Over the past few years, more and more people have become aware of crypto, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The majority of people here in the Philippines became familiar with this term.
Photo by Crypto Crow: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-silver-bitcoin-coin-1447418/
When I first heard "cryptocurrency," one thing came to mind: it’s a scam.
Who in their right mind would give free money to someone? However, with the technologies available today, understanding cryptocurrency reveals it to be legitimate and revolutionary. Reading this article can help you determine and judge whether crypto is a scam or not.
Understanding Blockchain Technology
From what I learned from Whiteboard Crypto's video blockchain is a decentralized ledger that records transactions across a network of computers.
Every block contains transactions, and once they are completed, they are added to the chain in chronological order.
I had a hard time understanding this concept, but luckily, there's a video presentation with some images that helped me grasp what was being discussed.
Photo by Anna Tarazevich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cryptocurrency-chart-displayed-on-a-laptop-14751274/ 
Transparency and Immutability
The strongest argument for why crypto is not a scam lies in its transparency and immutability.
Let’s take the Hive blockchain as an example. By using some dapps such as Hiveblocks, you can always view the transactions done by each user. I discovered this by checking some posts that were deleted in error; there is a paper trail that anyone can check.
Aside from Hive, blockchain transactions are accessible to anyone using block explorers for various cryptocurrencies, such as $DOGE and $LTC.
Decentralization and Security
Due to its decentralized nature, no single entity controls the blockchain. This operates via peer-to-peer transactions. This decentralization makes it difficult for malicious actors to compromise the network, proving that crypto is not a scam.
Real-World Applications
As technology grows, the real-world applications of blockchain technology are expanding too. Beyond cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology is being used in various sectors. For instance, in healthcare, Novo Nordisk uses blockchain technology for its clinical trials and to secure patient data. Medicalchain provides patients the ability to grant access to their electronic health records, improving their data security. In logistics, DHL, one of the giants in the industry, uses blockchain-backed logistics to keep track of their transactions and shipments.
Conclusion
It is easy to say that crypto is a scam because some people misuse this technology to deceive others. Sometimes we are skeptical because we lack understanding of the technology behind it. By embracing this technology, we can see other potential uses that can help us in the future too.
So, what do you think? Is crypto still a scam?