en
Back to the list

Cryptocurrency can be banned only if the Internet is switched off on the whole planet

20 October 2017 15:40, UTC
States around the world are losing control of the miners, can they do something if the number of cryptocurrencies is growing every day?

Cryptocurrency is an encrypted code, which results in creation of a virtual coin. It is opposed to the problems of the existing financial system. It has a limited emission, it can not be counterfeited, it is completely anonymous, besides more recently everyone could create it with their computing power. At the heart of the cryptocurrency there is an algorithm. When its tasks are performed miners get a reward for providing their computing capacities.

First, bitcoin mining was considered as geek-oriented activity, cryptocurrency had almost zero-value, and there was no centralized development strategy either. In 2010, two pizzas were purchased for 10,000 bitcoins. Then it became possible to trade it for real money on one of the exchanges. Its anonymity drew attention of the representatives from criminal underworld. As its cost and popularity kept growing, bitcoin came to the current levels in just a few years.

You can earn on cryptocurrency by trading on exchange or by mining. This sphere is new, so the volatility is very high. You can multiply your capital in a short period of time due to currency fluctuations. Bitcoin has not been mined on home-based PCs for a long time because of the high complexity of the algorithm. Nowadays special farms are used for this, large plants based on these devices operate in China. At home it's more profitable to mine newer currencies. The complexity of creating blocks for these currencies is not so high. Over time, it grows, and the value of the cryptocurrency grows as well. Mining popularity peaked in June 2017, when ethereum's exchange rate took off. However soon it will be unavailable for home-based mining as well. Nevertheless, there will be a lot of other available coins.

Now there are more than 200 cryptocurrencies, new ones are constantly appearing.In the end, after all that this sphere still have to come through, there will remain 3–5 cryptocurrencies, as it happened after dotcom bubble burst when Google, Amazon and only a few other companies stayed afloat. The states are looking for ways to regulate this sphere, but so far it is more about prohibitive measures, since decentralization and their intention to escape the influence of the Central Bank frightens authorities a lot. It takes about 15 minutes (for small transactions) from receiving a fee for mining to the moment when it is credited to your account in rubles.

It will not be possible to monopolize this sphere, and the decentralized system can only be banned by switching off the Internet on the whole planet. The intelligence agencies are looking for ways to take it under control, but in this case, for the first time in the history of mankind, governments have faced the existence of a system that can not be controlled, isolated or banned.