Manic Monday | What’s in your wallet?
It is amazing that so much of our world is digitized and yet so many of us struggle with the concept of a digital currency; aka bitcoin.
The hard truth is that several years ago I was offered an opportunity to purchase a Bitcoin for just under $400. Ever the skeptic, (as in I still don't really believe they put a man on the moon), I turned the offer down certain that it was a scam or at the very least a pyramid scheme. Today that same single Bitcoin is worth $22,700 Canadian dollars. The issue for me, outside of the fact that I am devastated I did not buy bitcoin when they were affordable, is that I don't understand the concept of the currency. I don't understand why that one single online coin is worth so much money today and I don't know why, how or even if, it will continue to grow in value over time. Without question I am personally guilty of having not taken the time to look deeper into what is actually taking place preferring to pass the idea of Bitcoin off as a passing trend, or something far worse, far more sinister.
On those rare occasions when I do start to search online for more information it does not take long for my eyes to glaze over with terms like block-chain, mining, cryptocurrency or hexadecimal coding. It takes almost no time for my attention to move quickly away from educating myself on bitcoin to something far more understandable and comforting like old episodes of America's Got Talent.
Never the less, whether we collectively understand this currency or not, Bitcoin seems to be coming back into the news time and again. It appears to be somewhat inevitable that either Bitcoin or an alternative will find its way into our imaginary wallets sooner than later. Here are just a few facts about Bitcoin that may (or may not) lead you to want to learn more:
Bitcoin has a founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, who decided at the outset there would only ever by 21 million Bitcoins issued
Bitcoin is entirely digital - no one has a physical Bitcoin
Bitcoin uses hexadecimal coding making them far more difficult to steal than credit card numbers
In some countries you can purchase food, clothes and other items using Bitcoin
In August 2017 Bitcoin split into Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash - which seems to be important however I cannot indicate why
Some analysts indicate that Bitcoin value could rise to $500,000 per coin by 2030 while others predict the value will drop to $0.00
So, even now after having stayed awake to learn more about this 10 year old and ever growing phenomena I can yet again say that I am besmirched as to what it all means.
I do believe that every trend is worth monitoring and staying open to new possibilities and ways of advancing our businesses should always be top of mind. Could there be a competitive advantage to consider by accepting Bitcoin currency? Maybe not yet or possibly not ever, but we would be wise to stay open to the potential.
In the words of Albert Einstein
"If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it."
Glenn Mandziuk, TOTA President & CEO
