So, a lot has been going on in the crypto space lately. Cryptocurrency hash exploded in the last couple of years, so I wanted to share with you my personal thoughts on what the future might hold for cryptocurrecies.
#1: Not BitCoin
BitCoin, the first cryptocurrency ever, has essentially become part of the english language. In fact, many people don't know that there even are other cryptocurrencies. So, it seems unlikely that it will disappear anytime soon.
On the contrary, I strongly believe that bitcoin will fade away in the face of other currencies that have an actual purpose other than simply to be a cryptocurrency, like for example Ethereum's Ether that can be used to invoke smart contracts or Nimiq, which can process online payments rapidly and runs entirely in your browser.
This is because the bitcoin network has a few inherent flaws. While it does have a smart contract engine, it is extremely flawed, mainly because it does not support loops of any kind, so using it for smart contracts can basically be ruled out. What is left is bitcoins ability to act as a decentralized currency for online payments, which is heavily impaired by the fact that a node running on a central server is required to process those payments, and that only a certain amount of transactions can fit into one block, thereby limiting the processing speed.
So, while it will be sad to see the iconic currency go, I believe that is already doomed. It was a monumental first step in the world of decentralized currencies and laid the groundwork for every other currency out there, but the improvements that have been made upon it are so vast, that the only thing keeping it afloat these days is its ubiquitous name and insane popularity.
#2: Smart Contracts
In the world of decentralized services, smart contracts are an infinitely powerful tool that enables massive inovations. As more people begin to use cryptocurrency, more smart-contract based services will pop up, giving more people a reason to use cryptocurrency. One could say that the increasing popularity of self-enforcing contracts is a self-fullfilling prophecy.
#3: DeFi
DeFi or Decentralized Financial services are financial services built on the blockchain. This includes decentralized lenging, asset trading and many more. These are the aforementioned services that will continue to pop up as cryptocurrency becomes more popular and fuel the cryptocurrency world.
I don't think it'll happen soon, but I definitely believe that it is possible for defi to take over regular banks in popularity.
#4: A universal blockchain
Everyone likes having everything in one place. No one likes managing many different things. This includes crypto wallets. No one wants to have an ethereum wallet for DeFi, a Nimiq wallet for online purchases, a Stellar wallet for yet another type of DeFi, etc.
If cryptocurrency is really going to gain in popularity, it has to become easier to manage everything with one blockchain. Imagine the speed and browser-friendliness of Nimiq, coupled with the smart contract abilities of Ethereum and a couple fancy new features like scheduled smart contract calls.
In conclusion
That's all for now. I hope you liked this and maybe even learned something new. If so, check back again soon since I'll be posting new content hopefully at least once a month.