DIGITAL CURRENCY — The Future of Finance
Once upon a time people transacted goods for goods, services for goods or services for services; This was the first and oldest means of transacting. It was called Barter Trading or Trade by Barter.
As time progressed other means of/for exchange started emerging; legal tenders like manilas, cowries, bronze coins were created to pay for goods and services.
These were the means for exchange but since change must definitely occur in the course of human existence, other means of exchange were created.
The Fiat Currency was created to curb the disadvantages of the old means of exchange. Manilas, gold, bronze were too bulky and heavy to carry around, so paper/fiat currencies were created to solve these problems.
Fiat/paper money has been since then used till date; It is used as means of exchange and transaction within and outside a country. These currencies are controlled by the government and financial institutions of the said country. As a result, people are not fully in charge of their money; With the explosion of the Internet, Internet banking was introduced which facilitated transactions and greatly reduced the need to carry physical cash. But when the world thought it had seen it all when it came to the technological development of money, digital currencies were born.
The Emergence of Digital Currencies
January 2009, BITCOIN the first ever digital currency was created by Satoshi Nakamoto, the documentation(whitepaper) was posted on a public forum (Bitcoin Talk) which he created later that same year.
It is a version of electronic cash that allows online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. What this means is that you can send money from your country to someone in another country without needing a bank.
This means of payment caught the attention of several persons, who were intrigued by the fact that they could send money and carry out other transactions without physical boundaries or paying high bank charges. They adopted and utilized Bitcoin in the early days of its development. They were the Early Adopters
Since the emergence of Bitcoin in 2009, over 8000 cryptocurrencies have been created and circulated worldwide. These currencies were created to serve different and specific purposes.
Benefits of Digital Currency
- User Autonomy
2. Discretion
3. Peer-to-Peer Focus
4. Elimination of Banking Fees
5. Very Low Transaction Fees for International Payments
6. Mobile Payments
7. Accessibility
Conclusion
Digital Currency is the future of finance. It has come to solve the problems faced by Fiat Currency, just like how the internet came into the world. The internet witnessed a slow adoption; cryptocurrencies are witnessing the same. But one thing is certain: Slowly but surely it will be adopted by all; Learn about it now while you can so you won’t be left out in the future.
