Blockchain-Crypto Currencies

In general, DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) and Blockchain has become one of the technological innovations that is highly hyped since the Internet has become focus of stakeholders of both private and public sector. One of its applications such as cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin, in particular, has attracted huge attention; though, other cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin – and the overall Blockchain’s concept – are most of the time misunderstood. It has become one of the goals of researchers to evaluate cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin in particular, by looking into the money’s evolution and assessing the particular cryptocurrencies’ aspects that are different from fiat money backed by the government, if any. Furthermore, people are now focusing to explore the emergent DLT concept’ potential applications, and expand to the larger tokens’ context and the DLT business models’ potential. By looking at the money’s evolution, people are exploring how Blockchain cryptocurrencies has become accepted globally and can transition into the mainstream use by fulfilling the 3 following major roles of traditional fiat money:

1.      Unit of account

2.      Medium of exchange

3.      Store of valu

It has been believed that crypto assets and cryptocurrencies are being utilized already as the store of value, cryptocurrencies, yet, still have to satisfy the two other traditional fiat money’s functions so that barriers to becoming accepted globally could be overcame and payment instruments could be adopted. Fulfilling the functions of unit of account and a medium of exchange are dependent highly on many ecosystem actors including governmental. It has been argued that cryptocurrencies have the potential to become units of account if there is a regulatory environment that is conducive and friendly. The researchers and experts have conjectured that then this could allow investors to accept cryptocurrencies as systems of payment in a wider context. Furthermore, economic and technical challenges such as volatility, privacy, and scalability need to be overcame in parallel. DLT businesses, finally, crypto assets and cryptocurrencies need to invest in thinking of design that is user-friendly and is at the core of any adopted technology that has been successful. It is acknowledged that new systems of payment (or classes of asset) do not emerge overnight as it is time taking phenomenon; and, many more challenges are also there that DLTs are destined to face in general. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the money concept itself has greatly evolved in the lifetime of people from cash to plastic through use of credit or debit cards and even more so via current contactless payments’ use. The cryptocurrencies’ wider use is a next natural phase in decreasing friction in a global economy, that adoption of tokens support in a local contexts, being specific to industry-sectors or geographies (Narayanan, Bonneau, Felten, Miller, & Goldfeder, 2016).

Until 2017, the world of investment hasn't seen a party quite like cryptocurrency and bitcoin. Last year, Bitcoin increased about twentyfold in value, ethereum ripple and surged more than 11,200%. Many investors, consumed by the growth, are seeing the world of crypto only in the price movements’ lens. But for the investors who are least interested in managing as well as buying and selling portfolios of cryptocurrency, there is some other way for space investment — investing and learning in a Blockchain technology. Basically, Blockchain is a robust technology resembling the internet in an early '90 that packs the potential to change people’s way of living, work, interact and consume (Chen, 2018).