There’s a famous saying in the cryptocurrency market, that we all come for the money but stay for the tech. But, how many of us are using cryptocurrency for what it was intended for? The answer might surprise you. Perhaps this is the final step that is required for prices to go to those prediction levels that we have dreamed about. Adoption must increase to a point where people are using crypto, and potentially even prefer it over regular fiat.
Let me first tell you that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being in crypto for the money. As I mentioned before it is likely the reason that most of us entered the market. It is a key component that has kept this market relevant for years. It is what attracts new people into this market each cycle. However, if we want to see Bitcoin’s price someday reach $1 million, or Ethereum rise to $50k, things will need to change. Actual use in the industry and people understanding the value of what they own must come first.
These things take time but are slowly changing.
The narrative around Bitcoin in the last couple of weeks has completely changed. With the collapse of several banks and people beginning to understand that they don’t actually own or control their money in the bank. The market opinion on Bitcoin has done a complete 3 turn. Suddenly a large percentage of westerners have woken up to its true use case. Being able to buy, transact without a 3rd party, take self-custody, and cannot be seized if stored properly. The amount of Bitcoin bought and being taken off exchanges in the last few weeks has been record amounts.
While these people are likely ecstatic to see the price of Bitcoin go from $19k up to $28k during this time. They are also just as happy to have full custody of their assets during this time of financial turmoil. The amount of relief a person can have going to bed each night knowing that they truly own their own money while seeing banks collapse across the country cannot be overstated. The world is beginning to wake up to this.
This isn’t the first time within the last year that crypto’s real use-case not only gave peace of mind but also could have prevented people from financial disasters. The other time is DeFi.
2022 was a year most would like to forget for cryptocurrency. It was one of the most difficult years in cryptocurrency history, and if you survived with your portfolio still intact. That would be considered a major success. It was the summer of insolvencies, with nearly every 3rd party lending company going under. From BlockFi, Celsius, Voyager, Vauld, Hodlnaut, 3AC, and FTX, all went bankrupt. As these companies' financial troubles became known and they froze customers' funds, there was one type of liability that they did pay. Their DeFi loans.
The reason for this is simple. There was no way they could weasel their way out of this, there was nothing their lawyers could say. They put up the collateral for the loan, and the terms were set in the smart contract. If they didn’t pay their positions would be liquidated and they would have lost an even larger amount of crypto. And so to prevent this and recover as much crypto as possible, they were forced to repay their DeFi loans. The 3rd party lending landscape was in chaos around us, but DeFi was working like it was designed to. It was a real defining moment for the industry.
These are the two defining moments from the last year of how cryptocurrencies’ real use case is finally coming to light and being used. But, how do you actually use it?
In the past, my main use-case of crypto has been sending international payments for next nothing in price. Once you have begun moving around the world, and had to deal with remittance services, that is when you will begin to finally understand why cryptocurrency is needed. Also because I have moved around the world often, this has made transporting my wealth much, much easier. Never needing to worry about wiring large amounts of money overseas, or taking cash through customs. It has made life much simpler and stress-free in that regard.
How about you? How do you use cryptocurrency?
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