Is Bitcoin the cryptocurrency of the poor? Myth or reality?
While Bitcoin is the founding cryptocurrency, the one that happened the decentralized finance path we know today, therefore, the one that led to empowerment to the common citizen of the world, this does not mean that it is an ideal cryptocurrency for the poor. And it is that this cryptocurrency works more as a long-term valuation asset, very similar to gold since it also has limited production, but with the value of decentralization as an aggregate.
Therefore, it is not surprising that almost no one wants to spend their Bitcoin fractions on the purchase of a coffee or the payment of public transport fare, quite the contrary, the people want to obtain profits in the medium or long term.
Proof of this is the Bank of America recently named Bitcoin as the best asset of the decade; this is because it has had the best performance in the period between 2010 and 2020, putting as an example that having invested 1 USD in 2010 Today it equals a staggering $ 90,026.
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According to the Bank of America, Bitcoin would be the most profitable cryptocurrency of all time, since, for its first adopters, it would mean a return on investment of up to 1.3 million USD.
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Now and in contrast to what was previously said, we can find other cryptocurrencies called altcoins with better benefits and performance for use in people with fewer resources, ideal for micropayments and what can be used daily to buy a coffee, or pay a passage of public transport, of this type of cryptocurrencies we find many, here are some examples:
Stellar
It is a decentralized Blockchain platform that works as a kind of global exchange in real-time, where you can exchange any type of cryptocurrency or fiat currency for another in just seconds (between 2 and 5 seconds), all this for just commissions that don't exceed 0.001 USD, can you believe it?
Its vehicle currency is Lumens (XLM), through which more than 1,000 transactions per second can be made, an excellent number if we consider that with the BTC of Bitcoin, only seven transactions per second can be made, and 25 with the ether of Ethereum.
As a curious fact, Stellar was born from a fork of Ripple, which is why he shares his technology and vision of tearing down the world's financial borders. Stellar also seek to do it through very cheap commissions, with great speed and in a safe and reliable way. However, it is important to highlight the differences. Stellar is a decentralized Blockchain platform that it is run by a non-profit foundation named; Stellar Development Foundation, or Stellar.org.
The most important fact is that Stellar's philosophical, ethical and moral principle is completely different from Ripple since Stellar is aimed at people with fewer resources, as stated by the objective and mission of the Stellar.org foundation:
Objective:
“Solve the common problems that today prevent anyone from accessing the banking world.”
Mission:
“Connecting people with low-cost financial services to combat poverty and maximize the individual potential.”
If you want to know more about Stellar, tell us your question, and we will write a complete article focused on this Blockchain platform and its cryptocurrency Lumens (XLM).
Dash
It is the first cryptocurrency based on the Bitcoin code, whose central idea is focused on privacy in your transactions. It also has a secondary P2P network (powered by master nodes) dedicated to providing special services for the Dash network, which in turn endow it with special characteristics:
The privacy and anonymity that is represented by the PrivateSend service, in which the sources of the amounts exchanged, are hidden for the financial privacy of its users.
Instant transactions. Goodness represented by the InstantSend service. Dash is one of the fastest cryptocurrencies on the market, as operations can be completed in just 4 seconds.
Blockchain Self-Sustainable Decentralized Governance System (DGBB). This seeks to solve two cryptocurrency problems; governance and financing. This feature of Dash has turned out to be a genius for decentralization and promoting technological and cultural infrastructures of this cryptocurrency worldwide.
Thanks to these features, Dash is a cryptocurrency that offers great solutions to the least wealthy people in the world, proof of this is that transaction fees are quite low, they can cost less than a penny of USD for a speed of instant transaction (if it is done through the Dash InstantSend service, otherwise it takes 2.5 minutes), that is, benefits far superior to those of the main cryptocurrencies in the market such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
These particular benefits of Dash make it an ideal Blockchain and cryptocurrency platform for micro-payments, almost unfeasible stocks for Bitcoin and Ethereum. That is why Dash has become a complete financial solution in developing countries, mainly Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, and Nigeria.
But this does not end here, and that is that Dash is also a comprehensive platform capable of solving various problems in different social groups:
The poorest are benefited by low commissions. Even Dash developed a system whereby low-income people can make payments through a service called DashText. DashText is a unique service that offers the ability to create a Dash wallet just using a phone with SMS support. This system is designed to massify and facilitate the use of cryptocurrency in places without an internet connection. The main advantage of the system is that you don't need a smartphone to use Dash. The pilot of this program started in Venezuela and then spread to Colombia. It is expected to continue to Argentina and Nigeria.
Not only does it benefit the poorest through low commissions, or easy payment mechanisms, it also encourages entrepreneurs from the most humble communities to generate entrepreneurship ideas focused on the positive impact of their community, if these Entrepreneurship proposals are approved by Dash's treasury (10% of the approval votes of the masternodes). Their projects will be financed, without a doubt, a win-win situation for the entrepreneur and his community.
Entrepreneur: whether this is a small, medium or large, you are given the opportunity to join the Dash payment network, if this is achieved, it will also be a win-win situation for the entrepreneur and the client, as this would stimulate the long-awaited decentralized society, free from governments, central banks, and other social monopolies. Venezuela, for example, is the country where the largest human, technological and cultural infrastructure of Dash has been created or developed, currently this Latin American country has 835 businesses that accept cryptocurrency as a payment method, according to the latest data from Discover Dash (portal specialized in listing the companies that accept Dash as a payment method worldwide), if you want to visit the countries that follow Venezuela: the USA, Colombia, Austria, and Nigeria, click on the following link: https://discoverdash.com/
Dash Vision:
“Offer an anonymous cryptocurrency, with low commissions, fast, portable, socially expandable and self-financing.”
The above are just two of the Blockchain platforms that serve as a reference of what characteristics a cryptocurrency focused on the poor should have. We are sure that there are many projects if you know of another write it in the comments and we will talk about them in the next installment.
Continuing with the case of Bitcoin, all the exchange places in the world maintain a withdrawal commission standard that oscillates more or less at 0.0005 BTC as a minimum, which is about 4.31 USD. Imagine paying that much for each transaction for purchasing a cup of coffee. If fee could even be more expensive than buying the coffee, without taking into account the speed of the transaction that usually takes at least 10 minutes, But if the transaction amounts are micro-payments, they can take even hours. It should be noted that there are already payment accelerators such as “Lightning Network,” however, this protocol has not yet managed to solve Bitcoin's scalability problems, it is still in testing and development today.
Check out this interesting article by Remitano:
Lightning Network: why it's the solution to Bitcoin's biggest problem
In contrast, altcoins like Lumens and Dash offer much cheaper commissions in general, of course, it should not be forgotten that commissions will always depend on the Exchange of your choice. However, the general standard is usually the same in most exchange places. Remember that if you decide to use the direct software of these platforms and cryptocurrencies, the commissions will always be even cheaper. However, the security of your cryptocurrencies is on your own, the security of your computer determines the security of your cryptocurrencies.
All the data exposed above are evidence that considering Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency of the poor is a myth far from reality.
However, we must thank this founding cryptocurrency for opening the way for decentralized finance in the 21st century. It has inspired a large number of projects called altcoins, and that brings together the necessary characteristics in terms of economy and scalability to put cryptocurrency technology more and more at the hands of citizens of the world. Most especially those who have fewer resources, and they are often located in developing countries—no wonder why countries like Venezuela and Nigeria are great leaders in the market.
Most likely, Satoshi Nakamoto, with his vision of P2P digital money, without the intervention of governments and public or private monopolies, wanted Bitcoin to be the strategic financial instrument to safeguard capital and empower the ordinary citizen of the world.
However, along the way, Bitcoin became a long-term valuation asset as or more exclusive than gold, and those who have the largest gold reserves in the world, without a doubt, are the richest and the most powerful.
What Bitcoin yes has demonstrated is being a financial tool that helps lift people out of poverty, if you want to read the most typical cases of people who became rich thanks to Bitcoin, stay tuned for our next installments.
Marcelo Durán – Columnist and Journalist
from BitcoinExchangeGuide https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/is-bitcoin-the-cryptocurrency-of-the-poor-myth-or-reality/
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