Cryptocurrency first appeared on people’s radar in 2009 with the emergence of Bitcoin. This strange new form of payment had many of us scratching our heads, but now the currency is the topic of many household conversations. In fact, the industry has seen a rise in popularity of 155% in the last three years alone. That is a shocking spike in buyers.
As more people jump on board with things like Bitcoin, the creators are having to change their approach. The people that purchased the original crypto coins will testify that the cryptocurrency landscape is very different from what it once was. So, how has cryptocurrency changed since its inception?
Newer Currencies
Bitcoin kicked everything off when it arrived in 2009, but it took a while for other currencies to make a similar impact. Other types of digital currencies attempted to make a splash, but none were successful. It wasn’t until 2015 when Etherum came out with its own blockchain that the world finally saw that other currencies could share the market with Bitcoin. Etherum is now the second most popular cryptocurrency on the market, but it has some stiff competition.
Almost 8,000 types of cryptocurrencies were counted as of the end of 2021, and this number is only going to increase. Other notable currencies include Litecoin, Polkadot, Dogecoin, and Cardano. Now, NFT’s have started to expand and are featured in play to earn games and more.
Security
The main benefit of cryptocurrency is that it is separate from the economy, which means it isn’t affected by a bank crash or inflation. What’s more, the blockchain gives the user the ability to track any theft or misuse of their Bitcoin. This security was once enough to keep people happy, but it didn’t take long before hackers found a way to commit fraud with crypto.
2014 was a rough year for Bitcoin, and that mean that the creators had to improve their service or get left behind. As such, the security related to cryptocurrency has become a lot tighter. Secure hardware wallets were introduced to protect the owner from hackers, fraud, and even viruses. Furthermore, companies are still trying to develop technology to combat crime with Smart Wallets hitting the market very soon.
Crypto Wallet Expansion
While some of the currencies that appeared in the wake of Bitcoin weren’t a huge success, some did leave a huge impact on how crypto is handled. In 2011, a company called Electrum introduced the idea of the modern crypto wallet. Before, you could create a Bitcoin wallet and watch your investment grow or shrink in real-time. However, things changed with this new type of wallet.
This service allowed users to buy and sell coins from their wallets and even trade with other cryptocurrency owners. It didn’t take long for other crypto creators to get on board with this more advanced digital wallet, and you can now visit Paxful to create a Bitcoin wallet easily and get all of these benefits. It is even easier to check your crypto now that smartphones are in everyday use.
The Fall And Rise Of Bitcoin
Bitcoin gave the world a very promising start to cryptocurrency. This new form of finance aimed to shelter investors from the harsh events that gripped the economy, and it did so successfully. However, it wasn’t all plain sailing. Before the mass security improvements to the system, cryptocurrency became a massive target for fraud. Clever tycoons were able to abuse the mining system to gain profit but put nothing back into the system. This ensured that the banks stayed strong while crypto floundered. In fact, things got so bad that Bitcoin even filed for bankruptcy in 2014. With this crash, it seemed that crypto was dead forever.
However, the loss of Bitcoin created a vacuum for other types of alternative currencies to swarm the market. New types of crypto flooded the market with more updated software to stop hackers. All of this new activity created a life raft for Bitcoin, helping it learn from its mistakes and rise to the top of the crypto market once more.
You may think that the fall of Bitcoin isn’t a real change, when in fact it transformed everything. Without this crash, cryptocurrency would just be another note in the pages of financial history. Unfortunately, it took the initial failure of Bitcoin to raise all ships and bring them back to the top. What’s more, it acts as a great underdog story that other businesses look to when they want to innovate in the current economic climate.
Conclusion
The idea of an alternative currency was once a far-off dream. It seems that the last ten years of Bitcoin have proved how much can change in a short space of time. All of the above occurred in the past ten years or so. With that said, just think about what the next ten years of cryptocurrency are going to look like.
