Since the inception of Bitcoin about a decade ago, a
Since the inception of Bitcoin about a decade ago, a lot has been said and done regarding the invention. It has become more popular than ever in society today. We have previously discussed the question: Will Cryptocurrencies Be Widely Accepted? and gained some much-needed perspective.
So what I instead wanted to explore in this piece was that whether or not it is viable to have a Bitcoin economy in 2019, given the current social and financial realities that we live in.
One of the biggest impediments to a Bitcoin economy will be the limited knowledge that people have of cryptocurrencies. Even this knowledge, is restricted to a minority of the population which includes the urban, educated elite.
The more we venture out into remote and rural areas, we discover that the people are completely unaware of what cryptocurrencies are and how they function. It is only natural that these people have no clue about Bitcoin, since basic survival is a day to day task for them. Considering this dire situation, the need of the hour is to educate people at the grassroot level, about the concept of a digital economy based on cryptocurrency.
Coming back to the urban populace, only a minority who have a knack for technology and keeping up with the finance market, actually keep tabs on crypto news, the rest are blissfully ignorant. To most, Bitcoin still appears to be a pyramid scheme which can make one a millionaire overnight.
Under these fundamental constraints, it is not possible to conceptualize or even consider of having a Bitcoin economy in 2019. There is still a long way to go before Bitcoin becomes a household concept. For the economy to actually accomodate cryptocurrency, more people need to be made aware of the digital asset first.
Efforts to raise awareness and promote the concept of a transparent, non-exploitative and online financial system should be undertaken, so that in the near future, we can hopefully adopt cryptocurrencies in our day to day lives.