CBDC – Central Bank Digital Currencies: An Effort by Governments to Digitize Currency

by Jana Bulkin | Oct 7, 2023 | Blockchain, Digital Transformation, Digitalisation, Top Article

CBDC – Central Bank Digital Currencies: An Effort by Governments to Digitize Currency

At this point, technology has infiltrated every single facet of our lives. It now has a broad range of use cases across all sectors. It is a far cry from several decades ago when its applications primarily existed in manufacturing, communication, and a few other vital industries.
One of the areas in which technological solutions have been applied extensively in finance. For instance, Artificial Intelligence is being used to develop bots that help stock traders to execute trades in the stock market.

Blockchain technologies also promise to revolutionize modern currency as we know it through decentralized cryptocurrencies. Therefore, we need to understand clearly how technology is transforming various sectors of our economies.
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Central Bank Digital Currencies

The primary role of central banks across the world is to regulate the monetary ecosystem of their native countries. As such, they are responsible for printing and issuing legal currency, regulating its supply, formulating policies, and overseeing other financial institutions.

For a long time, Central banks’ functions as central monetary authorities have been based on fiat currencies. This is because fiat currencies have been the primary medium of exchange and store of value.

However, technological advancements have shifted from this traditional dynamic of the financial ecosystem, and Central banks have had to adapt correspondingly. And one main product of this adjustment by Central banks? Well, central bank digital currencies.

So what are they?

Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) are called digital base money or digital fiat currency. They are essentially digital versions of the legal tender issued by a nation’s Central bank.
The rise of cryptocurrencies has primarily driven governments’ development of CBDCs worldwide. More people continue to embrace cryptocurrencies as a tradable asset and a potentially reliable medium of fulfilling payments.

However, due to their decentralized nature, cryptocurrencies are not regulated by any authorities. This provides users with extensive freedoms, including peer-to-peer transactions and the ability to transfer funds anonymously.

The lack of a central regulatory authority also leaves users vulnerable to cybertheft, extreme volatility, and market crashes that result in massive financial losses. This is why Central banks worldwide are developing CBDCs to provide people with regulated digital payment options to shield and protect them against the dangers of decentralized currencies.

Some of the countries that have made significant strides in developing functional CBDCs or have plans underway to implement them include;

China – DC (Digital currency)

Sweden – e-krona

The Bahamas – Sand Dollar

The Eastern Caribbean Currency Union – DXCD

The Marshall Islands – SOV (The Sovereign)

Types of Central Bank Dgital Currencies

There are two main types of CBDCs;

Wholesale CBDCs; These CBDCs are primarily meant to enable institutions to transfer funds between different banks and hold reserve deposits in central banks.
Retail CBDCs; Designed to cater to the digital currency needs of consumers and businesses. They are useful in protecting consumers and businesses from losing their assets in the event of the bankruptcy of a private digital currency issuer.

What is the relationship between CBDCs and cryptocurrencies? Are they the same?

Cryptocurrencies are defined as “virtual currencies that exist in digital form.” CBDCs also have a digital element as they are considered the “digital representation” of fiat money issued by governments.

Therefore, it goes without saying that cryptocurrencies and CBDCs share a very fundamental trait—they are both digital-based. But what is the extent of their relationship, and what are the implications of this fundamental similarity?

Succinctly put, cryptocurrencies are not a type of CBDC, and CBDCs are not a type of cryptocurrency. Rather, there is a very stark difference between these two types of currency that is primarily rooted in the nature of their governance.

Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that exist on a decentralized network called the Blockchain. On the other hand, Central bank digital currencies are digital currencies issued by central banks and backed by fiat currency.

With cryptocurrencies, there is no central monetary authority regulating supply and transactions. Rather, trust is established through consensus mechanisms were the participants on the decentralized network have to approve and validate all transactions.

Transaction data is then recorded on an immutable public ledger that cannot be altered. Additionally, most cryptocurrencies are not backed by other traditional assets like fiat money or gold with the exception of stable coins whose value is pegged to fiat currencies.

In the case of CBDCs, issuance, supply, and circulation are regulated by a central monetary authority, a nation’s Central bank. It is the Central bank that enforces a system of trust between users. Also, unlike cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are backed by fiat money issued by the government.

This is the reason why CBDCs are considered to be more similar to stablecoins than they are to conventional cryptocurrencies. These are the primary differences between cryptocurrencies and CBDCs that are important to understand.

Benefits of Central Banks Digital Currencies

The existence of every innovation is justified by its use cases and how it impacts the predominant way of doing things in its respective industry. As such, several benefits accrue from the use of Central bank digital currencies. They are as follows;

a) Enhanced financial stability

Most digital currencies, like cryptocurrencies, are designed to offer people a reprieve from the limitations of conventional fiat money. However, crypto markets are often characterized by high volatility due to the intensive speculation by investors, which directly affects prices.

This leads to frequent price fluctuations and makes crypto unreliable as a unit of account, medium of payment, and store of value. On the other hand, CBDCs offer a much more stable form of digital currency.
This is mainly because, similar to stablecoins, CBDCs are backed by the fiat currency of their respective countries. Their values do not fluctuate randomly; instead, they imitate the dynamics of the fiat currency. This makes them a more reliable medium of payment and value store than other digital currencies.

b) Lower transaction costs

CBDCs enable people to own deposit accounts directly with Central banks. Resultantly, people can transfer money to each other in a peer-to-peer transaction system that requires no third-party intermediaries like commercial banks.

This makes the cost of completing transactions lower as people do not need to pay transaction fees which third-party intermediaries normally charge. This can go a long way in not only saving people money but also making financial services accessible by people who are usually unable to meet the transactional costs of conventional financial systems.

c) Faster cross-border transactions

International trade has continued to grow at a higher rate yearly due to expansion in production volumes, globalization, and increased bilateral and multilateral cooperation between various world nations.

As a result, the trade volumes across borders have increased. However, the payment systems for facilitating this cross-border trade have, for a long time, remained to be slow, inefficient, and costly.

As a result, payments take too long to be completed and lead to delays in the procurement of other goods hence undermining trade. However, CBDCs offer a practical solution to this challenge. This is because they rely less on third-party payment companies to transfer money.

Rather, they facilitate real-time payments direct from payers to payees. This eliminates the long processes that result from an intricate ecosystem with complex financial structures.

d) Increased safety and protection for consumers

One major concern plaguing cryptocurrencies has been the adverse effects of the lack of regulation in the sector. From fraudulent crypto projects to very high volatility and sudden market crashes, lack of regulation has been cited as among the causes of problems in the crypto ecosystem.

Because they are digital-based, CBDCs retain some of the positive qualities associated with cryptocurrencies while benefiting from the regulatory oversight of Central banks. This helps to ensure that users are not exposed to potentially catastrophic financial situations unnecessarily without a body to protect them.

e) Easier monitoring of financial crimes

Another major challenge associated with conventional fiat money and cryptocurrencies is the difficulty of tracing and stopping criminal activity like money laundering and tax evasion using money trails.

Sophisticated criminals can obscure fiat money trails to avoid detection, while cryptocurrencies facilitate the anonymous transaction of money on the Blockchain. This makes it hard to discover, track, and arrest criminals using their transactions.
However, CBDCs provide a solution to this problem. Since Central banks issue them, these authorities can leverage user data and tracking mechanisms to detect financial crimes and stop them in good time.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, Central bank digital currencies can bring unique benefits to the financial ecosystem. This is especially so through providing consumers, businesses, and institutions with a safer, stable digital currency regulated by a legal entity.

All that Central banks should do is put in place adequate measures to safeguard privacy, ensure financial stability, and optimize security architecture. Once that is effectively done, CBDCs can be rolled out and adopted widely.

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Blockchain as a Catalyst for Digital Transformation – Harnessing the Power of a Hackathon: With S2Bconnected’s EDULab Approach

by Jana Bulkin | Oct 7, 2023 | Blockchain, Digital Transformation, Digitalisation, Interview, S2BConnected Academy, S2BConnected Consult, Transformation

The rise of digitalization brought about a paradigm shift in how businesses operate. It opened up opportunities for companies to create innovative solutions to improve customer experience, streamline operations and improve efficiency. However, with the proliferation of technology solutions came new challenges, one of which is trust. How can businesses ensure the security and privacy of their data as they traverse through their digital journey? This is where blockchain comes in as a possible enabler for digital transformation.

Driving Innovation through Hackathons: S2Bconnected EDULab’s Approach

Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that allows secure and tamper-proof transactions between parties without the need for intermediaries. It ensures data integrity and immutability, making it the ideal solution for industries that require the utmost transparency such as finance, healthcare, and logistics. However, it’s potential usage goes beyond these domains as businesses are finding ways to incorporate this technology into their operations to optimize efficiency and drive innovation.

Hackathons, often associated with the tech industry, are events that bring a diverse group of people together to solve complex problems within a given time frame. The S2bconnected approach by EDULab takes this concept a step further. In a secure environment, teams are encouraged to create Minimum Viable Product (MVP)-like first draft applications as solutions to presented challenges.

The beauty of this approach is twofold. First, it allows companies to develop potential solutions within their environment, mitigating reputational risk that can come from external product development. Second, it leverages the creative potential of their workforce, promoting a culture of innovation and problem-solving.

Furthermore, companies have the option to invite external participants such as universities, partners, or startups. This cross-pollination of ideas can lead to fresh perspectives and innovative solutions, further enhancing the benefits of the EDULab’s S2bconnected approach. In this way, a Hackathon can serve as a catalyst not just for idea generation, but for fostering a culture of continuous innovation and learning.

The Projects of the Summer Semester in 2023:

ComplyCoin: A student’s idea in fostering sustainability. By Mohamed Kassem and Mohammed Khalil.
SecureOneTimeToken4VideoGames: Solving the Problem of One Time Tokens for the use within Video Gaming. By Maroua Ghazouani, Sarah Mattitza, Lona Noah, and Julian Reockl.
HealthGuard: Avoiding the potential misuse of medical information. By David Roehr and Felix Feuchter.
GenuineGoodsChain: 2nd Hand Luxury Goods Proof of Origin. By JozefDietl, Nils Hildebrandt and Leonidas Meurer
EduVote: A voting App for Elections within the University. By Carina Schillinger, Nico Neuhaus, Agostino Luggo, and Anila Lela
SmartContractBonds: Blockchainbased Financial Instrument. By Ben Gebhard, Benedikt Kellerer and Adrian Nachtwey.
DigitalIdentity: The key making Government Processes easier. By Andreas Neumaier, Moritz Huber, Tim Freimann and Bastian Andraschko

Blockchain Hackathons: Unleashing the Power of Collective Intelligence

EDULab’s concept LERAN – TRAIN – ADOPT has been used for three years at the University of Applied Sciences by Jana Bulkin, where she is bringing new technologies within the university space as an assistant lecturer.
In the classroom, blockchain is taught as a foundational technology to students across various fields, such as business, engineering, and computer science. Learning the basics of blockchain, including how it works, its key characteristics, and use cases, creates a solid foundation for students to build their knowledge on. With the help of platforms like MLSeed, a Blockchain Platform as a Service, students can explore the full potential of this technology in a sandbox environment.

By providing students with access to a platform to experiment with Solidity, the programming language used to build smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, educators can empower students to leverage the power of blockchain to develop decentralized applications or dApps. These dApps can be used in various contexts, such as supply chain management, identity verification systems, and peer-to-peer lending.

Through hackathon-style activities, students can form teams and apply their knowledge to real-world scenarios. By ideating and pitching their use cases, they can boost their creativity and problem-solving capabilities, giving them a competitive edge in their respective industries. With the right guidance, they can unlock the potential of blockchain to drive digital transformation across various domains.

Food for thought: Are you thinking about using blockchain? Start by creating awareness and a general understanding of the potential and opportunities of blockchain. Attend a workshop in advance if you are unsure whether Blockchain can be usefully applied in your industry or company. S2BC:academy may be a good choice.

Conclusion: Shaping the Future of Digital Transformation with Blockchain

Blockchain is no longer a buzzword thrown around only in technical circles. It has the potential to spark innovation and disruption across industries. Educators can inspire the next generation of innovators and disruptors by empowering young professionals with the knowledge and tools to leverage blockchain technology. Recognizing blockchain’s potential and incorporating it into digital transformation strategies is vital to staying competitive in today’s rapidly changing business landscape. Let us explore the use cases, unleash our creativity, and embrace the power of blockchain to enable digital transformation.

If you want to discover how you can find a use case: Follow this link!

Process Mining Can Enhance Value Creation Digitalization

by Jana Bulkin | May 23, 2023 | Business Process Automation, Digital Transformation, Digitalisation

In this blog post, we’ll discuss how process mining can enhance value creation digitalization by providing front-to-back process analysis that has the potential for optimization throughout an organization – not only limited to cost savings.

Process mining enables us to gain transparency and insight into manual or semi-automated processes. It allows for the evaluation of what is happening within our workflows and provides us with the data we need to make informed decisions. When it comes to process automation, transparency, measurability, and standardization are key components. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how process mining can enhance value creation digitalization by providing front-to-back process analysis that has the potential for optimization throughout an organization – not only limited to cost savings.

Food for thought::

Celonis is one of the significant Process Mining Platforms on the market and helps get insights about your processes and where the potential is for optimization.
I am always impressed by the solution and the offer Celonis gives Universities. Also, this Summer Semester at the Faculty of Computer Sciences for Business, Celonis joined my class about Robotic Process Automation at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich. To find the right solution for process optimization, Process Mining provides the information that helps in calculating the Proof of Value of the optimization, which is essential in making the best decision, where to use such technologies e.g.

Jana Bulkin, Assistant Lecture at Munich University of Applied Sciences, CEO of S2Bconnected

What is Process Mining?

Process mining is a technique used in data science that uses event logs generated by software systems to automatically analyze business processes. It allows us to identify opportunities for improvement through increased visibility into processes and performance metrics. With process mining, organizations can improve their operational efficiency, reduce costs, and increase customer satisfaction through better understanding of their inner workings.

Benefits of Process Mining

The main benefit of process mining is that it enables organizations to get more out of their existing systems by better understanding how they are used. By analyzing event logs from their systems with process mining tools, organizations can gain valuable insight into what is happening behind the scenes – allowing them to optimize their processes for greater efficiency and cost savings. Additionally, since process mining can be applied across any system or platform that generates an event log, it provides an easy way to track the performance of different parts of an organization in real time. This allows organizations to quickly identify potential problems before they become too large or costly.

Process Mining in Action

In addition to improving operational efficiency and reducing costs, process mining also provides a valuable opportunity for organizations to create value-creation digitalization initiatives. For example, by connecting services in an appropriate way, businesses can use process mining tools to identify opportunities for automating tasks where needed – eliminating mundane manual tasks and freeing up valuable time from employees who could be working on higher-value activities instead. Additionally, by leveraging data from multiple systems to measure performance against set goals, businesses can easily identify areas where they could benefit from further automation or other improvements – such as increasing customer satisfaction or optimizing processes across departments.

Conclusion:

Process mining provides a powerful opportunity for businesses looking to increase value-creation digitalization initiatives within their organization. By leveraging data gained from automated systems along with insights gained through manual observation and analysis, companies can quickly identify areas where they could benefit from further automation or other improvements – such as increasing customer satisfaction or optimizing processes across departments – leading to improved productivity and cost savings. Ultimately, this means tremendous success for your business overall!

StableCoins – A Solution to the Prevalent Volatility of Cryptocurrencies

by Jana Bulkin | Sep 5, 2022 | Blockchain, Digital Transformation, Top Article

StableCoins – A Solution to the Prevalent Volatility of Cryptocurrencies

As decentralized virtual currencies on the Blockchain, cryptocurrencies wield immense potential in the field of finance. This is because cryptocurrencies do offer not only an alternative medium of payment and store of value but also an effective solution to some of the pertinent challenges associated with fiat currencies.

Some of these challenges include;
a) High transaction costs
b) Long transaction completion timelines
c) Inefficient cross-border payment processes
d) Direct control by central monetary authorities and involvement of third-party institutions
e) Susceptibility to inflationary pressures
f) Limited privacy of financial transaction data

Cryptocurrencies can solve these problems of conventional currencies mainly because they are decentralized. This is because they facilitate peer-to-peer transactions that do not require intermediaries’ involvement.

This reduces the costs and time required to complete transactions, increases transactional data privacy, and provides a hedge against inflation. However, one critical challenge associated with regular cryptocurrencies makes them less than ideal.

Volatility

According to the Binance Academy, volatility “describes how quickly and how much the price of an asset changes.” As such, volatility is simply a measure of the fluctuations that characterize the market prices of assets, including cryptocurrencies.

With that said, volatility is one of the biggest problems that users of cryptocurrencies have to contend with in the current crypto ecosystem. This is because volatility increases the risks of owning and investing in crypto and undermines its utility. But why is crypto so volatile?

Like with all other goods and services, the fluctuations in the value of cryptocurrencies come down to how the supply and demand of the asset behave. The value of cryptocurrencies is not pegged to real-life assets because they are purely virtual currencies.

Therefore, whenever events unsettle investors occur, the market value of cryptocurrencies shifts. For instance, if the government refuses to acknowledge a cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange, the price of that cryptocurrency is likely to drop.

On the other hand, if a government accepts crypto as a valid form of payment, the price appreciates. This makes cryptocurrency markets very speculative. And while this speculation allows investors to earn very high returns from crypto, it also introduces a lot of volatility to the crypto market.

This volatility makes cryptocurrencies very unreliable when it comes to being used as a medium of payment. However, developments in the crypto space have created a solution that mitigates this challenge.

StablecCoins – The Antidote to Volatility

According to Coinbase, a stablecoin is a “digital currency pegged to a ‘stable’ reserve asset like the US dollar or gold.” As such, stablecoins are much like other cryptocurrencies with the only difference being that they are backed by a real world asset.
The result of this convergence of digital currencies and regular currencies is an enhanced currency which has the benefits of both types of currencies. On the one hand, stablecoins offer users the stability that conventional cryptocurrencies lack while allowing them to enjoy the superior capabilities of crypto over fiat currencies.

How Do StableCoins Work?

There are three main types of stablecoins, namely;
 Fiat-collateralized stablecoins
 Crypto-collateralized stablecoins
 Algorithmic stablecoins

Fiat-collateralized stablecoins work by keeping a reserve of fiat currency that matches the value of the coins in the custody of an independent custodian. These stablecoins are also independently audited to ensure that they are indeed at par with the fiat currency to which they are denominated.

Crypto-collateralized stablecoins are much like fiat-collateralized stablecoins. However, the difference is that crypto is volatile, unlike fiat currency. As such, the number of crypto assets used to back up such stablecoins usually exceeds the value of those stablecoins to insure against drastic drops in value.

Lastly, algorithmic stablecoins do not necessarily rely on being dominated by a fiat currency or backed by a crypto asset. Instead, their stability is achieved through regulating their supply algorithmically using computers.

The Benefits of StableCoins

Below is a comprehensive breakdown of the benefits that come with the use of stablecoins over regular cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies;

a) Enhanced stability

While the value of fiat currencies fluctuate in relation to each other, they are mostly stable due to the fact that they are backed with assets like gold reserves. In the same way, stablecoins are backed by traditional reserve assets in fiat form.
For that reason, the value of stablecoins does not fluctuate frequently and uncontrollably the way unregulated crypto assets. This offers crypto investors a prime opportunity to fully exploit the potential of cryptocurrencies.
Long-term plans like storing value in crypto form can be made without the fear of losing money. Additionally, this enhanced stability has the potential to fast-track extensive adoption of crypto due to the fact that their value is predictable and regulated. Hence, they can be used in every day transactions.

b) A reliable alternative to fiat currencies

Once issues of scalability and environmental sustainability are sorted out, various crypto protagonists argue that cryptocurrencies will be able to effectively replace fiat currencies. However, stablecoins have the potential to provide an alternative even in the current dispensation.
This is because stablecoins are pegged to the value of real fiat currencies. As such, a stablecoin like USDC which is pegged to the dollar can be used to complete payments in the US. Additionally, stablecoins can also be used to pay for goods and services in areas where the local currencies are not stable.

c) Cheaper transaction costs

While the value of stablecoins is tied to fiat currencies, stablecoins do not adopt other qualities of fiat currency. For instance, stablecoins are decentralized assets that do not require the intervention of third parties like Central or commercial banks like fiat currencies.
As such, users of stablecoins do not have to incur any extra costs as transaction or service fees for payments facilitated by a third party. All they have to pay are the gas fees to validate the Blockchain transaction and that’s all.

d) Faster cross border payments

The world’s economies are more integrated today than ever before. As such, there exists an intricate web of bilateral and multilateral trade interdependencies between countries that necessitate systems for making payments internationally.

In such cases, stablecoins come in handy as they retain the decentralized, peer-to-peer system of conventional cryptocurrencies. They facilitate fast transfer of payments across borders by obliterating the need for payment companies which would only make the process longer and costlier.

Improvements to be Made in the StableCoins Ecosystem

And while a lot of opportunity lies in the adoption of stablecoins, several concerns make the experience of end users fairly challenging. For instance, there is a lot of uncertainty around the regulatory status of stablecoins.
This is because cryptocurrencies largely remain unregulated due to the fact that they are entirely decentralized and based on the Blockchain. However, stablecoins are pegged to fiat currencies and fiat currencies are regulated by governments.

This fact raises concerns if stablecoins are also supposed to be governed by statutory regulations. Additionally, end users are also concerned by just how extensively acceptable can stablecoins be in terms of facilitating payments for goods and services.

This is because there would be no need for more people to switch from cryptocurrencies to stablecoins only to encounter some scalability issues associated with regular crypto. Therefore, efforts must be made to fast-track the wide-scale adoption of stablecoins as a payment medium.

Lastly, security is a pertinent issue when it comes to all Blockchain applications. Due to the complexity of the Blockchain and its associated technologies, end users are not very conversant with the security architecture of crypto assets, including stablecoins.

As a result, they may not be able to audit the effectiveness of that architecture in protecting their assets. Therefore, it is important for the security measures protecting stablecoins to be optimized to prevent theft by unscrupulous hackers.

The Relevance of StableCoins in the Corporate Context

While there may be some challenges along the way, there is no denying that humanity is fast on track to adopting decentralized payment methods. This is in a bid to reduce costs, save time, and increase overall efficiency.

Therefore, it is important for all forward-looking businesses seeking to gain a competitive edge over their rivals to be at the forefront of integrating cryptocurrencies and in this particular case, stablecoins, into their financial systems.

This is because stablecoins have the capability to expedite payment processes and allow for better business outcomes through the use of the crypto ecosystem. However, there is one prerequisite for such advancement to be made.

Providing Corporate Entities and SMEs with the Information They Need To Excel

There needs to be an elaborate training and educational infrastructure for professionals in corporate organizations on how to use stablecoins and Blockchain technologies in general. This is precisely what our platform EduLab is here to do.

As an IT consulting company, we understand the importance of businesses incorporating the best technologies into their business processes for maximum gains. As such, we focus on providing business entities with accurate, cutting-edge information to enable them to exploit technology’s full potential.

This includes information on the latest technological innovations like the Blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs. We use innovative educational methods like Hackathons which provide an intensive but cost-efficient way of learning about various topics to equip teams with the knowledge they need to grow their businesses.

Transforming Your Business through Quality Consulting

To ensure quality learning and implementation outcomes, our hackathons are not generalized solutions offered uniformly to every corporate entity or SME that contracts our services. Instead, we conduct a keen analysis of your business needs and potential areas that can benefit from Blockchain and other technological solutions.

Our experts then come up with customized Hackathon programs specially tailor-made for your business. This helps to ensure that you and your team are able to effectively solve inefficiencies in your business’s structure for better work outcomes.

Therefore, are you a small, medium, or large-sized business organization seeking to leverage technology to optimize your processes, improve product strategy, and steer personnel development? Then EduLab is just what you need. Hire our service today and we will help you get ahead of the competition through the best coaching, mentorship, and feedback systems!

Article Picture: Designed by pikisuperstar / Freepik

IGNITE THE FUTURE – A keener lock into Cryptocurreny Tokens and their Applications

by Jana Bulkin | Jul 7, 2022 | Blockchain, Digital Transformation, Top Article

IGNITE THE FUTURE

A keener lock into Cryptocurrency Tokens and their Applications

In the last decade, cryptocurrencies have generated widespread interest among investors and the general public as a potentially revolutionary innovation. Not only have perennial investors taken the chance and invested millions of dollars in crypto.
Rather, even conventionally conservative and risk-averse members of the public have also taken a keen interest in cryptocurrencies. For instance, of the 145 million people in the US who have invested in crypto, 107 million of them have done so within the past 24 months. Among the rest of the American population, 46 million more people intend to invest in cryptocurrencies within the next 12 months. So why is the cryptocurrency phenomenon so alluring to both seasoned and novice investors?

To effectively answer this question, one must not only understand how cryptocurrencies work but more importantly, one must know which are the practical, real-life applications of cryptocurrencies.

By now, you’ve probably heard about the Blockchain— one of the most popular technology buzzwords currently besides cryptocurrency and NFTs. If you have, you know that the Blockchain is a secure, decentralized public ledger that keeps an immutable record of data transactions. This distributed ledger is native to the cloud and cannot, therefore, be accessed physically. It is this quality that makes the Blockchain fundamental to the existence, function, and utility of cryptocurrencies.

This is because cryptocurrencies are essentially digital currencies that exist on the Blockchain. The main difference between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies is that cryptocurrencies are virtual and hence cannot be accessed in any physical form. Because they are primarily based on the Blockchain, cryptocurrencies are also decentralized. Hence, cryptocurrencies are not regulated by any central authority. Rather, cryptocurrencies rely on a trustless system to ensure crypto transactions are completed according to predetermined conditions.

High level security

As earlier mentioned, cryptocurrencies are based on Blockchains. As such, crypto is decentralized and there is no central regulatory authority to enforce trust between users or prevent fraud or theft. However, cryptocurrencies are secured by a sophisticated security system of cryptographic technology. Cryptographic security employs symmetric, asymmetric, and hashing techniques to ensure that transaction data and history on the Blockchain cannot be hacked, altered, or erased.
Cryptography involves the encryption of data from a sender using an algorithm. Data in plain text is converted into ciphertext and then transmitted through an often insecure network to the recipient. Encryption of that data makes it very difficult for unintended recipients to decipher it upon interception. Only until the data reaches the intended recipient is it converted back from ciphertext into plaintext by a private key.

This conversion from ciphertext to plaintext is what is referred to as decryption. Therefore, cryptocurrencies are a secure form of currency on the Blockchain that are extremely difficult for malicious parties to tamper with.

Crypto Tokens

Every crypto enthusiast, investor, or follower has probably come across the word “crypto tokens.” This is because crypto tokens are a vital part of the cryptocurrency universe and serve a crucial purpose. So what exactly are they?
A crypto token is a type of cryptocurrency that exists on a specific Blockchain. Crypto tokens are created by developers who want to create a new cryptocurrency without having to build a new Blockchain from the ground up.

As such, a token is essentially a cryptocurrency that exists on a Blockchain and has its own separate native currency. You can think of the Blockchain as your own personal blog where you publish articles. Even though you are the owner of the platform and the author of the articles posted on it, you can always publish other articles written by guest authors. In this analogy, those articles written by guest writers are what we are referring to as tokens in relation to a Blockchain (in this case your blog.) Therefore, crypto tokens are essential “guest” cryptocurrencies on a particular Blockchain. This is why it is important to never use the terms “coin” and “token” interchangeably as far as cryptocurrency is concerned. Similar to tokens, coins are a type of cryptocurrency. However, a crypto coin is a kind of cryptocurrency that is the native currency of a Blockchain and not a “guest.” For instance, Ethereum is one of the most recognized Blockchains. There are several cryptocurrencies that are based on the Ethereum Blockchain. However, the Blockchain’s native currency is Ether (ETH). This makes Ether a crypto coin while the rest of the cryptocurrencies which include LINK (Chainlink), UNI (Uniswap), and SHIB (Shiba Inu) are Ethereum tokens.

This begs the question: Why do some programmers choose to develop crypto tokens instead of building Blockchains from scratch and then creating native coins for those Blockchains? Some reasons can be attributed to this decision;

Developing a secure and robust Blockchain is a very hectic process both in terms of technical requirements as well as time and financial resources. Therefore, creating a crypto token is simpler and faster as it eliminates the need to build a new Blockchain.
Secondly, Blockchain security is to a large extent hinged on the fact that it is a decentralized ledger that is distributed to several computers in a network. For financial transactions to be verified and validated, there has to be a consensus among all the computers in the chain.
As such, the more users in a Blockchain, the more secure the Blockchain becomes. Naturally, a new Blockchain would take a significant amount of time before accumulating many participants.
So it can be in a developer’s best interest to create a crypto token that can leverage a large number of participants and the resultant high-security level of an existing Blockchain network as opposed to creating an entirely new one.

Now that you have a clear idea of what crypto tokens are and how they differ from crypto coins, it is important to know the different types of tokens in existence and how they are used. The following is a comprehensive breakdown of token types and their use cases;

Currency tokens
Currency tokens are much like regular fiat currencies. This is because they are primarily used to facilitate transactions and payments for the purchases of goods and services both online and offline.
Because they function like conventional currencies, currency tokens can be transferred by one user from their wallet to another user’s digital wallet.
Utility tokens
Utility tokens are cryptographic tokens that are used in a digital ecosystem to access special products and services on the Blockchain. For instance, the utility token of an NFT game allows participants to purchase various in-game items, avatars, or special features.
In other instances, utility tokens can be used to access special virtual events or to reward Blockchain users for performing certain actions or in the case of games, completing certain challenges or winning competitions.
Governance tokens
Strictly and technically speaking, governance tokens are a type of utility tokens. However, governance tokens are often categorized separately due to the uniqueness of their functionality on the Blockchain.
Why so? Well, governance tokens grant holders the right to vote on proposals that are floated on decentralized platforms. In a way, governance tokens are enablers of “functional democracy” on the Blockchain as they allow all stakeholders of a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) to have a say on how a system should be managed.
This system of “on-chain governance” helps to actualize community ownership of Blockchain projects. Therefore, users with more governance tokens get more voting powers on matters concerning a particular dAPP.
Security tokens
A thorough analysis of the various use cases of NFTs from different literary sources will reveal, among others, that NFTs can be used to represent real-world assets on the Blockchain. In the same way, security tokens are representations of real securities in the stock market.
As such, security tokens can be used to represent different financial instruments including ownership shares and stock options. As part of integrating the Blockchain into their operations, various entities are working on developing security tokens and will in the foreseeable future issue them as proof of ownership stakes.
Asset tokens
Much like security tokens, asset tokens are digital representations of real-life assets. While security tokens represent stock market securities like shares and bonds, asset tokens back assets in the real world.
These assets can be everything from gold and diamond to real estate and oil. By providing digitized proof of asset ownership, asset tokens provide users with higher convertibility and transferability of assets.

The effect of volatility on crypto investor behavior

A keen observation of the developments in payment systems and finance over the ages reveals one fact; while it may take some time to fully streamline it, cryptocurrency is the future of money. This is because fiat money has several limitations that cryptocurrencies and the Blockchain can help solve. However, there is one major factor in the field of cryptocurrency that has been a cause of concern for many; volatility.

Since their inception, crypto markets have been plagued by frequent price fluctuations. For instance, Bitcoin has recorded highs of up to $68,000 in 2021 and hit lows of up to $23,000 in June 2022. Therefore, while cryptocurrencies may be lucrative tradable assets, their volatility sometimes scares off prospective investors. But what exactly causes this volatility? And should investors write cryptocurrencies off completely because of it? Cryptocurrency volatility is primarily the result of the novelty of crypto as an asset class and as a medium of exchange. Depending on various developments in Blockchain and the macroeconomic environment, confidence levels in crypto vary.

For instance, when a nation bans the use of cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange within its borders, investors are likely to react in a manner that displays low confidence. This leads to a drop in the price.
Investor confidence can also drop due to other factors such as the hacking of crypto wallets and major crypto heists. However, the main trigger of crypto volatility is its speculative nature. The implication? Volatility can adversely affect investors in the sense that ill-timed investments can result in losses. However, volatility can be managed by strategic timing and investing.

Therefore, people interested in cryptocurrencies should invest more time to acquire knowledge and understanding of how the markets operate. With time, the market volatility will stabilize and the price fluctuations will even out.

Utility a strong case for large scale adoption of cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are a relatively new asset class and medium of peer-to-peer transactions. Therefore, crypto wields a lot of potential to revolutionise financial transactions as we know them. By leveraging Blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies will help the world to transition to a faster, easier, and more secure way of storing and transferring value without the need for third-party intermediaries.

As such, we should all take the initiative to learn as much as we can about cryptocurrencies and establish how we can gainfully employ crypto to optimize our operations.

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