Hi there everyone on Hive and the Cent community.
In today's exclusive blog on Hive, we're going to be discussing the immense roles of cryptocurrency in emerging markets.
Original Image Source by Tumisu from Pixabay
Cryptocurrency, the digital form of money, is indeed bringing significant changes to countries that are still growing and developing.
It's been in existence for over a decade with the first crypto token being Bitcoin. From that time till now, it has brought a lot of transformations to how we deal with financial transactions.
Also thanks to the Blockchain technology behind it, there are benefits we enjoy like Decentralization, lack of censorship, transparency and more security.
Let's delve deeper into how it's reshaping these countries shall we.
Financial Inclusion
Cryptocurrency acts as a financial guru in areas where traditional banks are a bit scarce. Banks are not that easy to establish and therefore there may be locations where the people might have difficulties in accessing banks.
Now imagine merely requiring a smartphone and internet access to start saving and spending money. It's similar to having a financial freedom pass.
I've heard stories about people in distant places where banks are very scarce, using their phones for crypto transactions. Crypto had made it more convenient for them to make financial transactions.
It's not just about money but it's also about giving them an opportunity to transform their lives.
Sending Money
Transferring money to family members in another country can be expensive. The fees for cross boarder transactions are no joke. It makes it really difficult for people with low incomes or people on a budget to support their distant friends and families.
Cryptocurrency simplifies this process and reduces costs significantly.
A good friend of my named Jason who has lived in India for 5 years regularly sends money to his family in my country. He use to complain to me about the fees for sending money to his country until I got the experience with cryptocurrency and suggested that he sends it through crypto.
Thankfully I was able to help him complete the Cross-Border transaction for the first time and we were both in shock of how much money he had saved without having to pay those heavy fees that banks used to charge him. It was like getting a bonus.
Protecting Money
In some countries, local currency can lose its value quickly. Cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin, acts more like a shield, keeping your money safe from inflation. Cryptocurrency is the perfect solution for locations or countries where the currency is a bit unstable.
If you've read a few of my blogs on Hive in the past weeks, I made mention of the fact that I keep most of my money in cryptocurrency. The stable coins like USDT helps to avoid the effect of crypto volatility.
One of the reasons why I don't exchange my crypto for traditional cash unless absolutely necessary is that, with the country I'm in, the currency is a bit unstable and has lost value significantly especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
By keeping my money in USDT, I'm basically keeping it in dollars and also in cryptocurrency. That way if I need to make a crypto transaction, there's no need to buy any tokens.
One other investment I'v started making is to keep all my Hive Power without powering down because I strongly believe in the potential of Hive to rise significantly in the distant future.
So if you would observe my Hive Wallet, whenever I get rewarded with HBD and Hive Power, I would exchange the HBD for some other Hive based tokens and never power down my tokens.
Of course I'm not saying that powering down is wrong for anyone, some people may probably have emergencies and would need to power down to have money to handle their issues.
A platform like Ecency for example, powers down once a while to have Money to upgrade their systems and their platform.
Financial Creativity
Cryptocurrency is indeed a fun playground for those who want to be creative with money. It's not solely about purchasing items but it's also about inventing new ways to manage money. Smart contracts for instance, are like highly intelligent agreements.
My 19 year old cousin is very enthusiastic about these smart contracts. He's creating a system to help people save money. It's like watching someone invent exciting financial solutions.
He's only 19 and he's already thinking about the future of cryptocurrency. Indeed crypto has a lot of prospects for those that start investing early.
Entrepreneurship
The good thing is that Cryptocurrency isn't exclusive to big companies, even small startups can join the party. Thanks to Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), it's an avenue for regular people to fund their business dreams.
I extensively discussed on Hive, the role of ICOs in helping to establish start-ups.
Being an entrepreneur myself, I'm close to a lot of people that are trying to start their very own business. I know a guy who started a small business with money he acquired through an ICO on Instagram. It was like witnessing someone's dreams come true with so much ease.
Indeed when crypto meets social media, wonders can happen.
Now although there are great benefits for cryptocurrency in emerging markets, it's really not all smooth sailing. There are still a number of challenges and hurdles to overcome.
Let's briefly discuss some of them shall we
Rules and Regulations
Cryptocurrency can be compared to a wild adventure in some places because of the unclear rules. It can be pretty confusing and even a bit risky.
Most people investing into cryptocurrency worry a lot because they don't know if the rules will change and at what point it will change. There's the fear that new rules can affect investors and holders of crypto and cause them to lose significant wealth.
It's almost like driving without understanding the road signs, pretty risky right?
Security Concerns
Similar to safeguarding your wallet when walking in a park, you must be cautious with digital money. Cryptocurrency can be stolen, and not all places have adequate security.
One big issue with crypto is that you cannot reverse a transaction done on the Blockchain. So one wrong move could be the end.
I heard about someone who lost their cryptocurrency due to falling for a scam. It's basically the end of that money because the transaction cannot be reversed.
It's like when you lose your piggy bank, but in the digital world. The feeling of being tricked is real so you need to be extra careful with your crypto transactions.
Price Volatility
We are all aware of the volatility of cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency prices can experience significant fluctuations and it can happen instantly.
Imagine buying something for $100 today, and it's worth only $50 tomorrow. That's how bad crypto can get. Of course the opposite is also possible where you buy something for $100 today and it's $150 tomorrow.
It's like a serious and extreme financial rollercoaster.
One friend of mine who used to do a lot of crypto trading made money with cryptocurrency, but he also lost some when prices dropped suddenly.
I saw how sad he looked when he was telling me that he lost about $1000 dollars with crypto trade in an instance.
With crypto trading it's like winning a prize one day and losing your wallet the next. It's a real emotional ride. So before you make a crypto trade, make sure you have good information and use smart strategies to mitigate risk and increase your chances of making profits.
To draw the curtains on today's blog, cryptocurrency is indeed revolutionizing emerging markets.
It's a tech-driven transformation full of opportunities and a little touch of drama I must say. The future appears exciting, but it's also necessary to be cautious and smart while using digital money and crypto transactions.
Thanks for taking the time to read today's blog post. I hope you found it insightful and entertaining. As always, my blogs are open for any question or comment you may have regarding the blog topic. I'll be more than happy to respond to your comments.
Have a lovely day and catch you next time in the Cent Community. Goodbye ✍️
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