This week I attempted to introduce my brother (a musician) to Hive. He shrugged off the idea as I expected but the conversation was overheard by my parents. This started the very awkward situation of trying to explain cryptocurrency (which I admit I still don't fully understand) to people of a generation that were dragged into the digital age kicking and screaming.
The discussion didn't last long, and ended with "sounds like a scam". Until I park up a brand new tesla outside paid for by bitcoin profits they'll be suspicious of it.
But my Dad had heard of Bitcoin before, and understood that it has come a long way. This lead to a discussion of its progress, explained to him as if he was a child. (Anyone that has technophobe parents will understand).
The aforementioned conversation got me thinking. Maybe I could write a dummies guide to the history of Bitcoin. So here goes.
Monopoly money
2009 - early 2010
Worthless except in very specific situations. In monopoly moneys case: a game of Monopoly (duhh), in Bitcoins case, shared amongst crypto-enthusiasts as a hobby. I feel as if a lot of technophobes still regard bitcoin as this stage.
Arcade tokens
May 2010 - 2011
Still of very little monetary value, but now exchangeable to people that recognised its potential, dark Web exchanges and that pizza purchase.
Crypto debit cards
2014???
I had to remake the cover photo for this article because of this! I had no idea crypto debit cards had been around for so long. They work by converting your crypto to the currency the vendor requires, so you're not technically paying with crypto. But they allow you to pay in real world situations, which was a huge step for crypto. (Even if people that used them back in 2014 are probably kicking themselves now).
Precious metals
2017 onwards
It was this year that Bitcoin hit $5000, and people really started taking notice. From this point on it became a store of value. Exploding in price but not being applied any more than it already was. An investment.
What's next?
Who the hell knows! My guess is more vendors may start accepting crypto straight from the debit cards (tesla already has), negating the need to convert to fiat. And once that happens I'm not sure what else is left except to admit crypto is a legitimate currency that shouldn't be shied away from.
Did I miss any usability milestones? Anything that would have made a better analogy? Let me know!
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