Earlier this month, we explored the idea that no one controls Bitcoin - no government or company has control over its supply, utility, or price. If no one can prevent anyone from using it, though, that means anyone can use it. This time, we'll explore this concept - while it may seem contradictory at first, it further highlights the benefits of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Like last time, this blogpost frames this idea in Bitcoin, but it also applies to other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum. Read on and you’ll quickly see why cryptocurrency is the most accessible form of value, and why anyone can contribute to the future of finance.
Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin is the most accessible form of value in human history, with anyone anywhere being able to access the global economy if they can at least occasionally connect to the Internet. There are no laws, borders, or taxes preventing anyone from sending and receiving Bitcoin, anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, anyone can easily contribute to making Bitcoin even better beyond simply holding and trading with it.
One might think that because Bitcoin is a technology, there are companies or a developer behind the scenes, controlling how it works. That is not quite the case. While there are developers contributing to cryptocurrency, they must come to consensus on what exactly they are doing for any change to actually take place. Similar to the idea that to take over a cryptocurrency a bad actor would need to execute what is known as a 51% attack, new changes to the system need to be agreed upon in order to go into effect. The developers contributing to Bitcoin all agree on the basics of what needs to happen and make sure that only the right changes are made. If there’s too much disagreement, the change won’t be made, or the change will be added to what is called a fork, or a new version of the cryptocurrency that is now separate from the main protocol. Meanwhile, anyone can become a developer, no interview or special permissions required. If you think you have a way you can improve Bitcoin or another popular cryptocurrency, there’s probably a place for you to share your ideas and be heard.
The same goes for the miners, those behind the scenes using computers to generate new Bitcoin and validate transactions. Anyone can join this network -- all they need is to download a piece of software from the internet and they, too, can start mining. Another important aspect is that its value is not tied to an underlying asset (like stocks or commodities); instead, the value is tied to the features the coin offers, which drives an agreed-upon value just like any other asset. This also all contributes towards the system’s safety and further adds to its value proposition: The more people that get involved in producing Bitcoin (miners), the more nodes of the network, and the more secure the system gets, and the more trustworthy it can get.
This is a tricky concept to understand at first, as our entire society is driven by rules and norms that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin seemingly do not have. But as more people educate themselves on cryptocurrency and begin to trade it, the benefits become clear. Many individuals and companies are at least partially transacting in Bitcoin because of its benefits. Meanwhile, many crypto investors choose to simply hold onto their crypto in safe, private wallets away from exchanges as a hedge against inflation and a safeguard for the future.
As the value proposition for crypto like Bitcoin continues to grow with new use cases and adoption, the two opposite but complementary ideas of Bitcoin being controlled by no one yet owned by everyone start truly shining. Just by holding and trading Bitcoin one can join in welcoming the future.