"The Bitcoin world is this new ecosystem where it doesn't cost that much to start a new Bitcoin company, it doesn't cost much to start owning Bitcoin either, and it is a much more efficient way of moving money around the world."
- Tim Draper
When I first began buying Bitcoin in 2014 I was amazed at the simplicity. The only difficulty at the time was getting my hands on some. We did not know much about the thriving Bitcoin community in Panama so we had to rely on our friends in Tokyo. It really was surreal. I would send cash to my friend in Tokyo via Paypal and he would send me Bitcoin to my Coinapult wallet.
Now almost four years later and Bitcoin is very easy to acquire in Panama. We actually don't even buy Bitcoin anymore because we built our business entirely around the world of Crypto Currency. We saw a niche that no other online marketers were part of and we thought it fit our business model. Thanks to companies like Steemit, Equibit, Bitnational, ZenCash, Tigo CTM, Guld, Swarm City and a few others who are not related to Crypto but they pay us in Bitcoin. It has truly revolutionized how we do business.
There is a Downside.
Sometimes it is difficult to get USD for our Bitcoin. We use Wirex for our Bitcoin debit card and they have proven that we can't rely on them 100%. It seems the system cracks under pressure whenever Bitcoin rises in value, maybe due to volume. We have ordered a secondary card Uquid to give us another option. Local Bitcoins is an option but I have never had to use it because there is always someone who wants to buy some BTC.
Bitcoin has recently ran into some congestion issues on the network. This means fees have gone up and transaction delays. We have actually been making more and more transactions in alternative currencies like Steem and Pivx. There is talk of a fix for Bitcoin but I have my doubts that it will be fixed anytime soon.
The Future of Bitcoin and Crypto Currencies.
There is a divide growing between the world of centralized and the world of decentralized currencies. This war does not necessarily have to be won by either side. I believe the peer to peer decentralized tokens will find their place in the world. The banking system will fight to keep its dominance but they are fighting a battle that can't be won unless the internet is turned off.
I believe that within 3-4 years all of the top 10 tokens except Bitcoin on Coin Market Cap will be replaced by tokens that have not even begun trading yet. This may seem unrealistic but technology in the world of Crypto Currencies is moving at such a fast pace that new tech will out perform the older tech in short order. This means there will be huge money to be made as new tokens come to market!
Prepare Yourself and Your Personal Economy!
Enjoyed reading your thoughts. I put out a post today about Litecoin and how it is taking advantage of Bitcoin's issues and attracting companies disaffected by the high fees of BTC. A few companies have said publicly that they plan on switching from BTC to LTC. It remains to be seen how this materializes.
"I believe that within 3-4 years all of the top 10 tokens except Bitcoin on Coin Market Cap will be replaced by tokens that have not even begun trading yet."
I believe this is certainly possible but also hard to predict as some projects will adapt and be flexible. Exciting times...I am sure there will be new coins with new utilities that cannot even be conceived at the moment.
Glad to see more and more people are accepting bitcoins... I wouldn't be surprised if it is accepted by masses very soon and bitcoin becomes the currency of the world.
I don't have much knowledge on this yet the cryptoworld, however I am up to learn further and believe that it is the future. ;)
I am more than positive that there are no evident reasons for gold and paper money to satisfy economical needs of the digital era. Their time has gone. All our cards we use bear virtual info. In previous societies cattle, grain, skulls, salt …were recognized as a system of exchange … just imagine how many elephant tusks or how much tobacco you possess on your card! There is no time to wait: Crypto Currency was born, it’s a toddler… that will be a personality pretty soon. I bet)))
Good info on Bitcoin.
Who knew the world would be like this someday? Like most people, I never would have guessed in 2011. I wish I had though.
If we would have gotten started in 2011 I would be way further ahead than I am that is for sure.
Who would have known this was going to be such a big deal in 2011. The first time I even heard of Bitcoin was April 2013 thinking it was something like credit points that would easily be hacked. I thought it was a joke when I heard about it. Then in that July I started to read about it - The Bitcoin "Network of Computers".... Eyes wide opened. Just think we are all still early even from 2016. This tech will change the world. Investing into Crypto from 2013 has allowed me to start my second business and this one is directly aimed at the Crypto economy. What a blessing.
I hear that man! First heard of it in early 2013 and wanted to get some, but there was no coinbase, etc. for easy bitcoin purchases. Was literally looking into getting a wallet and buying directly from someone locally that mined some, then the scaredycat in me came out and was like...this seems iffy right now. Fortune favors the bold though!
@hilarski
Thanks for sharing your perspectives on this exciting world of cryptocurrencies. I think we will see some surprises along the way, but overall, I believe that the next few years will trend in a generally positive direction!
Upvoted!
If they turned off the Internet, they would lose the ability to do quantitative easying: arbitrarily creating new digital currency units to stimulate economies and to bailout failed banks with rotten greedy business models.
Great insights, Randy. The cryptoworld is still in its infancy. Imagine when it starts walking!
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Now why the exception for bitcoin in the last paragraph? It's already proving unable to adapt to the pace of technology. I'm by far no techie, but from an economics point of view bitcoin is like nokia: King of the hill.
And then: smartphones.
But Nokia still isn't dead. In fact business is improving , they're making deals with Apple and even their old 32xx models are rather popular in African countries.
Sure, they're gonna disapear at some point, but we don't know when.
The brand still exists sure. But after selling it to Microsoft, then getting it back because Microsoft only wasted money on the attempt and wanted to get rid of it, is Nokia really the brand it once was? Does the brand value even compare to what it was in 2006?
No, sure not. But once again, they're not entirely gone. They still have customers and they still serve a market share, even in the aftermarket with their old products.
Nevertheless, I'm not saying Bitcoin will sruvive. But if developement picks up just slightly, it certainly could do so even in a market of many other currencies.
I never meant to say bitcoin would die, that's why I picked Nokia instead of Kodak, which was my initial thought.
I'm just saying that if bitcoin doesn't solve it's problems - the likelyhood of which is completely unknown as it is a human problem, not a technical one - btc might move to $100 instead of $10,000.
Or everything is solved and it hits $10,000 by december. But that is simply not the impression I get.
Then we have the same impression so far.
Distribution and accessibility.
Gateway platforms like #LocalBitcoins only offer #Bitcoins and that will keep this Nokia useful until widespread direct access to other tokens is made available.
Last paragraph is key. We're already seeing the limitations of bitcoin and ethereum compared to other cryptos. The party hasn't even begun to start.
nice....your post deserve upvote and resteem....
thanks for sharing
Have you done any posts on these? I'm very interested to learn more now that I hear they are on your radar.
Thanks for the info.
Crypto is the wave of the future. Maybe now we'll get those flying cars they promised us in the new millenium. :)
I agree with your take on the top 10, almost 100%. I am a huge Monero fan, so I am a bit biased in saying it will remain up there, but thanks for sharing. The opportunity in digital assets is simply astronomical. Perhaps the biggest we have seen since the invention of the Internet, itself.
It's exciting to read about your business... and how you are increasingly using cryptos as actual economic currency. Seems to me that's the next challenge on the path towards mass adoption... right now, it strikes me that most people see cryptos primarily as an "Investment asset class," not as an actual currency... it's still to hard to logistically answer the hypothetical question "I have some Steem, where do I get a pizza?"
For now, you most likely don't, and that needs to change... which is why I am a big supporter of Steemit "piggybacking" a thriving internal marketplace on top of this platform that's already a community. Now the community needs a place to go shopping for goods and services.