May 2, 2022 - I realize that I am getting old and set in my ways, but I am constantly being surprised by what is going on in our country these days. I am not a great fan of computers, but I have to admit that they have about taken over our country. A good example is that a new computer form of money has taken off and is invading most of our lives. The most prominent one is called “Cryptocurrency”. What in the heck is this new form of legal tender? Since I had never heard of it until recently, I had to do a little research. I discovered the following items:
A general explanation of “Cryptocurrency” is described as typically decentralized digital money designed to be used over the internet. Did you get that”? “Bitcoin”, which launched in 2008, was the first cryptocurrency, and it remains by far the largest, most influential, and best known in the decade since.
Crypto makes it possible to transfer value online without the need for a middleman like a bank or payment processor. Cryptocurrencies are usually not issued or controlled by any government or other central authority. They are managed by peer-to-peer networks of computers running free, open-source software. Anyone who wants to participate is able to do so.
Crypto makes transactions with people on the other side of the planet as seamless as paying with cash to your local grocery store. When paying with cryptocurrency, you don’t need to provide unnecessary personal information to the merchant. That means that your financial information is protected from being shared with third parties.
Because your cryptocurrency holdings aren’t tied to a financial institution or government, they are available to you no matter where you are in the world, or what happens to any of the global finance system’s major intermediaries.
Every transaction on the Bitcoin network is published publicly, without exception. This means there is no room for manipulation of transaction, changing the money supply, or adjusting the rules mid-game. The network powering Bitcoin has never been hacked, offering security on the internet.
Now that we both know a little bit more about this internet currency, I am sure that we will cash in all our dollar currencies and coins for this new, unsupervised form of money. Personally, I am going to keep all of my Monopoly currency. I have lots of that and apparently some day it will turn into something valuable. Then I can cash in and add to my retirement, and Uncle Sam won’t know a thing about it.
