We’ve all heard the term cryptocurrency. Many people refer to the overarching currency structure simply as Bitcoin, but Bitcoin is just one of many different cryptocurrencies that exist in the vast digital world. Cryptocurrency has been around for a while now, with nearly a decade of users using digital means to acquire currencies. It wasn’t until recent years that cryptocurrency really started to take off. In these last few years, whether you’ve realized it or not, cryptocurrency is helping reshape how we do many things, both in the digital and real world. In today’s blog, Peak Digital Prospecting, the leaders in cryptocurrency miner colocation, will explore a few means and industries that cryptocurrency has affected in the last few years. Keep reading to see how far cryptocurrency has helped us come in the last decade.
Online Security
You may not think that an online currency would give us much security, since it’s money and not a firewall or adblocker. But Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency have helped beef up our online security significantly in the past decade. Essentially, this comes from how cryptocurrency is mined. If you already know how Bitcoins are mined, feel free to skip ahead a bit, or you can get a more in-depth explanation of cryptocurrency by reading our previous blog (What Is Cryptocurrency).
Basically, cryptocurrency is mined by people sifting through and breaking down computer codes. There are only so many pieces of a certain cryptocurrency available, so the more code you and your computer break down, the more pieces of cryptocurrency you’ll potentially get. This code usually comes in the form of firewalls, virus protection, and other forms of online security that companies use to keep malicious hackers out.
Most of the code that the cryptocurrency miners go through is crucial to the integrity of that company or entity’s online security. Essentially, miners are hackers that aren’t trying to steal anything, and by going through this code, cryptocurrency miners show businesses where potential leaks in their security may be, which helps the company beef it up so actual hackers won’t be able to get in. In short, cryptocurrency mining helps boost our online security by tearing it down in a safe and controlled way.
Commerce
In the United States, we live in a capitalistic society. This means that our society revolves around the buying, selling, and trading of goods and services through a means of payment. Paper dollars and metal coins have been used for centuries all around the world as a way to track physical currency. However, with the introduction of the credit card, currency has shifted more towards an online form. With that shift, people have also wanted to get away from traditional capitalist institutions, such as banks and the stock market. If you’re wondering why, well just look at the track record of banks and stock markets throughout history.
People wanted to stray away from these institutions, but still needed a way to pay for goods and services. That’s when cryptocurrency came into play. Cryptocurrency doesn’t go through a bank, nor can you trade it on the stock market. It was created as a way for people to earn and pay for products and services without having to keep money in a centralized bank. And now that more and more companies are accepting the digital currency, it’s becoming even easier to spend things like Bitcoin to get things you want or need.
Holding Companies Accountable
Though it may sound a bit conspiracy theory-esque, many companies that follow and implement corrupt business practices won’t always have the people’s best interests at heart. One of the biggest ways large, corrupt corporations like to do business is by hiding and changing their revenue streams. As it is, money can be easily changed through online ledgers and moved about physically. This lets the corrupt company shirk certain tax claims and gets them off the hook with the IRS.
But with cryptocurrency, the changing and masking of currency is prohibited. Because all pieces of cryptocurrencies are recorded on blockchains,companies can’t falsify claims of having or not having cryptocurrency. This will hold companies accountable when it comes time to claim taxes. It also helps keep everyone honest when trading and using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.
At Peak Digital Prospecting, we hope you’ve found this blog helpful and informative. If you don’t know about our company, PDP is the best crypto miner colocation in the United States. Not only do we help maximize your crypto mining efforts, we help keep your crypto hosting costs down while also protecting your physical and digital assets. Learn more about Peak Digital Prospecting, see what PDP can offer you, or contact Peak Digital today to answer any questions and get a free quote.