BITCOIN AND ALTCOINS; A PARADIGM SHIFT TOWARDS A DECENTRALIZED GLOBAL ECONOMY.
By: Rapheal Alali
Tags: Blogging For Business, Cryptocurrency News, Blockchain Startup, Digital Marketing, Global Economy

As earlier promised on my Facebook page to unravel our minds and consciousness about the waves in Europe, Asia and the west hemisphere, yet to touch Africa and Nigeria in Particular, is the wake of Bitcoin and altcoins otherwise regarded as cryptocurrencies.

I wouldn’t be surprised or perhaps blame people for labeling BTC and altcoins scam, this is because over 85% of Nigerians are ignorant of the idea behind the Bitcoin business and the workings involved, this ignorance have thereby given scammers and cyber hackers an edge to manipulate on people’s ignorance to mislead them and make away with their monies. They use all sorts of sophisticated software’s like malwares to gain unauthorized access into people’s company sites mails etc. so sorry for those who have fallen prey to those who allegedly used Bitcoin as a bait against them.

Despite this scandal about this technology, (soft skill) it is pertinent that we develop the apetite to learn about them and acquire the knowledge about its workings, this is because the world is gradually transiting from agrarianism and crude patterns of craft to an era of highly industrial technology. This assertion is backed up by linkedIn with reference to 2020 global demanding hard skills and blockchain technology made it on its top list.

According to our common place parlance, “weytin be Bitcoin sef?”

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency and a creation of the unknown SATOCHI NAKAMOTO of Russia in 2009. This digital currency was created to break all the chains of state ownership in the control of finance and economy that has subjected the fate of the masses to the wimps and caprice of states control. According to bitcoin.org; “Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks; managing transactions and the issuing of bitcoins is carried out collectively by the network. Bitcoin is open-source; its design is public, nobody owns or controls Bitcoin and everyone can take part.”

“Na weytin come be this wayo cryptocurrency thing again?”

The “eremic answer”, as a few of us fondly borrow the slang in remembrance of our late lecturer and scholar of development studies, Dr. Eremie whenever we want to explicitly say or write a word in a direct and simple term is as thus; “A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency designed to work as a medium of exchange. It uses cryptography to secure and verify transactions as well as to control the creation of new units of a particular cryptocurrency. Essentially, cryptocurrencies are limited entries in a database that no one can change unless specific conditions are fulfilled.”(source: cointelegraph.com).

Cryptocurrency is alternatively used as altcoins, as the name implies, it is an alternative of what I call the first ever created SATOCHI 09. Meaning Bitcoin in 2009. Although this digital currencies are leveraged by the BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY. Examples of cryptocurrencies includes; ethereum, Binance, Litcoin, Coindela, Rubycoin, etc. these are alternate digital coins apart from Bicoin.

“Werey, weytin come be Blockchain again?”

Blockchain, sometimes referred to as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), makes the history of any digital asset unalterable and transparent through the use of decentralization and cryptographic hashing.

It is therefore believed that blockchain which is a decentralized financial ledger is capable of regulating and transmitting millions of transactions within a split of seconds, it is well encrypt and highly scalable. This technology is operational with the use of nodes or blocks that are interconnected with a network of programmed systems. The blockchain technology is devoid of any form of alterations, manipulations or control by a central authority. Transactions within the blockchain cannot be reversed neither can any form of operations be controlled by a third party.

The blockchain has been perceived overtime as an enemy of the modern day banking system due to its veritable, decentralized and sophisticated ledger system, this technology is far way efficient and guarantees transparency that the normal banking system. If you have been following banking, investing, or cryptocurrency over the last ten years, you may have heard the term “blockchain,” the record-keeping technology behind the Bitcoin network.

You can equally trade with Bitcoin other alternate coins or cryptocurrency but that will be a topic for another day.

Weytin this boy dey do with this kind of business sef?

I; (Raphael) am a freelance blogger with a flare as a Blockchain analyst for three years, this is driven with intensive experience about the ecosystem in the cryptosphere. I specifically write blogs for big crypto-companies in countries I haven’t visited all my life and I get paid in their coin.

What is the relevance of this technology to the global economy?

It’s relevance are numerous but for paucity of time, let me borrow a step by step analogy by an award winning bitcoin analyst;Andre Oentendo, he avers as thus;

1. Shifts in Global Investments

Many investors are now adding cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, into their portfolios. This is most likely because bitcoin allocation higher their chances to improve portfolio upside. On the other hand, some experts are having an ongoing-concern about the Bitcoin collapse that can spark a global financial crisis. But, at the end of the day, investors see cryptocurrencies as a hedge against inflation.

2. Separates Transactions from the Dollar

Cryptocurrencies do not require any connection to the U.S. dollar. The involved parties of a financial transaction are given another avenue to participate in the global economy while, at the same time, circumventing U.S. economic policies. Even though it might seem like a threat to the government because the U.S. dollars act as the reserve currency for the global economy (which is the primary source of US’ global power), it enables more international transactions.

3. Eliminates the Need for Middlemen

Bitcoin as a whole is inherently designed to allow peer-to-peer electronic transactions between counterparties without the intervention of any third party. It does not require an intermediary, or a go-between, unlike the traditional currency. Transactions are validated in a decentralized fashion. This fact has made banking institutions anxious, as it eliminates the need for their service. What’s more, transacting through cryptocurrencies is much quicker as it doesn’t have to pass through multiple hands.

4. Encourages More Overseas Transactions

Since lots of people living in countries around the world with weak economies still don’t have a bank account, Bitcoin comes in handy to engage them with the global internet economy. That way, people who live in typically less developed countries have a chance to connect with the internet economy. All that is needed is a digital wallet to make transactions anywhere in the world. In the last three months of 2020, each day saw an average 287,492 confirmed Bitcoin transactions worldwide.

5. Reduces High Reliance on Fiat Money

As a decentralized currency, Bitcoin is free from any economic and political issues that often can affect traditional currencies. That’s where Bitcoin is designed to be a digital currency that can be an alternative for authorized or fiat money. Today, customers have become more reliant on digital transfer (as it’s convenient in the sense of transaction speed) as a handy means to pay for products and services. Using Bitcoin as a payment method can reduce the reliance on traditional or authorized money.

6. Regulation of Bitcoin

Now that Bitcoin has become ubiquitous, both national and regional authorities prompt to grapple with their financial regulations. In this matter, central banks are working hard to put this ad hoc financial system under control. It can lead to laws specifically addressing this cryptocurrency and speculative bubble that Bitcoin will potentially cause. Different countries have different approaches to cryptocurrency, some of them (Algeria, Bolivia, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, and Vietnam) ban any or all activities involving Bitcoin. In contrast, some others use it as a means of payment. For example, in the U.S.A, Canada, Australia, the European Union accepts cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, as a means of payment even by government agencies.

7. Changes on the International Remittances Industry

Overseas remittance drives economic growth in emerging economies. That way, many people around the world work overseas and regularly send money to their families and loved ones in their home country. At present, this money has to be managed by intermediaries, including banks or other money transfer services that charge high costs for transaction fees. Also, the transaction process is so slow and takes several days before the receiving party can access the funds. In this matter, Bitcoin comes as a game-changer. And so many relevance or offer but a few to mention.

Simply put, with the use of this high technological decentralized ledger, it was created to defeat the monopolistic tendencies of the present day banking oligarchy, it is therefore a product of capitalism in its peak that has transited to individualism, individualism in the sense that it seeks to give individuals the leverage to own and project their own currency as against the generally accepted physical fiat.

Since its recording system is highly scalable, companies, the military, hospitals, hotels, pharmaceutical firms, institutions of learning, research institutes, government, factories, Ministries, departments and agencies of government can adopt this technology to ensure effective and efficient flow of financial transactions in the incomes and expenditures of their corporations.

The founder and CEO of a global energy renewable firm; RALPH BEN of WORLD POWER PRODUCTION (WPP) was able to leverage his business on blockchain and made millions of USD in his personified coins through the purchase of his coin by investors.

I wouldn’t say much, learn, relearn, and improve on your knowledge in savaging for knowledge and never falling prey to the gimmicks of scammers In the name of some sort of trading without a verifiable site.

Goodnight and best wishes!