“Crypto” – or “crypto currencies” – is a type of software system that provides transactional functionality to users via the Internet. The most important part of the system is theirs decentralized nature – usually given by blockchain database system.
Blockchain and “crypto currencies” have become major elements of the global zeitgeist recently; often as a result of the “price” of Bitcoin skyrocketing. This brings millions of people to join the market, with many “Bitcoin exchanges” suffering a lot of infrastructure stresses as demand rises.
The most important point to be aware of about “crypto” is that although it actually serves a purpose (cross-border transactions via the Internet), it does not provide any financial benefit. In other words, its “intrinsic value” is strictly limited by the ability to transact with other people; NOT to store / spread value (which is how most people look at it).
The most important thing you need to know is that “Bitcoin” and so on payment networks – NOT “currencies”. It will be covered deeper in a second; the most important thing to realize is that “getting rich” in BTC is not a case of giving people any better economic situation – it is the only process that will be able to buy “coins” in a lower price and sell it higher.
For this purpose, in looking at “crypto”, you need to first understand how it works, and where its “value” lies …
Decentralized Payment Networks …
As already mentioned, the key thing to remember about “Crypto” is that it is usually a decentralized payment network. Consider Visa/Mastercard without the central processing system.
This is important because it highlights the real reason why people are actually starting to look into the “Bitcoin” proposition more deeply; it gives you the ability to send/receive money from anyone around the world, as long as they have your Bitcoin wallet address.
The reason why it puts a “price” on different “coins” is because of the misconception that “Bitcoin” will somehow give you the ability to make money by being a “crypto” asset. No.
the only The way people make money on Bitcoin is because of the “rise” in its price – buying “coins” at a short price, and selling it at a much higher price. While this is good for a lot of people, it’s actually based on the “greater fool theory” – essentially stating that if you can “sell” coins, it’s a “greater fool” than you.
This means that if you’re looking to join the “crypto” space right now, you’re looking to buy any “coins” (even “alt” coins) that are cheap (or not expensive), and ride as they raise the price until you sell it later. Since none of the “coins” are backed by real-world assets, there is no way to estimate when/if/how it will work.
Future Progress
For all intents and purposes, “Bitcoin” is a spent force.
The epic rally in December 2017 signaled mass adoption, and while its price is likely to continue to grow into the $ 20,000+ range, buying one of the coins is now a big gamble to make it happen.
Money wise is already looking at most “alt” coins (Ethereum/Ripple etc) that have a relatively low price tag, but continue to grow in price and adoption. The key thing to look at in the modern “crypto” space is the way in which different “platform” systems are actually used.
Such is the rapid “technology” gap; Ethereum & Ripple is like the next “Bitcoin” – with a focus on how they can give users the ability to actually use “decentralized applications” (DApps) on top of their underlying networks to get a work tool.
This means that if you look at the next level of growth in “crypto”, it will almost certainly come from the different platforms you can identify there.