CRYPTOCURRENCY : A NEW SHIP!

-Devyanshi Agarwal

I might not have wings today, but evolution in technology gives birth to a hope of having them one day.

The term ‘ Digital’ has penetrated in our lives so swiftly that the growing use of cryptocurrency today does not sound bizarre to us.

 It is a decentralized form of digital currency which uses encryption techniques in generation and regulation of units of currency.

If internet would have been a country, then cryptocurrency might have been its national currency.

Cryptocurrency is a peer-to-peer cash exchange system, free from any bank and government intervention. It uses blockchain technology to record all the transactions and the programmer needs to solve a mathematical puzzle to keep it secure.

Currently, there are 3000 cryptocurrencies in circulation in the world.The first ever digital currency that came into existence on 3^rd Janaury 2009, Bitcoin, was developed by an unknown programmer Satoshi Nakamoto. His aim was not to invent a currency but a monetary exchange system independent of a third party.

When bitcoin was launched, its price never topped $1. Its highest price for the year was just $0.39! Today, one bitcoin is worth roughly about $1,200. One of the reasons that could prompt us to buy a bitcoin  today is not so much to use it for online payments but as an investment.

The blockchain system is designed such that at its maximum only 21 million bitcoins can be produced and circulated.  As of today,  16.5 million bitcoins have been mined. That is about 75% of the total cap is already in circulation. Estimates say that the last bitcoin that will ever be mined will come into existence in 2140.

 Unlike traditional currency that is inflationary in nature, the bitcoin is a deflationary currency i.e. if only so many bitcoins will be used and the demand for those rises, the value of a bitcoin would also rise.

Bitcoins are stored in a digital wallet. The wallet is a kind of virtual bank account  that allows users to send or receive bitcoins, pay for goods or save their money only at a fees of Rs 1.67.

Bitcoins have become legally acceptable in 60 countries as of today. Due to its high anonymity, it has become the currency of choice for people buying drugs or other illicit activities.

Other cryptocurrencies such as EB3coin, was founded in the year 2015. It is legally acceptable in 16 countries. 64 million EB3 coins have been mined and in circulation  out of the 786 million coins.

Ripple is a Google backed cryptocurrency, whereas, Microsoft, Accenture, Intel and more than two dozen banks and other companies have formed an alliance to use the Ethereum blockchain code.

There are many more virtual currencies in circulation, but one would have a hard time trading them for actual money.

Cryptocurrency is the currency of future, mostly unregulated but that could change as governments are concerned about taxation and their lack of control over the currency.