Who Is Cryptocurrency For? A Guide to Now and the Future

Cryptocurrency is at the age where it is no longer a novel thing; it’s been around for over a decade and regularly receives attention in the mainstream media. Who uses cryptocurrencies, what do they use them for, and what does the future hold for these various uses? Let’s take a closer look at this guide to now and the future.

The Tech Community

We can’t talk about cryptocurrency without going into history, at least briefly, and the tech community was the only user in these early days. Bitcoin was the one that started it all way back in 2008 but didn’t get going until 2012. But in those days, it was all about the excitement of how the system worked, the ingenuity of the blockchain technology, and how it provided autonomous security on a peer-to-peer network. 

Investors

Once the geeky side of things was past the initial excitement attention, then turned to practical applications. We saw huge gains investing in Bitcoin after a slow start, and we can all think back to the famous example of the guy who bought two pizzas with Bitcoin that would now be worth a fortune.

Shoppers

More often these days retailers both large and small accept Bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies as payment for goods and services. Any customer knows how to buy Bitcoin with Cash App and then spend them in any participating store. Places such as Burger and Starbucks now accept Bitcoin as a new method of payment. When we consider that even such giants as Microsoft and Tesla are even in on the act, we can buy big-ticket items as well.

Digital Security

Security is at the heart of what cryptocurrency is all about. The whole process of a digital system where every transaction is encrypted by other users is fascinating and virtually impenetrable to attack. The fact that the system is decentralized means no individual can compromise the system. This same system can provide security in a wide range of applications from copyright of digital media to providing encryption in digital voting systems. 

Brands

We have seen a surge in the uptake of cryptocurrency by businesses of all types. Allowing payments to be made or taken in this way has added a bit of much-needed versatility to their digital payments. One other thing that a few are beginning to branch out into is creating their own digital cryptocurrency, branded in the company name. Advantages to this approach include the attention that we can bring to our business just by doing it; you may be able to get some media attention by discussing this novel approach. Although one of the main features of cryptocurrency is that it is decentralized, meaning you can’t fully control it, you then have the peace of mind that it is legitimate and your customers will not be ripped off.

This article has been contributed on behalf of Paxful. However, the information provided herein is not and is not intended to be, investment, financial, or other advice.