By now you probably have heard someone talking about Bitcoin or crypto. Right now, living in the digital era, this type of currency is quite common and has been a hot topic for a few years now. So, it’s not surprising that on the subway, the supermarket, or in a restaurant you hear someone asking “can I pay you in Bitcoin?” and chances are, the answer is yes.
Basically, cryptocurrencies are decentralized mediums of exchange that are created through a computer network. These are stored in a digital database that uses cryptography to secure and verify transactions. Most of these currencies are supported by the blockchain. The Blockchain is a technology that allows keeping track of transactions made.
There are a few reasons as to why cryptocurrencies are so popular lately. For starters, they have very low fees, unlike most online payment methods that charge high fees. They have the potential to actually make a profit and, since their prices change so much, to invest. Cryptocurrencies have become so popular that they’re easy to get, due to more companies adopting them as a payment method. Marketing in general has also raised a lot of awareness for this phenomenon. There are very useful tutorials out there as well, and crypto pages are becoming more user-friendly.
This currency can have various purposes, individual units of them are called tokens or coins, and can be exchanged for services and goods, meaning you can buy with them at your local store. Some are stored in order for them to increase their value, and others are used in some more complex financial fields. That’s why to get some tokens, you must buy them directly or trade them.
But where do they come from? Well, most of them are “made” through mining. This works by using specialized computers that solve complex puzzles to verify the authenticity of the transactions made. Users generate their profit by receiving newly created cryptocurrencies. Sounds easy, however not everything can be seen with rose-tinted glasses. The type of computers that have enough power to solve a significant amount of these tasks are usually extremely expensive. The mining process used for currencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin spends an insane amount of energy. This results in a pretty high electricity bill, as well as some heavy damage to the environment. The good news is that some cryptocurrencies that don’t require that much energy are currently being developed. They also face mixed opinions for being a decentralized currency.
Although they have their pros like being the coin of the future, giving the opportunity to grow your crypto savings, and allowing them to become more valuable by the passing of time, they also carry with them some cons. First of all, some cryptocurrencies are very volatile and their value can change really quickly and drastically, which can lead to two scenarios, you either make more money by buying them at the perfect time or you lose it by doing the contrary. It also can become dangerous because most of these, like Bitcoin, are used in illegal transactions for scams.
Bitcoin is definitely the most known cryptocurrency out there; this alternative digital currency is created through mining. But as previously stated, its decentralized nature and the large amount of electricity it uses have been criticized due to illegal transactions and carbon footprint.
Despite all of these issues, many people still use Bitcoin as an investment, although many economists and several regulatory agencies have spoken against this due to its volatile value and the increasing risk of scams. But even in September 2021, some countries like El Salvador became the first ones to adopt officially Bitcoin as a legal tender. Facing both praise and hate for this.
The reason for the creation of this medium of exchange it’s rooted in the book Denationalization of Money: The Argument Refined, by Friedrich von Hayek, in which he promotes the ending of the central banks by having a free market of money. This also relates to crypto-anarchism, which main motive is to be protected against the monitoring of computer data.
Because of this and its also liberal nature is more common to see younger people use this currency, and are getting more acceptance by merchants and institutions – it’s a payment method that can be useful to have. Not only Bitcoin is popular, but crypto is also considered as more of a currency – now you have NFTs and CryptoPunks. But what are those and how are they related?
It’s a bit more complicated than what you might think, so in simple, NFT or a non-fungible token is a non-interchangeable unit of data stored in a blockchain. This means they’re a digital asset that comes with a certificate of authenticity; these usually come in the form of digital files, like photos, videos, and audio, and some consider them as work of art. The downside of them is the involvement in plagiarism and fraud, due to the increasing cases of artists having their work sold as NFT without their consent, lack of security, and that this token is seen as a Ponzi scheme.
CryptoPunks were the NFT that changed the whole game. They first became popular in 2021 with even Visa buying one for their art collection; there are 10,000 unique super expensive collectibles CryptoPunks and the big thing about them is that once you bought them, you have proof of ownership by using an open-source blockchain called Ethereum. This can be done through minting, the process of creating or producing something. This process secures the uniqueness of the NFT, because once an artwork is minted on a platform, it shouldn’t be minted on another one.
In order to create your account for most crypto-platforms, you have to enter your phone number to verify it, but with all the scams, fraud, and identity theft risks of being involved in the crypto spectrum, it can be quite scary to do so. That’s why it is recommended to use a virtual phone, that way you can ensure the safety and protection of your number while still being able to fully use your Bitcoin (or other crypto-platform) account. To get one, you’ll need a reliable provider like us, Major Phones. We offer US and UK short-term numbers for one-time use, and long-term numbers for more verifications.
Go ahead and give us a try! You won’t regret it.
