While playing the Stock Market may not be for you, you may want to reconsider when it comes to digital currency. The worth of Bicoin is on the rise, with it’s value surpassing $1,000 for the first time since November 2013.
“Who wants to be a mystery Millionaire?” except instead of Regis Philbin asking, it’s users of Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a universal, internet currency that can work on any computer or mobile phone and does not require a credit card, bank account or the sharing of any personal identification to use or acquire, which means your transactions are anonymous. It also uses the concept of a blockchain, the innovation of a decentralized public ledger that tracks every transaction in bitcoin’s history.
The uptick in value for this currency may indicate a growing, global distrust of financial systems. Likewise, current events may have played their part. In China, there was a 7% annual drop in the value of the yuan in 2016, which is the Chinese currency’s weakest annual performance in over 20 years. Meanwhile in India, the Prime Minister removed high-denomination banknotes from circulation, causing a lean toward a cashless economy with help from Bitcoin, as well as the Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app, among others.
Over 100,000 companies worldwide now accept bitcoin for payment -International Business Times
It seems like the concept of digital currency may be starting to catch on
There are still challenges to overcome, but blockchain technology stands poised to rewrite how business is conducted if its potential is achieved. Are you ready?
Blockchain may be the least well known, but it is definitely poised to impact data centers in the coming year. Blockchain is the technology underlying Bitcoin, and some analysts suggest its potential enterprise uses could far exceed its helpfulness in tracking digital currency.
Blockchain is a distributed database that is used to record an ever-growing list of transactions. It doesn’t require any permission to access it, but it’s nearly impossible to tamper with the data it holds. In other words, everyone can see what is written there, but no one can erase or change it.
In the future, Blockchain could be used to track many different kinds of data, to speed and secure financial transactions, or even to prevent voter fraud.
Like mobile and cloud, blockchain — first implemented in the original source code of bitcoin in 2009 — stands poised to profoundly disrupt business. If it lives up to its promise, it won't just be financial institutions that are disrupted.
"If you can transfer money or something of value through the internet just like another form of data, what else can you do with it? It provides a way to establish trust in the digital world," says Angus Champion de Crespigny, Financial Services Blockchain and Distributed Infrastructure Strategy Leader, Ernst & Young. "How do you ensure something is the original copy of something on the internet? Prior to blockchain technology, you couldn't."
"If you want to prove something happened in the digital world, there is no more secure place to do that," he adds. "Once information is recorded on there, it is, for all intents and purposes, impossible to go back and retroactively change that. When there are such drastic new technologies that emerge, it isn't just a matter of looking at your business and thinking how this technology is going to make your business more effective. What you should be doing is considering that maybe your business isn't structured correctly for this new world."
