This is a tricky topic, but one I have to cover. To begin with, Bitcoin is just one of many cryptocurrencies. Some have come and gone already, like Robinhood, Troll Coin, and Chickencoin. Others have managed to stay alive despite facing extreme changes in value. The current value of the bitcoin market is over $30 billion US dollars. That is hardly a hobby market. So what is cryptocurrency and why does it even exist?
Investopedia defines cryptocurrency as “a digital or virtual currency secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend.” The primary use was meant to be a way to securely conduct transactions online without the use of an intermediary. An intermediary would be what PayPal does when you buy something from eBay or other sites that don’t handle their own financial transactions. Cryptocurrency is meant to make online transactions easier to complete. What do we know about things once they go online? Everything goes off the rails. Cryptocurrency is no exception.
The darkweb almost exclusively uses cryptocurrency for the transactions that take place there. This includes everything from drug deals, human trafficking, and murder contracts, to name a few. Ransomware demands are typically made in cryptocurrency. The reason for the popularity of cryptocurrency on the darkweb is its use of anonymity in transactions. Bad actors anonymously post contracts for activities with a price they are willing to pay for the services requested. The service provider (another bad actor) accepts the contract and is paid in cryptocurrency without the client ever knowing who they are.
The days of the cryptocurrency wild west have ended. It is becoming controlled and regulated. In the U.S., cryptocurrency has been added to the federal tax income reporting requirements. Many other countries have started to tax and regulate cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency market is stabilizing. This bodes well for the future of cryptocurrency. What makes many traditional financial managers nervous is that unlike regular currency, crypto is not backed by any commodity. That means if it collapses, as many have, holders of cryptocurrencies have no recourse. This is what makes cryptocurrency so scary for a lot of people.
For further reading on this go to: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cryptocurrency.asp
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