by Hodler Ash 
Before 2008, no one knew what cryptocurrency was or if anything at all would be regarded as cryptocurrency. However, 2009 saw the birth of the first-ever cryptocurrency bitcoin. Bitcoin was the first-ever digital currency born of blockchain technology. Since the development of cryptocurrency, it has been widely debated and discussed. However, it has never occurred to most financial advisors and decision-makers that cryptocurrencies could help combat the issue of finances and inflation of money. On the other hand, with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, whose aim is to be the future of money, economic growth, and social development could be achieved globally.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been in disagreement with the traditional fiat over the issue of being the future of money and what the future of the financial sector should look like. While traditional fiat promotes centralization, bitcoin and other blockchain cryptocurrencies run on a decentralized, open-source ledger technology. Hence, what could be done to strike a balance between traditional fiat and cryptocurrencies? Are there any advantages of the crypto market to the global economy, and could we have a blend of both centralization and decentralization? These questions will be provided answers as you read through.
Advantages of crypto markets on the global economy:
Although it has been somewhat uneasy for cryptocurrencies to settle into the economy since the first appearance in 2009, it has ever since increased its user adoption as more investors seem to find it profitable. Here are some of the advantages bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have concerning the global economy
- Transparency and accountability:
Some of the problems incurred in business result from distrust or trusting the wrong person or the wrong company/ financial institution with your finances. While cryptocurrencies run on blockchain technology that uses public and private keys, consensus mechanisms, and harsh functions to control transactions, traditional fiat uses intermediaries. Cryptocurrencies use this open-source ledger to build trust and transparency. Every transaction carried out on the bitcoin blockchains is recorded and available to all. With this, both international and local transactions could be carried out more transparently and effectively without worrying about the intermediaries’ integrity.
- Decentralization:
As mentioned above, decentralization is one of the properties of cryptocurrencies. There are such that they do not need a third party before their transactions are confirmed. It is such that it has universal acceptability, unlike traditional fiat that is centralized and limited to a specific geographic area. The price of bitcoin in the United States is the same as the price of Bitcoin anywhere else in the world. So, for those individuals with international business associates, you don’t have to worry about currency swapping; all you need to do is send your associates bitcoin. It also comes with cheaper transaction charges and fast transaction speed. Unlike the traditional fiat that could take days or hours before transactions are processed, the average time it takes bitcoin to process a transaction is about 7 seconds, making it very fast. Bitcoin is steadily becoming an integral part of the economy, and soon, it will achieve its aim as being the future of money.
- No Government Intervention:
Here’s one of the very reasons why bitcoin was developed. Satoshi Nakamoto, the developer of bitcoin, saw the need to put the power over money in the hands of the masses
(rightful owners). Hence, he developed Bitcoin as a tool that the government could have no power over. Bitcoin, as said earlier, runs on blockchain technology and has a fixed supply. Unlike the traditional fiat that could be printed easily and injected into the economy.
Bitcoin Market Cap versus Other Companies’
It is interesting how the bitcoin market cap in 2018 was just about $112 billion while that of Amazon, Apple, and Gold were $970 billion, $1 trillion, and $7.8 trillion, respectively. However, currently, Gold, Apple, and Amazon have a market cap of $11.16 trillion, $2.37 trillion, and $1.68 trillion, respectively, while bitcoin has $1.01 trillion. Three years down the line and bitcoin was able to move about 9x its initial market cap. No other company, not even gold, had or would achieve this fit. This is to indicate the level of growth the cryptocurrency market is having on the entire global economy. Currently, the whole cryptocurrency market cap is over $2 trillion, and it was just about $202 billion in 2018. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies experience tremendous user adoption rates daily, and soon, cryptocurrency will become widely accepted and bitcoin the only mode of payment and exchange.
