“Bitcoin’s bubble is about to burst.”

 

“Cryptocurrencies will be extinct soon,”

These statements are often heard or read, especially when Cryptocurrencies dive and reach their lowest point.

“Bitcoin Is Digital Gold”

“Bitcoin will replace the US Dollars.”

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts often express similar sentiments, especially when Cryptocurrencies surge and climb to new heights. Some people sit on the fence, while others turn their heads depending upon whether it’s rising and falling.

There are many “naysayers,” who don’t believe in this technology.

A large portion of the population lives a long way from this world of Cryptocurrency.

These speculations brought back memories of the late 90s, when mobile technology was still very new in India. Mobile handsets were heavy and bulky with monochromatic displays. It was a costly affair. For 10 Rupees per minute, incoming calls were supposed to be free. Mobile usage was clearly prohibited.

Only the highest strata of society are eligible. In those days, every street corner had at least one PCO. A call would cost 1 Rupee and take three minutes. PCO won the race for accessibility, affordability, ease of use and convenience. Mobile phones seem like a fancy fad. More than 1.5 billion mobile users have been added in just two decades. This is a staggering number that was unimaginable for the 90s.

Blockchain Brief History

Satoshi Nakamoto, a 2008 inventor of Blockchain technology, launched Bitcoin, the first transactable currency.

Cryptocurrency. It took nearly two years to complete the first Bitcoin transaction. 10,000 BTC were used to purchase two pizzas. Bitcoin cost $0.01 in 2010. Bitcoin gained momentum gradually, so other

Cryptocurrencies(‘Altcoins’) started emerging.

Many businesses accepted Bitcoins later on, and the community grew.

Bitcoin hit its all-time peak of $67,566 in November 2021. This means that the price has risen by 6.7X107x in just 11 years. The second-largest Crypto, Ethereum was launched in 2014 with Ether as the native currency and the prominent feature known as ‘Smart Contract’. Blockchain Technology’s true potential was realized by the ‘Smart Contract’. Smart contracts are a way to make Blockchain Technology more accessible.

Contract is one type of agreement. It’s still a type of agreement. However, it’s different in that it’s executable code. This code triggers automatically when the agreement terms are met. Smart Contracts enabled Ethereum to transcend the boundaries of decentralization by being the development platform for Decentralized Blockchains.

Applications are also known as Dapps.

Why blockchain technology?

Blockchain technology is disruptive technology. It is a Cryptographically protected, decentralized public ledger. It is a decentralized chain that blocks can only be added at the end using a consensus algorithm. This eliminates the need for third party authentication. Each block includes time-stamped transactions using the native currency. Each transaction is protected by asymmetric cryptography.

These are the key features of blockchain technology.

• The Consensus algorithm : Eliminates the need for a middle entity that verifies transactions. This reduces operational and infrastructure costs, and eliminates centralized authority.
• Data Immutability – Cryptographic and Hashing algorithms guarantee that blocks cannot be modified, ensuring data integrity.
• Public ledge r and Decentralized r: All participants can view the transactions publicly, thus ensuring transparency

Blockchain technology applications go beyond Cryptocurrencies with Smart Contract and Decentralized Application (Dapps). It can be used to collaborate with other technologies such as AI, IoT and Cloud to solve real-world problems. This includes voter fraud to supply chain issues.

It’s a Silver Bullet.

It cannot solve all problems instantly. In fact, it has limitations.

• Price Volatility The Cryptocurrency Market is extremely volatile and can be very dangerous for novice investors who are just riding the wave and considering Crypto as a way to earn quick money. Sometimes, a single comment on social media can drive Cryptocurrency to a new high or crash. To combat this problem, “Stablecoins” were created to keep the purchasing level.
• Higher Transaction fees:Removal or reduction of a middle entity could reduce costs but there are concerns about transaction fees and gas fees being too high in Ethereum. Gas prices are directly related to congestion, i.e. how busy the network. These costs can be reduced by using Dapps or timing optimization. These costs will be significantly reduced with Ethereum 2.0.
• Global warming is caused by high energy consumption The Crypto community has been trying to solve these problems at all levels. They have tried to find solutions such as the use of clean-energy’ or other algorithms like ‘Proof Of-Stake’ which doesn’t require heavy computation.
• Scalability : Many Cryptocurrencies have emerged over time. They support faster transactions but aren’t as stable as Bitcoin and Ethereum. This limitation will likely be overcome by Ethereum 2.0.

Blockchain: Is it a future?

The technology is only over a decade old and still in development. It also has strong support from an ever-growing community of developers. El Salvador was the first country in the world to accept bitcoin as a legal currency. Many global businesses and brands accept Bitcoin payments. There are over 19k Cryptocurrencies, and many blockchain platforms. This is evidence that Cryptocurrency is growing exponentially.

Blockchain is a foundational technology that has add-only immutable block, decentralization and asymmetric cryptography. Blockchain is more than a Cryptocurrency and its volatility. It still holds the potential to change everyday life in many domains, including Housing, Education, Healthcare Insurance, Governance, Finance, Governance, and many others.

source https://www.blockchain-council.org/blockchain/blockchain-fad-or-future/