Cryptocurrency Businesses Are Booming. What Lies Ahead? – BlockPublisher

In laymans terms, a cryptocurrency is a type of private, decentralized digital currency. Although Bitcoin is the most well-known and successful cryptocurrencies, there are many other currencies that have found success, including Monero, Ethereum, and Tether.

What contributes to the popularity of certain currencies? Its all about the users. When Bitcoin was first created back in 2010, most people werent aware of it. Over the years, thats changed. Other cryptocurrencies are also attracting more and more users.

Hype isnt enough to sustain any digital currency though. The 2018 crypto crash helped to demonstrate the limitations of hype.

Still, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have managed to stick around in spite of setbacks and criticisms. These currencies were able to survive even after the crash thanks to the wide base of users and the ability to use these currencies in the real world. Many examples help to back up this point.

According to financial experts from MaxFunding, a number of multinational firms have made use of blockchain when managing supply chain and logistics. Maersk established the TradeLens blockchain solution in 2018. Currently, Thailands customs agency uses this solution and it has an impressive 90 partners. Another strong example is Coca-Cola. After launching their pilot solution, they quickly went from two partners to seventy.

Its clear to see how blockchain is providing value to the gaming industry. The virtual goods market is a massive one. In-game assets have a worth of more than $50 billion. Of course, these assets dont have any real worth on their own. The publishers and developers are the ones that control them.

Blockchain has the ability to change this. Gamers can truly own unique assets thanks to non-fungible tokens. Games like CryptoKitties have already experimented with this, and its likely that well see this in even more games in the future.

Of course, cryptocurrency can play other roles in the gaming industry as well. As an example, royalty payments have been an issue for many developers. This is partially because calculating and distributing payments can be difficult. Microsoft solved this problem by working with Ernst & Young to create a streamlined blockchain solution for royalty payments.

Bitcoin was initially created as a way to store value. Today, thats still one of the main things driving the currencys growth. In many countries, such as Argentina, Iran, and Venezuela, people have used cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to protect the value of their wealth against the impact of hyperinflation. More people across the globe may use cryptocurrency to protect the value of their wealth depending on future political events.

Using blockchain to protect wealth against hyperinflation is just one of many examples of the ways in which new technology can solve current economic problems.

Even though cryptocurrency has made great strides, there are plenty of ways it can be improved. As an example, it can be difficult for new users to put money into cryptocurrency. While things are easier now than they once were, people still may have to deal with new and unfamiliar technologies and platforms if they want to own digital currency.

People that are technologically savvy may be up to the challenge, but other people avoid cryptocurrency for these reasons. Thankfully, there are organizations like Skrill that are aiming to make this process easier.

Another issue is the reputation of cryptocurrency. Scams are unfortunately common, even now. Attacks are also frequent.

In 2019, exchanges suffered 12 major attacks. Because the major stories about cryptocurrency tend to involve some sort of scandal, this shapes the way people see Bitcoin and other currencies. People were fascinated by the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast from the BBC, which tackled the disappearance of Dr. Ruja Ignatova, the founder of OneCoin.

When people are largely unfamiliar with cryptocurrency, its only natural that these news stories and podcasts would lead to certain misconceptions.

Luckily, key figures in the world of cryptocurrency have been putting in the effort to improve its reputation. As an example, Coinbase has strived to prove that cryptocurrency exchanges can comply with regulations and still thrive. This was the second company to win the sought-after New York Bitlicense.

Companies like Xapo and Bitstamp followed in their footsteps. Kraken Futures, which is based in the United Kingdom, is supervised by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority.

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Cryptocurrency Businesses Are Booming. What Lies Ahead? - BlockPublisher