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Crypto Currency for Youth

Walking through the history of cryptocurrencies

Advent of digital cash can be traced back to the 1990s era of the internet. In 1994, a company called FirstVirtual utilized payment intermediaries long before PayPal did. When you wanted to buy something from a merchant, the merchant contacted FirstVirtual with the necessary information of the requested payment. FirstVirtual confirmed these details with you and waited for your approval before billing your card. This process would take an over of 90 days for the transaction to get settled.  


Then came PayPal, which was one of the first companies to allow its customers to send/receive money just like an e-mail. PayPal, infact, did quite well and was one of the very few companies, which was able to survive the dot.com bubble (amazon and ebay were among the other two). It reduced the transaction time from a few months to a few days. Unfortunately, using PayPal's protocols can still leave you vulnerable to hacks and security breaches since it invloves dealing with a lot of intermediaries.  

After the housing market crash of the 2008, the entire US economy (and other nations as well) was in trouble. The US banking system had collapsed and there was shortage of cash. During that same time period a person or a group of persons (it is still unknown) by the psuedoname "Satoshi Nakamoto" wrote a white paper 'Bitcoin:  A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System '. The entire essence of such a currency was to take away the power of money minting and regulation from the "centralized" institutions and put it into the hands of the owners of the money, i.e., you and me. It was and it is a peer-to-peer way of transacting. 

In 2009, the currency, i.e., Bitcoin was put into circulation. This opened a completely new paradime of making transactions, which the human history had never seen before. Transactions can be settled in a matter of seconds and all the information is secured on the blockchain ledger, all using the highest level of encryption. Anyone, from any part of the world can transact with anyone and everyone just in a matter of seconds. It was in 2011-12 that Bitcoin begame to gain traction and since then we have seen unprecedented evolution in the cryptocurrency industry. 

Finance and Payments industry has always tried to come-up with new methods and ways to reduce the friction for the settlement of transactions. However, none of them have been able to create a lasting impact as cryptocurrencies. Although, there have been ups and downs in the industry, these factors are an indicative for the growth of any industry. This boderless and decentralised means of payment has undoubely taken the world by a storm! 

$60.7 Billion by 2024... that's huge!!

Blockchain is on fire and there is no sign of slowing down as organizations have found the unlimited potential of the technology. Blockchain technology is set to revolutionize the world and permeate to all areas of our daily lives. Professionals are leaving big companies to get into this space. Banks are leveraging blockchain to deliver better products and services. Is this the coming of the decentralized future? Is this where we are headed?  
 
The entire industry might be in nascent stages, however, a recent blockchain report from Market Reports Center forecasts blockchain industry to reach market size of $60.7 billion by 2024. This is a big opportunity. Isin't it?   
A group of eleven individuals have filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Reserve Bank of India's decision to block "essential services" like banking for cryptocurrency related businesses in India. 
What do you think is going to be the outcome? Will India promote the use of cryptocurrencies or will it be left behind when other nations are spending massively to promote blockchain and cryptocurrencies? 
 

UK-based banking giant HSBC has reportedly completed the world's first ever trade finance transaction powered by blockchain, on May 14. HSBC, which is the world's largest trade finance institution, completed a letter of credit for food and agricultural giant Cargill, the US' largest private company in terms of revenue. The deal involved a shipment of soybeans from Argentina to Malaysia. 
 

'Global Blockchain Leader' At Deloitte Resigns
To Join Blockchain-Based Startup

Eric Piscini, former Global Blockchain Leader and Partner at one of the "Big Four" consulting firms, Deloitte, has left the company. Piscini is joining the startup 'Citizens Reserve' to move supply chain networks to a blockchain. The early-stage startup, which is currently raising $300 mln, is a shared database designed to operate on all levels of a supply chain.

Banks With Crypto? The world is full of hypocrites

This seems to be strange... Firstly, they say that cryptocurrencies are a sham and then they themselves take steps to make it available to the masses. Is this what the banks want to do? 

One such instance is when JP Morgan's CEO, Jamie Dimon, claimed Bitcoin to be fraud and said that it is an useless asset. However, according to the financial times, JP Morgan has filed a patent to facilitate payments between banks using Blockchain.  
This is hypocracy. All of them want a share of the larger blockchain and cryrpto pie, however, they do not want to claim it openly. It seems that they want to get ahead of the curve, without anyone noticing it! 

 Have a look at how the big names are geeting into the game.... 

NYSE, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan... these are no small names. If these financial behemoths are entering this space, this means that there is a huge opportunity ahead. Apart form that, South Korea is planning to make its economy cashless and give dominance to crypto. Isin't this getting exciting? Do let us know us know your views, we would love to hear from you.

Cryptocurrencies are gaining heat

It's getting exciting my friend...it is getting super-exciting!! 

We were talking about the NYSE planning to offer its customers with Bitcoin, just in the last post. One of the world's largest stock exchange is all set-up for the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin. You would definitely want to have a look...
Analysts, reported that New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) plans to offer Bitcoin (BTC)  swap contracts. The commentators were unanimous in considering that if the news turns out to be true, it could be of momentous consequence for the future of crypto. A swap is a contract where two parties change financial instruments such as bonds, stocks, interest rates etc. With the contracts being settled in BTC itself is an important factor to be considered in Bitcoin's mainstream adoption.

The entire industry is in very nascent stages and the space is going to get bigger and bigger. Large financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan chase are entering the crypto space. Goldman says that Bitcoin "Is Not a Fraud" and is planning to set up a crypto trading desk to buy and sell Bitcoin. This is just the beginning and we are going to see more of it. Do you feel the same? Let us know your views/comments. 

I want to share something with you guys. We have been working on an introductory e-mail course, which is going to provide you with all the basic knowledge pertaining to the cryptocurrency and the blockchain industry. We will unveil it to you soon so that you can keep up with the industry trends. However, we want to take it further than that and we won't be able to do it alone. We would need your suggestions and opinions on what would you like to hear from us?