About 11 years ago, the Bitcoin revolution began!
Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto, a mysterious individual (or group of individuals) whose identity is still unknown till today. The Bitcoin revolution began when Satoshi released and published the now legendary Bitcoin white paper and soon after mined the first Bitcoin block in 2008 - popularly known as the Genesis block. Since then, Bitcoin has created a ripple effect of change in the tech and financial sectors.
The question to ask now is "how has the Bitcoin revolution transformed the world?" Here are some of the clearest examples of changes brought upon Bitcoin:
The creation of Bitcoin and other digital currencies have changed our perception of what money could be as a means of payment, transaction, and store of value. Bitcoin has also proven that fiat currency (in physical form) is not the be all end all of the financial transactions, but virtual or digital money can - in fact - be a better alternative.
There were many sceptics at the beginning. A lot of people were unsure about buying or investing in Bitcoin, as its future was completely unknown. For all they know, it could have been a massive scam or pyramid scheme. Today, it's clear that Bitcoin has proven a lot of naysayers wrong and has only grown stronger in this past decade in terms of adoption and real-world application.
One of the most attractive aspects of Bitcoin is its cost-efficient way of making financial transactions. Just months ago an unknown Bitcoin address moved $310 million worth of BTC for a fee of only $0.32. If the same transaction was made through conventional banks, the transfer would've taken a much longer time and the fees would've been in the tens of thousands.
Bitcoin as a means of payment globally will enable millions of people to pay for goods and services across borders without having to pay inflated fees that are charged by conventional banking systems.
Unlike fiat money, Bitcoin is not controlled by any single government. It operates on the blockchain network as a trustless and immutable network that cannot be manipulated by any institution or government.
What this means is that, with Bitcoin, you are in control of your money! And you are your own bank.
You can spend your Bitcoin whenever and however you want without restrictions. This has created a brand new financial system governed by complex mathematical algorithms instead of humans or corporations. And it is safer and far more secure than our current banking systems.
Buying Bitcoin is also a lot easier today, thanks to peer-to-peer crypto exchanges like Remitano. You can buy Bitcoin with your local currency where all transactions are securely made through escrow.
Bitcoin has made instant millionaires (and in some cases, billionaires) like nothing else before it. It has also helped to bank the unbanked, giving people access to buy, sell and store their wealth in cryptocurrencies.
The early adopters who began investing in Bitcoin made a fortune when its value began to increase exponentially year after year. It has increased by over 7,200,000% since it was first mined in 2009.
Many experts and seasoned traders are projecting BTC price to skyrocket to above $100,000 within years after the Halving event in mid-2020. There's reason to believe that this is only the beginning and that more wealth is yet to be created and distributed.
Here are some well-known Bitcoin millionaires who had the foresight and courage to invest in BTC early on:
The Winklevoss brothers are popular figures in the crypto space. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss won $65 million from the Facebook lawsuit and invested a whopping $11 million into Bitcoin in 2013 (when the value was still $120 per BTC). They currently have one of the largest Bitcoin portfolios in the world.
Erick Fineman borrowed $1,000 to purchase bitcoin in 2011 when it was worth around $12. The move paid off in 2013 when the Bitcoin price increased to $1,200. He then sold his Education startup in 2015 and received 300 BTC as payment (instead of $100,000 in US Dollars). By investing in Bitcoin at an early age, he was able to fulfill his dream of becoming a teenage millionaire at the age of 18.
This is another known Bitcoin millionaire who bought a lot of Bitcoin when the price was still $0.20 and sold when it rose to $255.
As the saying goes, "During the gold rush it's a good time to be in the pick and shovel business." The creation of a new financial instrument like Bitcoin became a catalyst to the growth of a new breed of fintech startups - exchanges, hedge funds, custodians, wallet providers, and tonnes more.
It has led to the creation of thousands of new jobs and expanded remote employment opportunities to hopeful candidates all around the world.
This growth influenced the birth of digital financial exchanges like Binance, Bitstamp, and Remitano, to name a few. These platforms were created to give users more control over their finances on a safe and secure platform.
Binance became the first startup to attain the status of a profitable tech unicorn, all without the need for any banking facilities. The crypto titan was valued at over $1 billion within its first year of operations. Today, they employ hundreds of employees across every continent.
Remitano, too, had humble beginnings and filled a void in the emerging market by providing a user-friendly platform for peer-to-peer crypto trading. It allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin using their local currencies like Nigerian Naira (NGN), Malaysian Ringgit (MYR), Vietnamese Dong (VND), and many more.
The platform also offers crypto swapping, where Bitcoin can also be swapped for other cryptocurrencies or altcoins such as ETH, USDT, XRP, and BCH. And vice versa.
Change is here
The Bitcoin revolution has created a massive wave of change in the financial industry and beyond. Regardless of the bad press that Bitcoin has received over the years and its infamous market volatility, it's safe to say that Bitcoin is here to stay.
Bitcoin is on the road to fulfilling the promise of Satoshi Nakamoto and its pioneering adopters whose goal is designed to revolutionise money as a trustless and decentralized digital currency.
In just 11 years of existence, Bitcoin has managed to bank the unbanked, transform the financial sector, redefine money, and foster the growth of groundbreaking technologies.
If Bitcoin was able to achieve all of these within a decade, it is certain that the best that Bitcoin has to offer is yet to come.
