Is Cryptocurrency the Future?

 

YEHUDA ZILBERSTEIN ('23)

 

It is quite humorous how humans have found material methods ranging from gold to coins to paper bills with faces on them to value everyday life. The newest form of payment is a recent financial venture known as cryptocurrency. Will this newfound system triumph over all or be unceremoniously tossed in the bucket of used ideas?

 

Cryptocurrency is a digital and decentralized form of money. It is created and managed by means of advanced encryption techniques known as cryptography. More than five thousand different cryptocurrencies are being used today. While cryptocurrency may seem to be completely electronic, it can be used to buy everyday necessities, such as food and clothing. Although the description of cryptocurrency sounds straightforward, this revolutionary form of finance can be tricky to understand and even trickier to use.  

 

Unlike the U.S dollar or even the euro, cryptocurrency does not have a central authority to maintain value. This encrypted and completely digital version of cash is constantly changing in value, which is what makes it risky to own. While today Bitcoin, the first ever and most famous form of cryptocurrency, can be valued in the thousands, tomorrow it can be dirt cheap, leaving millions of people in financial ruin. Also, cryptocurrency is completely online. This opens up the possibility of fraud or even theft through hacking and account glitches. Ultimately, cryptocurrency is unreliable and potentially unsafe for its users.

 

One clear example of cryptocurrency’s unreliability is the current Dogecoin uprising. Dogecoin was a joke currency created by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who attempted to make fun of the wild speculation in cryptocurrencies at the time by creating one with relation to the internet meme of a Shiba Inu as the face of the coin. The creators of the coin did not even believe in the brand, which was evident when Billy Markus revealed that he had sold all his Dogecoins in 2015 to buy a Honda Civic. However, no one expected that, in the beginning of 2021, Tesla's own Elon Musk would endorse the coin by claiming he would put Dogecoin on the moon through one of his many companies, SpaceX. Today, Dogecoin is worth $0.5, when just a year ago, this currency was worth only $0.0025. Needless to say, owners of this coin made quite a bit of money when Dogecoin's market capitalization approached $50 billion in April. Dogecoin is a clear indication of exactly how unpredictable the financial system known as cryptocurrency can be, whether for better or for worse. 

 

To conclude, cryptocurrency is a game where the rules and interest are changing daily. The uncertainty that lies with the very idea of the financial platform could make it either a trademark advancement of the future or a failed idea forgotten in the ever-changing winds of tomorrow. Who knows how long Dogecoin will be popular or what the next Bitcoin may look like or even which billionaire will change the waves of finance with something as simple as a tweet. The only thing that can be taken away is that we live in a world of progress, progress that keeps us on our toes and forces us to adapt to new circumstances and surroundings if we hope to survive. All you can do is keep your eye on the next cryptocurrency. Who knows, the next creator of some meme-based form of finance could be reading this article right now.