Big Coins: The Social, Political and Economic Impact Of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin And Bitcoin Cash
Big coins such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin contribute to the biggest share of the cryptocurrency market and are collectively worth billions of dollars. These big coins have also been characterized by massive volatility, thus affecting the entire cryptocurrency market. However, these cryptocurrencies have also been affecting other areas such as the banking industry, politics, and major economic markets.
Social impact
From a societal point of view, cryptocurrencies have been viewed as better alternatives for storing wealth than fiat currencies. For example, one of the selling points for Bitcoin is that it is an ideal store of value because it not only gains value over the long-term but is also designed to be anti-inflation.
Prior to the cryptocurrency ban in China, the country’s investors had been opting to store their wealth in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin not only as a speculative move but also to avoid the negative effects of inflation. The major cryptocurrencies are clearly shaping how the society views money and are thus encouraging people to take more control of their money.
Political impact
Cryptocurrencies have attracted a lot of opposition from governments all over the world and this has a lot to do with the fact that they are decentralized in nature, making it difficult for governments to control. If anything, big coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have established themselves as forces to be reckoned with and governments clearly do not have the power to shut them down.
Regulatory bodies backed by governments from different countries have resulted in measures aimed at exercising more control over cryptocurrency exchanges rather than the cryptocurrencies themselves. For example, China has banned cryptocurrencies and crypto exchanges in the country but its citizens can still access cryptocurrencies from OTC exchanges and use them for online purchases. Governments have been controlling money and thus they have had control over economies ever since the central bank system was implemented. However, big coins are threatening to take away this control and thus giving the government something to be concerned about. But it seeks that cryptocurrencies are here to stay and thus the need for governments to consider other solutions that will be accommodative to digital currencies.
Economic impact
Big coins have so far had a massive impact on the general economy. For example, they have led to the emergence of businesses that have created employment alongside the creation of more wealth. these cryptocurrencies have also fueled adoption and implementation of blockchain technology into banking systems. Some of the banks that have adopted this technology are using cryptocurrencies to facilitate faster transactions amid other advantages offered by blockchain technology, such as enhanced security and improved systems. Ethereum blockchain has particularly been optimized to facilitate smart contracts, prevent fraud and run without downtime, making it quite attractive to the banking sector and other industries.
