Cryptocurrencies are virtual or digital currencies that are protected by Cryptography, a technology that makes it seemingly impossible to double-spend. Being decentralised networks, most of the cryptocurrencies are powered by blockchain technology, a distributed ledger that’s capable of storing information in a safe, verifiable, permanent, and decentralised manner.
The launch of the Bitcoin network and the crypto assets that followed has proven to be a significant milestone in the development of various blockchain-based protocols. Albeit beneficial, these blockchain (or crypto) protocols have become the topic of numerous debates, some lasting for years.
With most of the crypto asset networks designed to solve a few of the problems facing traditional financial institutions, they have become the perfect financial tool for carrying out bulk and single transactions. While there is some scepticism from those in favour of traditional banks, cryptocurrencies have proven to be the future of not just the financial industry but our day-to-day life.
1. Global Remittance through cryptocurrencies
According to 2017 World Bank data, over $500 billion was sent from high-income countries to middle and low-income countries.
With most of these funds being sent through Banks and payment gateways, more than 30% of the entire amount transferred is lost in fees to these payment processing platforms. This has become one of the biggest challenges that people have faced when trying to transfer money across borders.
The rise of Blockchain, Distributed Ledger Technology and Cryptocurrencies has provided the opportunity for people to transfer money across borders without paying exorbitant fees. One example of this is Hedera Hashgraph, an enterprise grade public ledger with its own cryptocurrency – HBAR. Using a Hedera Hashgraph Wallet people can transfer large amounts of money for fractions of a penny ($0.0001 USD). Hedera Hashgraph also operates at a fixed price, so regardless of whether you want to send a single dollar or a million dollars the fee will always be a fraction of a penny.
As well as having high fees (making it too expensive to transfer small amounts of money) Banks and Payment Gateways often take a percentage of the total amount sent; To send a million dollars using a bank would cost you $10,000, using Hashgraph this would cost $0.0001.
In addition to enabling cheap payments regardless of location, all transactions on Hedera Hashgraph are completed in less than 5 seconds, with the network capable of processing over 10,000 transactions per second.
Hedera Hashgraph enables users to send money across borders for fractions of a penny
2. Transparency
Digital assets (cryptocurrencies) are built on blockchain technology, which is a distributed ledger that’s capable of storing information in a permanent, secure, and verifiable manner. This underlying technology as a distributed ledger stores all of the transaction information carried out on each of the crypto networks.
Information stored on these blockchains is immutable. It cannot be altered or modified by anyone, therefore reducing fraud, double-spending, and manipulation of any sort.
3. Financial Inclusion & Accessibility
Entry into the traditional banking, exchange and financial system can be difficult, particularly in developing nations where ID checks, verification and a lack of funds to open a bank account are all massive barriers that prevent people (and also small businesses) from entering the financial system. Crypto assets as the future of the world do not have an entry barrier. They are open to everyone with access to the internet.
4. Reward Systems
The speed and low cost of transferring some Cryptocurrencies mean that business models around “nano-payments” and “pico-payments” are now viable. This has enabled businesses to change how they interact with and transfer value to consumers. The launch of the Yamgo network has revolutionised the way that people can earn value through digital assets.
Yamgo allows you to earn money-like crypto assets for things you already do, like viewing adverts, playing games, taking surveys, online shopping, downloading apps, etc. Online advertisers, for years, have benefited greatly from the data of users. Yamgo wants to level the playing field by giving users more control over their data and rewarding the usage of such data.
5. Global Adoption
With Blockchain.com reporting an increase in users from 51 to over 74 million in the space of 12 months, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, have become globally accepted, making them ideal payment options for products and services rendered.
As these cryptocurrencies begin to experience a significant rise in adoption globally, more merchants would begin to accept these crypto-assets as payment for products and services.
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