (BTC) critics into believers. Famous Shark Tank Investor, Mark Cuban, was the first to do a 180 degree turn from declaring Bitcoin as a bubble. Jamie Dimon, the J.P Morgan President and CEO, also regretted saying the same.George Soros, the Billionaire investor, is now warming up to crypto through his investment fund. The Rockefeller Family is also doing so through their investment arm, Venrock, that has partnered with Coinfund recently.
In a nutshell, Crypto is here to stay. The question is, are you actively involved in the digital ‘revolution’? Or are you waiting when the markets are firing on all cylinders once again for you to get in with both feet?
