I thought that it would be fun to discuss the rise of cryptocurrency this week, especially as this month marks the creation/marketization of Venezuela’s petro currency, a last ditch effort by the Venezuelan government to save the economy and reverse the hyperinflation of the bolivar. I’ve seen a lot of self-proclaimed “bitcoin entrepreneurs” across my Linkedin, usually younger undergraduates, and I think this phenomenon is really strange and interesting. Apparently it’s not that hard to achieve the title, this article, says we can do it in just five easy steps. Anyone here participating in the student Bitcoin Revolution?
I just find it crazy how much has changed since this February post. Bitcoin’s popularity has seemingly peaked and gone through some volatile swings in the past 3 months. Venezuela’s petro currency has been rolled out and the country is trying to use its virtual currency to pay off some outstanding debts to Russia. However, cryptocurrency is just one of the many applications of the underlying technology known as blockchain. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have grown increasingly popular in today’s world due to its underlying use of a blockchain network. It relies on the concept that no middle man or higher power controls the resources, and that all transactions made are public record. Blockchain is built on fundamentals such as shared economies, decentralized systems, and freedom of information which rely on trust and community sharing. This disruptive technology has limitless potential and applicable uses for any sort of underlying data. Millennials have reacted to this craze with an overwhelming desire to invest large amounts of money due to the fear of missing out, otherwise known as FOMO. I’ve found that most people still dont understand the technology and are only interested in the price action as solely a way to get rich quick. I find it particularly interesting how Bitcoin’s popularity as a virtual currency has overshadowed many of the other uses of this technology. This article helps show some of the many future uses for this technology as it is continuously developed and applied (https://www.coindesk.com/information/applications-use-cases-blockchains/).