Cryptocurrency offers groundbreaking new technology that has the potential to change not only the financial world, it can also significantly affect our everyday lives. With the advancement of blockchain technology and decentralised processes developing rapidly it’s fair to say that crypto really could be the future, but this future is a long way off (from the time of writing this article in 2022) if you look at the new regulations that are yet to be cemented; there are still several systems that need perfecting before we will see the whole world recognising Bitcoin (BTC) as the new gold or Ethereum (ETH) acting as the new digitised Wall Street, for example. We know these are large claims, read on to see why we feel these claims have the potential to be reality.

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This article assesses crypto at its current form, and the near & far prospects of where crypto can go. One thing the world can agree on at this time, is that crypto is never boring.

Cryptocurrencies work on a trackable system known as the blockchain. It is a decentralised recording system - a digital ledger - that is near impossible to hack, cheat or alter. Each transaction made on the blockchain is stored and distributed to any number of computers that operate on the blockchain. In the financial world, blockchain technology provides a more transparent and secure means of handling money; a more reliable method of transferring any amount of funds. So the 2 main benefits of blockchain technology are:

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Transparency: blockchain data is nearly impossible to alter. Once any action is made on the blockchain, data is stored and written in ink across potentially hundreds of thousands of computers where the information is public to absolutely anyone who wants to access it. This means that all data is trackable and, because it can’t be altered, acts as a more secure system for the financial industry to operate on.

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Automatic Administration: there is no central authority that controls the blockchain, information is automatically added, stored and distributed to numerous places. This means that everyone is getting the same information automatically at the same time with no human interaction. Well… Imagine a group of humans trying to distribute an unlimited amount of transactions daily to hundreds of thousands of computers; the benefits of this technology mean less chance of human interference.

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So blockchain technology offers a more secure system for transferring money, storing data, reducing fraud and all at a much cheaper and far more efficient rate. Blockchain and crypto are synonymous, for they compliment each other so well and blockchain tech is so integral to how crypto operates. With the major benefits mentioned above, blockchain technology has an incredibly real chance of becoming the worldwide future for finance and other industries for its transparency and automatic administration. See our full article on the blockchain here.

The easiest way to explain decentralisation is to describe its opposite: a centralised system relies on banks and other third parties to complete day-to-day transactions, with each party charging a fee to complete their part of the transaction; so each party is profiting from this centralised system. For example, you buy a loaf of bread with your card from your local store: the payment goes from the merchant to their acquiring bank which forwards the transaction details to the credit card network. Before we even explain decentralisation, this system already sounds antiquated.

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A decentralised system removes the need for any of the above mentioned third parties; it can freely transfer funds without the need of an acquiring bank or credit card company. With the use of blockchain, decentralised finance (DeFi) allows for peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions to be made securely, quickly and with as little need for human interaction as possible to complete the transaction.

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So you could buy that same loaf of bread for a much cheaper all round price as the merchant would not have to incorporate third party processing fees into the price of the bread. Already, this one example of how decentralisation works encourages financial inclusivity for smaller business. Crypto and decentralisation go hand-in-hand, as Crypto works in a system where there is not one single entity controlling what happens; encouraging decentralisation and disparaging the current centralised system the world works on, both financially and societally.

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DeFi is still incredibly new, so while the benefits are obvious when explained, the current state of DeFi is rife with scams and people exploiting the system. However, as we progress and regulations are ironed out, decentralisation can play a big part in crypto becoming the future of finance and even society.

Nearly 20,000 business are currently accepting payments made in crypto. This may not sound like much, but huge corporations like Tesla, PayPal and BMW are among these 20,000 already accepting crypto payments. Retail is such a huge sector, and the number of businesses that sign up to accept crypto payments is only going to grow.

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We are already seeing other ‘traditional’ sectors growing with crypto, like the gaming industry for example. There are already games that people can play, and be rewarded in cryptocurrency: Axie Infinity grew exponentially in 2021 as one of the major play-to-earn crypto based game for this reason.

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In countries with a history of financial instability we are seeing the most growth and adoption of crypto in daily life. In 2021, Vietnam - for example - was ranked #1 out of a list of 20 for worldwide crypto adoption by Chainalysis (the world’s leading crypto data collection company - and one of maxxer’s partners). This is because crypto offers a new financial system that avoids the need for the approval of banks and credit card companies - Brazil is a similar country, with over 20 million people (8% of the population) actively owning crypto.

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In 2021 we saw El Salvador becoming the first country to accept BTC as legal tender, meaning that every merchant in the country is obliged to accept payments in BTC. Right now, you can purchase a sandwich from a shop in El Salvador by scanning a QR code and paying in BTC. South American countries look like they are soon to follow El Salvador, with Argentina and Paraguay making the most vocal supports of their Central American neighbour.

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Already we are seeing crypto becoming a bigger part of our daily lives, regardless of market movements. This is because it offers an alternative financial infrastructure for many countries that have never fit the current system; they have been the quickest to update their regulations and begin the process of adding crypto to their national coffers.

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These industries and countries are early adopters, and they obviously strongly believe crypto will play a huge part in their futures. What, or who, will next follow?

Crypto is still such a new concept (effectively being created only in 2009) that it is hard to say it will definitely become the future. However, with the technology it offers and the growth in its daily use by huge corporations and even whole countries, it is fair to say a considerable portion of the world believes crypto is more than just a fad. The foundations are still being built, and the road ahead is incredibly rocky, but there is a real chance of crypto being more widely adopted in the near & far future.