Introduction

Digital currencies are often called Cryptocurrencies due to the intricate technical details related to cryptography, but it did not start here. When looking back at human history, from the cowry shells of the Asian region to the first coinage in ancient kingdoms, mankind first saw printed money in medieval times. This breakthrough was followed by modern-day electronic versions of money. Today, there is an international banking ecosystem, which consists of banknotes, credit/debit cards, derivatives, stocks, bonds and much more. It was a combination of human ingenuity and societal commitments that drove the need to come up with innovative solutions to tackle the most intricate concept of human interaction handling the exchange of value. Cryptocurrencies represent the next level in the evolution of money. The technology behind this new form of money called blockchain. It is entirely driven by math and is completely decentralized. Most notably, unlike all previous forms of money, cryptocurrencies are not able to be manipulated. It is essentially money 2.0.

Blockchain is experiencing a period of exponential growth and adoption, not unlike the collective transition towards internet use in the 90’s. Established in 2008, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency based on blockchain. In just a matter of years, it has become a legitimate and tradable commodity on a global scale. It has massive liquidity with billions of dollars ofBitcoin traded and used daily. This exceeds the GDP of many sovereign nations. In fact, the market capitalization of Bitcoin now exceeds that of Goldman Sachs. There are 16 million Bitcoins in circulation among thousands of holders. Bitcoin is only one of the more than 1,700 cryptocurrencies available for people to buy, use and trade. These other coins are known as altcoins. Many are based on the Bitcoin platform, others on highly liquid Ethereum and Litecoin. The features of the coin vary widely from practical to practically useless depending on the underlying technology. However, there exists a dramatic misalignment in the metamorphic shift to digital currencies.

The major underlying problem is that traditional financial institutions and the related governing and operating regulations are not well aligned with cryptocurrencies. The concept behind public banks was designed and conceived hundreds of years ago. This is the early stage of a transition towards the decentralization of the financial world. But there is resistance. The powerful and entrenched institutions are not keen to transact in cryptocurrency. And the influence of powerful special interest groups ensures that traditional banks do everything possible to reject this new form of capital. However, blockchain technology makes the adoption of cryptocurrencies possible. It is mathematically fluid and moves much faster than a central bank, a regulatory body or international fiscal treaties. Currently, there exists an intermediate “limbo” state whereby many cryptocurrency holders are unable to benefit from the corresponding economic value. There must be a solution to this critical problem that is affecting a rapid increasing amount of people.

This year, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) appear to have exploded from the ether.

A digital asset that depicts real-world elements like as images, music, in-game items, and more is known as an NFT. They're bought and traded online, often using cryptocurrency, and they're usually encoded with the same software as many other cryptos.

Despite the fact that they've been around since 2014, NFTs are gaining in popularity as a more popular means to buy and sell digital art.

The term "non-fungible token" refers to a token that is not fungible. It's usually programmed in the same way as cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, is, but it's not the same

Last updated