Why Bitcoin? Whyyy Crypto? WHY NOT _____? My Millennial Answer

I get this all the time. Mostly from people who are questioning the growth, think it's a scam, or don't understand the tech. Even major financial and tech people have had issues comprehending why.

What is Bitcoin?

First you have to understand what Bitcoin is. Bitcoin is a digital currency. A currency is only as good as the trust people have in it, so historically currency has been issued by centralized organizations or made of something with inherent value like gold or commodities. In Bitcoin, the trust is in the ledger. A ledger is a check book, a way to show transaction history. Prior to Bitcoin, ledgers were kept individually and there was the possibility for discrepancies, fraud, and theft. The lag between ledgers being updated opened up the door for all sorts of issues, like overdrafts. Bitcoin has a shared ledger. Everyone using Bitcoin is using the same transaction record. That could get confusing, thousands of people updating a single digital checkbook!? Sounds like a nightmare and like it could have enough confusion that the negatives of individuals ledgers would still possible, but the way Bitcoin is constructed prevents each of these things.

Consensus

Entries are made by consensus only. That means a majority people (or in this case, miners) say that the transaction is valid, so it's added to the transaction history. If the transaction isn't valid, it isn't added. This is the oversight, the control, and its in the hands of many, in theory at least. This distribution of power over the currency is called "decentralization". In traditional currency, this control is in the hands of the banks, with a shared delegation of that power to individuals relative to their value to their bank.

Blockchain

You haven't mentioned blockchain yet. What is a blockchain? People say that's revolutionary! The ledger is the blockchain. They call it a block chain because the way the transactions are formatted is in a block. They get processed into blocks of data, linked together in a chain. Blocks in a Chain, blockchain. A block is about 10 minutes worth of time in Bitcoin. The blockchain is open, anyone can view it. There are special sites set up, called block explorers that let you enter a transaction, an account, a specific block, and more.

But CRIMINALS!!! AND HACKERS!!!

The media has done a good job of covering the criminals who have used Bitcoin. You ever seen a big drug bust on the news? Do you see stacks of Bitcoin or do you see stacks of cold hard cash? What exactly do you think white collar criminals are embezzling? And Tax Evaders? Bank Robbers? It isn't Bitcoin. Bitcoin, like any currency, has been used to facilitate criminal transactions. That doesn't make Bitcoin bad, anymore than it makes the US dollar bad. That just means it's a currency that's in use.

We Can Track US Dollars, We Can't Track BTC!

People have this idea that Bitcoin is anonymous. It isn't anonymous. It's psuedonymous, meaning you get a username. Your username is unwieldy, unique, and nearly impossible to memorize, but you get a username. If I send your username some Bitcoin, a search of the block, transaction, your username, or my username will pull that transaction up on the block explorer. If I had a criminal enterprise, all of my customers would be identifiable by their usernames, because law enforcement can see the transactions sent to me without even a warrant, just the readily available block explorers. Their usernames would show where they got their Bitcoin, if you go back far enough, you find an exchange, usually requiring ID verification, a bank account, or some link to who the person is. Bitcoin actually makes forensic accounting much easier and much quicker. There are other private coins, and mixers, and other solutions but at it's basic, Bitcoin is no more "anonymous" than a bank account.

Usernames? Can I Be "CorvetteDude69"?

No. The usernames are referred to as public keys or "addresses". It functions almost like an email. You have a two part access. A private key, the "password", and a public key, the "username". No one can send email from you without your password, but people can see it's from you. Bitcoin is like that in terms of public key and private key. The public key is where things are sent to and sent from. The private key is your permission to send, your "password". You keep your private key as safe as you would your bank account. (Besides, crypto is about lambos, not 'vettes! 😜)

But WHY Bitcoin?

All the above gives you the basics, a way to understand some of the benefits. Some people get it from that, others don't. Consider for a minute, the possibilities and the impacts of a global, digital, accessible, decentralized currency without artificial barriers or ability to spend based on lines drawn on a map. The potential is endless.

Dial-up and Smart Phones

As a millennial, I am old enough to remember pay phones, calling cards, long distance charges, cell phones that looked more like a fax machine than the slim slivers we have now. I remember the world getting smaller when we got dial-up. I remember when we could suddenly talk for free on evenings and weekends on our cell phones. Unlimited was an unimaginable concept in the time of 25 cents per SMS. In less than a generation, we went from limited electronic use to always being connected. Our communication was limited and CHARGED for everything we did, and the phone companies could do that because there was a monopoly. That's where most digital payment solutions are, they're in this monopoly mindset. They can charge what they want and charge extra for arbitrary reasons. Bank Account? $8 a month fee. ATM? $3.75 fee. Sending money? $0.30 + 2.7 - 2.9% Domestically. $0.30 + 3.7 - 3.9% internationally. More if you use a money transmitting service. It used to be even more than that! The internet changed how people communicated and made it cheaper because we suddenly had options, alternate opportunities, for communication. It has the power to do the same for money and the costs of using money. For it to do so, we need to opt out, even partially, eliminate the monopoly and take back control. We need to use the free market and choose alternate opportunities for the transfer and storage of value. Cryptocurrencies offer this alternative and remove the monopoly.

Currency as a Barrier

In the same way that limited cellular and internet providers meant higher costs and arbitrary charges from your default provider acted as a barrier to long distance and international communication, using the default currency for your region offers imaginary barriers you can be charged for. I can transfer any value, anywhere in the world for the same price with crypto. My next door neighbor $5 to get her started in crypto, or $100 to a charity in Africa, or $500 to a sibling overseas, or $50k to a business partner, all the same price to send, a price I determine based on the speed necessary. The internet brought us a global economy and my generation revels in it. Regional currencies are outdated and quickly becoming obsolete when we shop from places all over the world and do business with people from every corner of the globe. I personally work with people in France, Spain, the UK, Australia, Canada, Venezuela, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, India, and South Korea in a way that would be impossible even 20 years ago.

So and So Says...

Mark Cuban, Elon Musk, Warren Buffet, whomever. These people usually have a few things in common:

1. Middle aged or older
2. Significant Assets dependent on fiat, particularly USD
3. Clear Conflicts of Interest

Mark Cuban has been saying Bitcoin is in a bubble since around $2100 value. We've passed double that. Adoption is still increasing. He's since changed his position.
Elon Musk founded Paypal, arguably exactly what cryptocurrency is replacing.
Warren Buffett is a world reknowned investor. He steered clear of internet based companies until 2016. His first internet company based deal was potentially Yahoo. In 2016.
Sounds strategies and making money in the old world are firm foundations, but it doesn't make you a visionary capable of seeing potential in new industries or the change that is here.

Summary

Break down imaginary barriers and buy Bitcoin. Take back the power over your money. Move into money designed for the world we live in and the global economy we conduct business in. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are a way to cause a power shift. We've done it with business, we've done it with communication, let's do it with money!

Resteem and Upvote, and Follow me on Twitter! Why do you crypto? What have people said to you for or against crypto or Bitcoin?