Steemit Crypto Academy Contest / S2W1 - How Cryptocurrency has Shaped the Financial Realm. What is Its Future? by @Kennydavebobo

INTRODUCTION
Pleasant greetings to all members of this great community, I'm happy to participate in this contest in which I will be writing on how cryptocurrency has shaped the financial realm and what its future??
Sit back and enjoy your reading

Users are expected to briefly give an overview of cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency is derived from the combination of two terms "Crypto" and "Currency" once you understand these two words it will be easier to deciffer what cryptocurrency actually means, I will like to explain these twos terms separately before shedding light on what Cryptocurrency is all about in a simple way.

Crypto can be linking cryptography which verify and secure transaction between sender and intended recipient , with the help of cryptography, content of transaction is only visible to a sender and intended recipient. Cryptography secures cryptocurrency which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit, that is cryptography aids the encryption of message between computers which involves both algorithm and a key. Even if you know the method by which some message is encrypted, it will be difficult to decrypt without that the key.

CURRENCY is a generally accepted system of money used as a medium of exchange. Currency are used for buying of goods and services, also can be used to facilitate trade.

from the two terms above we can deduce that cryptocurrency is a secured digital currency that can be used as a medium of exchange.

Cryptocurrency uses cryptography to secure and verify transaction and it is not owned by any particular authority, making it difficult for governments to manipulate (I.e It is decentralized). The existence of cryptocurrency is made possible with the help of what's called Blockchain.

Blockchain processes formation of digital information, or blocks, stored across a network of computers creating a database, this piece of information is chained together by way of a mathematical function that creates a hash code.
Blockchain technology was first implemented by foundation of Bitcoin the first cryptocurrency in the year 2009, Blockchain is the database in which every Bitcoin transaction is stored. Ever since the inception of Bitcoin there are currently more than 10,000 cryptocurrency and still counting.
How can one get Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency can be mined or purchased from cryptocurrency exchanges.

DRAW A COMPARISON BETWEEN CRYPTOCURRENCY AND CONVENTIONAL CURRENCIES.

The comparison between cryptocurrency and conventional currency is highlighted below.
• Cryptocurrency Is a digital asset that is cannot be seen with physical eyes, while Conventional currency can be touched with hand and can be seen with eyes it is basically in form of money or coins.
• Assets of cryptocurrency are stored in digital wallet while Conventional currency assets can be stored in banks or anywhere safe.
• Cryptocurrency is decentralized that is holder have authority to complete transactions while Conventional is centralized in the sense that transaction are authorized by group of governmental body or an organization.
• Cryptocurrency can not be manipulated since it uses Blockchain technology to generate its currency while It is possible to manipulate a conventional currency to create a fake type.
• There's possible volatility of assets in cryptocurrency while the value conventional currency is fixed.
• The cost of transaction in cryptocurrency is low compared to a conventional currency.
• Storing of cryptocurrency is more secured than conventional currency since it's digital and requires the permission of holder to make a transaction.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN CRYPTOCURRENCY AND CONVENTIONAL CURRENCIESThe following are the similarities between cryptocurrency and conventional currencies.
• Both currencies can be used as a medium of making exchange of goods and services just that conventional currency is widely adopted than cryptocurrency.

• Both cryptocurrency and conventional currencies are in several varieties. For example for cryptocurrency, we have Bitcoin, Ethereum, steem. While for conventional currencies we have American Dollar, Naira, Euro. etc.

Explain the distinctive innovations of cryptocurrency and its downsides..

Cryptocurrency has brought a new change in financial aspect in modern world at large
some of it highlighted below 👇👇

• Decentralization - With the help of blockchain technology participants can make cryptocurrency transaction without
authorization of a centralized entity e.g individual, organization, or government unlike conventional currency which is centralized.

• Web3 - Web3 is a permission less, decentralized technology with a native payment that uses cryptocurrency for making online transaction instead of relying on the outdated infrastructure of banks and payment processors. Before Web was monopolized by large technology companies but Web3 embraces decentralization which puts power in the hands of individuals rather than corporations.

• High speed of transaction - One of the way to determine the efficiency of a Blockchain is by its higher transaction speed for example Bitcoin processes 4.6 transactions per second.

DOWNSIDES
• Price volatility - This is when there's fluctuation in the price of a crypto assets which is greatly influenced by supply and demand, government regulation and media hype. when there's is downfall in price it affects the state of mind and mentally affects investors.

• Cyber Security - It is evidence that cryptocurrency are subjected to cyber security breaches. It causes investors huge loss whenever it falls to the hand of hackers.

• Regulation - In as much as Cryptocurrency is not adopted and regulated by any governmental body it puts investors at high risk of investing cause it's impossible to get your investment back.
• Also once a transaction is wrongly done it's practically impossible to reverse the action there by assets is completely lost.

As regarding volatility I believe if cryptocurrency is linking to tangile and intangible assets it will decrease volatility, also wide adoption by general public will decrease volatility.
I believe if Cryptocurrency is adopted by government it will increase the adoption of it among people and increase the confidence of people to invest in cryptocurrency

Participate should confirm and make sure the address is properly check before making transaction so as to avoid total loss of fund.

Do you believe in the future of cryptocurrency? State your reasons. Any Recommendations
...

Yes I strongly believe cryptocurrency is the future, take for example the adoption rate by the public is drastically increasing day by day, testimonies of people making huge profits is catching the attention of millons of people and luring them to join the digital market. Infact the market capitalisation of cryptocurrencies could explode over the next five years, rising to $5-10 (trillion). The fact that Cryptocurrency is decentralized makes it favorable to host illegal activities including money laundering, drug peddling, smuggling and procurement. Surely this is not a good purpose for using it nevertheless this has attracted the attention of powerful regulatory and other government agencies such as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the SEC, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and even the FBI. I also believe with time of the downfalls of cryptocurrency will be overcome as technology advances in the future.

Recommendation
The best way to treat one's money is to invest in cryptocurrency because it is decentralized (does not require the permission of any governmental body or organization to make a successful transaction). You'll have the authority over your assets and every transaction is made visible.Assets owned is more secured than conventional currency

Conclusion
The emergence of cryptocurrency allows individual to be able to store wealth in a value that is safe and independent of government unlike conventional currency, Cryptocurrency has given large percentage of world's poor individual the opportunity to participate in the global economy, gives them the opportunity to save money, earn interest, invest, borrow money and even start a business. It is very clear that Cryptocurrency has lead millions of people to their first ever vast wealth.

Thanks for reading