Throughout history, humans have given a lot of importance to items that appear, at first glance, to be of little value. Shells, coins and now cryptocurrencies have all been used to buy things. So, what does the future hold?
“Money is not the most important thing in the world. Love is. Fortunately, I love money.”
Jackie Mason
Money may not buy us love, but it is an integral part of our lives. It has been with us for longer than we can imagine. Early cultures used things they had at hand and exchanged them for food, clothes and services. Although popular, this early barter system limited the scope of trade. Before they knew it, civilizations started using shells, beads and other items as units of money.
The Evolution of money: By the 4th century BC, the Romans had begun using metal tokens across the empire. Soon, the concept spread around the world. Centuries later, between 618–907 AD, paper money appeared in China. It was cheaper to produce than metal coins, and if everyone agreed on the value, these “banknotes” could be used for trade.
Fast forward to the Renaissance, when banks in Milan started keeping meticulous notes on their customers. This meant that people didn’t need to keep the money themselves, but thanks to these banks could store, borrow, lend and earn interest. These changes led to the development of the banking system as we know it today.
The Dawn Of Plastic Money
Although the first credit card was launched back in the late 1950s, it was not until the late 1970s that “plastic” cards and ATMs became popular. By the end of the century, people could use cards for almost every transaction.
This system made it easy for people to withdraw money from ATMs or just swipe their card at check outs, but it also encouraged impulsive buying. With the e-commerce boom, online shopping became immensely popular, as one could shop from the comfort of their home.
By the late 2000s, this all came crashing down and the world went into a recession for the first time after the Great Depression of the 1930s. It all began when American banks started making extremely risky bets on real-estate. More and more people were offered loans to buy expensive homes that were way beyond their means. And before they knew it, the housing bubble burst in the US, leaving hundreds of thousands of families homeless and causing a domino effect worldwide.
This changed the way people thought about credits and loans. They became more aware of their money and the way it was managed by the financial institutions. With this came realization that individuals needed more control over their hard-earned savings. Banks could not be trusted, and neither could the governments. There was a need for a decentralized and transparent system that would give power to the people.
The Rise Of Crypto
While the world was going through the 2008–2009 recession someone, or a group, going by the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto, decided that it was time for change.
In 2008, Nakamoto published the white paper for Bitcoin, which gave the world its first decentralized money that was not controlled by a central authority.
The cryptocurrency Nakamoto was working on was self-sufficient in terms of governance and supply, as it operated on a transparent public ledger, the blockchain.
This innovative system ensured that users had full control of their money and could easily track it on the blockchain.
Bitcoin (BTC) was eventually launched in 2009 and it took the world by storm. A currency that empowered people was born!
According to many experts the advent of Bitcoin and blockchain will be remembered as a big turning point in the evolution of money.
Shifting To A Trustless Cash System
Embedded in the Bitcoin genesis block was a message based on a newspaper title that read: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” This message not only commemorated the launch of the world’s first cryptocurrency block, but also put into perspective the reason Bitcoin had been created.
Since bitcoins and most crypto coins in general are not issued or controlled by governments, you can store them yourself. No bank account is needed. And you can be sure that no banking system has custody over the funds.
Secured by cryptographic encryptions, all cryptocurrencies exist in a digital form on a blockchain, or a public ledger, that allows for independent and safe transactions. Also, cryptocurrencies have several characteristics like traditional fiat currencies including portability, durability, scarcity, fungibility, divisibility and recognizability.
They are based on mathematical properties rather than trust in a central body or physical backing like gold or silver.
A decade after the first bitcoin was mined, there are over 8,000 publicly traded cryptocurrencies. They are decentralized, transparent and secured by the blockchain. And with a growing number of enthusiasts around the world, it seems that the demand for cryptocurrencies will continue to boom.
How do you acquire crypto?
There are different ways to own crypto: you can increase your portfolio by buying it, mining it, staking it and trading it.
Cryptocurrencies can be quickly bought and traded using exchange platforms, however buying, and storing crypto on exchanges may not be the safest. Once you have bought your own crypto, it might be a good idea to join a well-known mining pool community like Mining City. Such brands provide hash power to individuals to mine their own crypto.
There are many opportunities of being part of a network marketing system in the crypto world because communities like Mining City take good care of their citizens and will do their best to support each other.
Joining Mining City
To join Mining City, all you need to do is buy a mining plan and the rest will be done for you. Mining City provides its members with the necessary hash power for mining. Its members do not have to worry about buying or maintaining mining equipment, nor do they have to worry about electricity bills that they would need to pay if they were mining on their own. The Mining City customer support teams are ready to answer all queries and provide members with the required support.
Last but not the least, one can also acquire crypto through staking.In this case, and all you need to do is choose a staking / PoS-based coin to stake, download the corresponding crypto wallet, determine what the minimum requirements are, fulfil them and start staking.
Evolution Of Value
Money has come a long way. The ancient Sumerians used shells, the Romans had metal discs and, our parents, paper notes. Now we can send cryptocurrencies to faraway lands in a matter of seconds, all secured on the blockchain! But the premise is still similar. Do your research, be careful and only work with partners you can trust.
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