If you are just hearing about cryptocurrency, then you would be among the few that have not been enlightened. A cryptocurrency (or crypto currency) is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets.
Bitcoin was introduced to the world in 2009 and since then there have been great strides made in the industry, both positive and negative.
Welcome To The Third World
Basically, the world today is divided into three categories:
- the first world
- the developing world
- and third world
In this article, we will be focusing on the third world and will revisit the other two in separate articles.
Third world countries are countries that are still in the early stages of developing a solid economy. They are made up of a chunk of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The phrase was coined during the cold war for the countries that were not aligned with any of the sides.
The Opportunities Created by Bitcoin
Let's take a look at what bitcoin has to offer:
Little or No Risk of Inflation
In developing countries, to put it mildly, inflation is sort of the order of the day. What your money can buy today can possibly be worth nothing tomorrow.
But with bitcoin there is basically no risk of inflation, the bitcoin system was developed with the primary purpose of being finite, therefore there is no possibility of issuing excess bitcoins which in turn reduces the risk of inflation to about zero. This is a benefit to both sellers and buyers in the third world.
Potential Fraudulent Risks
This is definitely debatable, but we do know that the blockchain records all transactions, it is traceable, at the same time, it is anonymous. Bitcoin evangelists value privacy more than anything and gnerally don't adopt any other cryptocurrency, typically known as "shitcoins". We will address different types of cryptocurrencies in the future.
As we all know, the risk of being defrauded in developing countries has been on the rise specifically in countries like Nigeria, Cambodia, Albania, to name a few. For this main reason, buyers are always cautious of the things they buy online because they would have to divulge sensitive information in the course of payment and this sensitive information might be hacked and used to defraud them.
Bitcoin makes it possible for buyers to complete transactions without having to divulge sensitive financial information. Since bitcoin is a digital currency, it makes it relatively impossible for hackers to intercept.
Import And Export
Most people in developed countries might have the opportunity to enter the import and export trade because of some of the red tape in their countries for currency conversion.
Citizens can directly buy and sell goods from and to different countries. The introduction of the Dark Web allowed bad actors to adopt Bitcoin almost immediately for nefarious purposes.
Foreign Aids
Due to the fact that developing countries are filled with corrupt leaders, and when financial aid is sent to help with local issues, the majority of the money sent is more or less looted.
Bitcoin makes it easier for the impoverished to lift themselves out of poverty by coming up with new, unique solutions. For example, BitPesa can be used to transfer the money directly into the pockets of local people rather than their leaders who will then spend those funds on developing their communities, local businesses and job creation.
Conclusion
In time past, it has been hard for developing countries to enter the realm of first world countries. Time and time again, we see the same failed solutions applied to problems, by the same people. Cryptocurrency has changed that, allowing people to be the driver of their own vehicle.
The new opportunities that bitcoin is creating for the world, we can be inclined to believe there are better days ahead for all developing countries; they simply need to seize the opportunities as they are presented.
Kommentarer