There is only one question that you need to answer regarding your foray into cryptocurrency.
Do you believe blockchain is going to have a substantial impact upon the world or won't it?
That is it.
You should be fearful of your stake in cryptocurrency if you believe that blockchain will be a footnote in history. If you are a person who believes that, yeah there are parallels to the Internet but it will never be able to replicate that, then I guess all this is a pointless exercise. Of course, to take that view, one would have to overlook a host of evidence to the contrary. Blockchain is, by far, the hottest technology this year and I am not talking in terms of hype. Between the money invested, Fortune 1000 companies entering, and the development from average individuals, blockchain is taking off. Nevertheless, these same entities have been wrong in the past so someone can believe that it will happen again.
Now, if you are a person who believes that blockchain has the potential to duplicate, it not surpass, the impact that the Internet did, then you can sleep well at night. You foray into cryptocurrency has a very good chance of rewarding you.
To give you an idea of what is possible, here are some numbers that came out of an article I read earlier today.
While all of these measurements are not exact counts of users, I would approximate the total users of cryptocurrencies to be between 20M-30M people in total worldwide.
20M-30M people out of 7B are involved in cryptocurrency according this this analysis. Even if he is wrong by a factor of 1/2, that means there are less than 60M people involved. Let us even provide a wider margin of error and double that to 120M. What is the potential if the entire cryptocurrency space is 120M people?
Do you think it is too late?
The closest comparison of the path of this technology is the Internet. Using a variety of metrics, we can establish roughly where we are.
If we zoom into 1990–1995 for the internet compared to 2013–2018 in cryptocurrencies:
So where does this put us?
If we are using this parameter as a comparison, cryptocurrency is right where the Internet was in 1994.
Just to provide some contrast, Google was not started until 1998.
I am writing this a day after Bill Gates and Charlie Munger slammed cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin in particular. I will not even go into Munger's comments since it is completely absurd to compare Bitcoin to organ harvesting.
As for Gates, he said he would short it if he could. This is an interesting change in his view from a few years ago.
Naturally, people can change their mind or still believe in something while also feeling it is overpriced.
Nevertheless, many point to what these very wealthy people who have a great deal of knowledge are saying. Let us be honest, Gates is one of the technological titans of the last 30 years. He is not a guy who is foolish.
That said, do not take his word as gospel. It is amazing want some pretty smart people think.
Look at what was said about the Internet.
"I don't know who these zone-heads are," scoffs Charles Wang, the founder and chief executive of Computer Associates, a U.S. software company. "There were only a few hundred million dollars done in transactions in the Internet last year. If it is taking over, that is a pretty small number.
"Put newspapers and magazines out of business? It will never happen," Mr. Wang continues. "I like to read The Sunday [New York] Times, because I don't know what I want to read. The Web is there if you know exactly what you want.
Continue reading the main story
"People say the Internet will replace stores. It will never happen. If you know what you want to buy it is another vehicle. But shopping is a social experience."
Thanks Charles. Now please explain to me how Jeff Bezos is worth over $100B if the Internet is not going to replace stores.
Even Bill Gates, the founder and chairman of Microsoft Corp. and widely regarded as the crown prince of the World Wide Web, was taken unawares by the Internet's grassroots acceptance.
In his book, "The Road Ahead" (not available on-line), Mr. Gates admitted that he believed the technology for "killer applications" was inadequate to lure consumers to the Internet.
Ole Bill certainly missed that one.
It is easy to be right in hindsight which neither of these individuals had at the time of making these statements. The main lesson is to not to take what they say as truth just because of who is saying it. Guys like Bill Gates can miss by a wide margin.
Do you believe blockchain is going to have a substantial impact upon the world or won't it?
If you answered yes, then what are you worried about?
There are most likely under 50M people in the world using cryptocurrency. That means we are going to see billions more joining the party over the next 5-10 years.
We are circa 1994 for the Internet in terms of the adoption and development. That is 4 years before Google, 10 years before Facebook, and 13 years before the IPhone.
As for Hive, this ought to make everyone feel a lot more comfortable. Hive is one of the best blockchains from a technical standpoint. That means all the new traffic is going to need a place to go. Being on a blockchain that is only using .1% of its total capacity puts it in a great position. As we all know, while Bitcoin and Ethereum are trying to figure out how to scale up, Hive is working on other solutions. It is a nice place to be in.
I will close with a warning. Obviously there will be a lot of tokens which end up as nothing. I am not saying to blindly just throw money at stuff. There are scams, underfunded projects, and people in over their heads. However, if one researches and gets involved with quality blockchains that have real world solutions, there is a lot of room for growth.
There are still more people in the state of California than who are involved in cryptocurrency.
To me that means there is high growth potential.
If you found this article informative, please give it an upvote and rehive.
Every time those guys start talking smack I wire more funds into my account.
I believe we've seen literally nothing yet. If Steemit is any indication of what creativity will come through blockchain technology then I say, "Hold onto your jockey shorts". It's going to be wild. Just look at all the creative apps and ideas from a rather small group of folks in a very short period of time. When this hits it's stride the creative potential is limitless. Yes, I'll be investing in EOS, and Steem and other viable blockchains because I believe in human potential. Nothing we've seen so far will unleash human creativity like blockchain will. Our biggest problem will be keeping up with all the new uses for it. Those of us reading this post today will remember the time in early 2018 when we finally committed to riding the wave of Blockchain to a golden shore.
I agree. One of the saddest excuses I hear from people in their 50's and 60's is that they just don't understand computers, and they must be too old. Hogwash! If you like being alive, keep up with the tech. Age is the laziest excuse of all.
Steemit is a trendsetter. It is exciting to be a part of the evolution.
I am 61 turns around the sun. I knew enough about computers to be on facebook. They make it easy. I was following @wwf . He went to steemit. I took one look at it and said to myself " I can't do that" it's too complicated. Motivation is key to learning. I am getting myself free of the controls that keep me from being what I Am. Whatever it takes. Spirit has no age. Peace and Prosperity to you @angelfire808
We are contemporaries @kathylee. My children were funded a computer as a part of our homeschooling program in 1995. I learned right along with them. I may not know all the tech, but I do my best to keep up. It is what keeps us vibrant and alive. Thanks for stopping by.
Spirit is ageless and timeless; as I choose to be.
Billionaires are inherently smart (not ethical or trustworthy) people. They want to artificially lower crypto prices so they can get in cheap, just like Mark Cuban and Soros did. If I were them I would be doing exactly the same thing. Talking crap on the mainstream media while buying every dip there is along the way!
It's happening... and it's happening quickly. All the big tech companies are starting to jump on board and they are creating FUD in the space to slow down the train so they can jump on.
Oracle, Amazon, Cisco, and Microsoft are all clamoring for the blockchain now. Mainstream adoption might not be that far away.
https://www.investopedia.com/news/microsoft-unveils-azure-blockchain-workbench-tools/
Absolutely @cryptoeagle.
Do not listen to what they say but watch what they do.
They are the ones who are looking to get in on the cheap.
I certainly hope, if Gates, did short it, that he gets caught in a huge short squeeze and I dont have a ton of Bitcoin. It would just give me a great deal of pleasure. 😀
Here is the most liked comment on a CCN post about Bill Gates bashing on Bitcoin:
Laurent Wach • a day ago
1876: "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication." — William Orton, President of Western Union.
1903: “The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad.” — President of the Michigan Savings Bank advising Henry Ford’s lawyer, Horace Rackham, not to invest in the Ford Motor Company.
1961: "There is practically no chance communications space satellites will be used to provide better telephone, telegraph, television or radio service inside the United States." — T.A.M. Craven, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner.
1995: "I predict the Internet will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse." — Robert Metcalfe, founder of 3Com.
2007: “There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share.” — Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO.
2018: “[Bitcoin] as an asset class, you’re not producing anything, so you shouldn’t expect it to go up. It’s kind of a pure ‘greater fool theory’ type of investment.” Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corporation.
Congratulations, Mr. Gates. That's how history will now remember you.
Love your comment, it's awesome!
Well, he was right about the telegraph part of his prediction. 😅
Very good advice. Something we should always do. When the big, influential people are pointing in one direction; look the exact opposite direction and you will probably see something much closer to the truth.
I totally agree. They were too slow to catch on back at the beginning. They are now trying to use their influence to get an advantage. Nice. if you have to power to do it.
Wow Munger made THAT comparison?! Geez that’s going way overboard
LOL no dude it was way way worse than that.
https://www.ccn.com/bitcoin-nearly-as-bad-as-trading-harvested-baby-brains-berkshire-vc-munger/
Someone put this senile 94-year-old out of his misery.
Omg anyone over 70 shouldn’t be allowed to comment on technology 🤭😱
Back in the early 90's I was working in the IT industry. When Windows 3.1 came out Bill Gates said that computer would never need more than a MB of RAM. We laughed at him as applications grew in size, complexity and capacity. Billionaires make mistakes too. I never worship them as the only way they are successful is because they have found ways to influence the markets to their own benefit.
Bill Gates is no angel and he is a ruthless business mogul with no moral foundation to claim sainthood or demand to be worshiped. He has influence because current society values fiat wealth.
Blockchain technology will level the field. He is sad that he cannot short the technology because it is not designed like the stock market. There is no way to short it or bet on whether it will drop or not. The rules changed and even they are falling behind to keep up with the new rules.
Those that change are the ones that will do well.
Very true @wwf.
These guys are often successful as a result of luck more so than hard work or genius. Even one of the guys who started Facebook with Zuckerberg said as much.
People are infatuated with celebrities. It is amazing to see how people take what they say as gospel. Sometimes they are spot on but, often, they miss. Predicting the future is never easy...it makes it more difficult when you have a money dependent upon a particular outcome.
Bill's comments and those of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger will prove to be totally wrong in the fullness of time. Most tokens are scams and will end up being worth nothing, but the price of some of the legitimate coins that offer value will increase exponentially. Crypto assets offer an opportunity to achieve life-changing weath.
Enjoy the journey guys. It should be great.
I remember when Google first came out. It was clearly much better than anything on the market. No ads, fast loading, no extras and the search results were actually relevant. When the Google of blockchain arrives we will know. It will solve all the annoying crypto/blockchain problems and be accessible by the masses.
This could be interpreted two ways:
He's afraid to short it but doesn't think it would work because he would lose money because he believes "bitcoin is unstoppable".
Something else is preventing him from actually doing this and he thinks a short would now be profitable because he's changed his mind about the stopability of bitcoin.
https://www.ccn.com/put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is-winkelvoss-dares-bill-gates-to-short-bitcoin/
Bill Gates is full of it. If I had that much money I would have bought at least 1000 of every coin already. There seems to be a prevailing theme: Blockchain is good but crypto is bad. I'm starting to get the sick feeling that all these rich assholes who are bearish on crypto know what they are doing and want humanity to remain enslaved by the old system.
The number of current users of cryptocurrency was hard to wrap my mind around until I read this:
Wow. We really are in the very beginning days of something huge, I believe.
We're gonna party like it's 1994! (or did I get that year wrong?) :-)
You were close.
HAHAHA I almost posted this exact same video, but I thought it would be funnier to go with the 1994 reference. :-)
Yea, like I know blockchain will have a huge impact....cryptos will just be used to power those blockchains, IMO. I see cryptos ending up just being like casino chips and only being used in whatever blockchain they were created for (similar to a casino chip).
Atomic swaps might put a hole in that view.
Interoperability should come to the industry at some point I would think.
Yea potentially. The thing is, it's like printing money....it's so easy to make, so how are we all going to get on board with just one.
"20M-30M people out of 7B" , another create insight ... the world is completely about perspective... unfortunately so many don't have it !
peace, rock on !
crypto's are future, steem will rise soon.
You've drawn great parallels with the internet! The future is uncertain for sure, however I personally am on the positive side as regards CC and Steem.
Done and done.
Crypto will change the world.
Crypto-currencies will especially change the world.
The only question in my mind is:
Is block-chain the BETAmax of consensus algorithms?
But, it really won't matter. If something like DVDs shows up (compared to video tapes), its all software, and bitcoin will be running on it within a fortnight.
The thing about crypto-currencies is that it is not only cheaper in energy usage compared to the old, completely outdated swift system and the banks, it is also the first REAL money we have had in over a century.
I wish i knew whether Gates was being honest.
He is probably saying, "don't get into it before we get into it".
Or he is part of the oligarchy and he is saying, "stay on the plantation. Don't go out and be free, there is danger out there."
Munger's comments since it is completely absurd to compare Bitcoin to organ harvesting.( Murgan comment was totally, what can i say- Bullshit maybe).
Thanks Charles. Now please explain to me how Jeff Bezos is worth over $100B if the Internet is not going to replace stores.( Good point, i liked the argument here)
Blockchain and crypto will replace the world, it is true. It is more than true. Dubai, one of the most booming country. They also said, in 2018-19, they will launch their own crypto currency.
And another point, old people, always afraid of new things. It's up to us to decide, how we create our time as great.
Excellent article, i love to read your writing. Your argument and point making is great. Reading your article, give me more boost and believe. Truth, you beleive it or not.
Can you suggest me some low price potential new coins? i will look into those. I am not too much faimiliar in this field. Just adjusting myself a little by lttle.
Yes, I agree, taskmaster. We’re only at the very beginning of the Impact blockchain will have on the world. 1994 is a good analogy.
That’s why I didn’t sell any of my crypto when prices fell over the last 6 months.
muy interesante. algo para reflexionar como siempre hay gato encerrado jajaja.
I love that chart about adoption rates. That's heartening.
absolutely true.i don't think bill gates and all of these millionaire bashers don't own bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.these people are hypocrites.
For the people who are skeptical and NOT on the blockchain already, I could see them getting on the boat late. For the people who are already utilizing this platform but decide to stop, there must be expecting to get rich quick and got let down. Just as you said in this article, blockchain technology is fairly new and EXPLODING onto the scene right now. To be able to get into something that is growing this fast, makes you money and only costs your time/media is the opportunity of a lifetime!
If you answered yes, then what are you worried about?
I was going to say I was worried about buying the wrong currencies but then you said:
That's pretty much what I'm planning to do so sounds like I@m on the right track and . . .
. . . I have no doubt at all the block chain will change the world. And in ways that we can't even imagine yet! 😊
Great post! I like the comparison with the internet. I didn't think of it before reading the book of Andreas Antonopoulos. He compared crypto and internet in the same way. He also say that at the beginning of internet only few people believed him when he said this thing will change the world. This is exactly what happens with crypto now. A lot of people don't believe it will change the world but I'm sure it will sooner than we think!
My answer is yes.
On Mr. Warren Buffett & his partner Charlie Munger, I maintain huge respect for them because they are people who speak and live true to their philosophy.
Buffett and Munger were never investors for the future. They only invest in assets that are proven stable and safe but are undervalued.
They never invested into Google or Amazon because it is inconsistent with their philosophy. His company Berkshire Hathaway only invested into Apple after 40 years Apple had been in business.
Their philosophy will not allow them to invest into crypto in this lifetime. But that is also the reason for their own success (Berkshire Hathaway is the only fund in the world that has grown its portfolio 20% every year without fail for the past 40 years) and thus I respect them for it.