With the recent price increase of Bitcoin, cryptocurrency has been a large topic of interest for many different people. However, because of this recent surge in popularity, many of us are left confused on what exactly cryptocurrency is. Cryptocurrency is a digital form of currency designed to be a universal medium of exchange. Simply put, cryptocurrency is meant to be a new universal form of currency. With the concept of cryptocurrency growing in popularity, the idea of one worldwide currency may not seem so odd. This may sound promising, but crypotocurries also have some negative connotations which they need to be overcome. The future of cryptocurrency is yet to be determined and we could be seeing its first steps into our everyday life very soon.
When you first hear of the term “Dark Web”, one of the first things you may think of is, what is the Dark Web? Because of the secrecy of the Dark Web, many people may not even know it exists. So what is the Dark Web? The Dark Web is an extremely large collection of hidden websites which normal search engines like Google and Bing can’t reach. The idea of having more websites to visit might seem intriguing however, this allows many different illegal activities to take place, without authorities knowing. The Dark Web allows users to log on anonymously. This is done by having their login go through several computers. Although this may slow down the user’s internet speed, it allows them to freely roam the entire internet, letting them do as they please. The way cryptocurrency ties into to this is that it is doesn’t need to have an account or identity along with them. This could make illegal purchases on the Dark Web a lot easier. They would be able to login into illegal sites anonymously and then use an anonymous form of currency to buy whatever they wanted. This could potentially cause a large influx of things like weapons or drugs, making this new form of currency not feel worth it.

Like said before, cryptocurrencies don’t have an identity attached to them. People are free to use them without any strings attached. This could create problems for the banking industry if more people decide to turn to this new form of currency. If someone was struggling with their bank payments and were able to make it into investing in cryptocurrency, it may take a lot of that stress of their hands. There aren’t any current fees to use cryptocurrency, so people could just invest their money in it and not worry about their monthly interest. Cryptocurrency also can be easily used in any country, while using money in another country through a bank is a more difficult process and could cost you a fee. This may benefit people using a bank, but if banks were removed it would take away from many different job opportunities. This may be one of the first steps of technology doing jobs for humans.

A very simple outcome of cryptocurrency is just the opening of a new market and hobby. After seeing Bitcoin reach a price of almost 20,000 dollars, many people began hunting for “the next Bitcoin”. Bitcoin started at a price of only three cents (NPR), the price that many cryptocurrencies are today. An investment in this “next Bitcoin” could be a huge turning point for someone’s life, making hunt so popular. This new hobby and market is very exciting for new consumers because it gives consumers a chance to invest in something small and have it grow into a life changing moment.

Cryptocurrencies have grown a lot in popularity over the last few months. With this new market arising, it is hard to say if it will leaving a lasting mark on our current economy. Whether its potentially giving power to the wrong group of people, threatening the banking industry or creating a new market and hobby for consumers, it is easy to say that cryptocurrencies have the potential to leave long lasting effects on the world.