Photo courtesy of Flickr
By Henry Benjamin
Cryptocurrencies are everywhere you look, and they are used by a significant number of people for investments purposes with no regard for what they offer or how they can help solve many problems.
There is another group of people who look at cryptocurrencies from a very different perspective.
These people see how the use of cryptocurrencies can help to enrich their lives, and looking back at Satoshi's vision. This is what the intention was all along.
Who is this Group?
The group of people who look at a crypto's many uses comes from numerous countries. These are third world countries that have a limited banking structure. The unbanked population from whatever area are unable to fulfill many banks requirements to get an account.
How many coins work, these people are able to, by the use of a cell phone, have access to many services which would ordinarily be out of their reach.
Simple business people can now control their own finances and have a place where to keep their hard-earned money.
How are Cryptocurrencies Used
In many third world countries, it is simple for end users to purchase the likes of Bitcoin. Stores can carry out this operation with over the counter payments. This makes transactions very easy for the underprivileged.
From this point forward there is a high number of people who are able to make mobile payments, or on the other hand, they can also receive this type of remittances payment without having to make use of a third party.
The Next Step
As many countries where this considerable population live are full of corruption and greed, these individuals have a great deal of protection for their finances.
These users who struggle to make ends meet on a daily business now have a way to make sure their modest savings are secure, and they can protect against inflation which would otherwise cripple them even further.
How Else Can Cryptocurrencies Help?
There are many cryptocurrencies on the market that these users have no access to or the features they are offering, they have no use for.
Although BTC is still the market leader, there are other coins which can help this demographic of individuals to have access to not only banking services and financial instruments but also other benefits.
The easiest way of seeing how these individuals can reap the cryptocurrency rewards is by taking a look at the most popular coins which they are able to access and the ones which might change their future in the very near future.
The Helping Hand of Cryptocurrencies
Ethereum
Being number two in the world, this coin has a lot to offer. Ethereum is more than a payment system. It introduces smart contracts.
Now it is possible for small traders to make use of this if they make any trades to parties who they sell goods to. With the creation of a smart contract, control is shown to all the involved parties due to the amount of transparency.
Where these individuals could be taken advantage of through ignorance and not fully understanding certain types of procedures.
They can now have as much control as the second party in the transaction as all the controlling factors are controlled by the smart contract rather than any single person.
Litecoin
BTC as a purposeful coin might be a little out of reach for these underdeveloped countries. Although popular, this can be its downfall in serving this demographic. Compared to a lot of altcoins the transaction times are slow and expensive.
Transaction fees are what many individuals are trying to get away from. There is also the length of time it can take.
Depending on the countries involved a transaction that is pushed to the back of the queue can make the difference to a family who desperately requires this remittance. It could be an emergency or the need they need to purchase food and are relying on family members to send them.
Litecoin has also been developed to enhance further the transaction of micro-payments which many of these individuals would make compared to the size of BTC transactions.
Change Everything for the Better
Although the coins above will bring benefits. They are all geared toward financial transactions. If there was a coin that could revolutionize the internet in geographic zones that have limited coverage. Now that would be a way to change the world.
One cryptocurrency is aiming to do this without the need for extra cables to be laid and at the same time reducing mining costs and also making sure the internet is secure.
Skycoin
It takes time to make changes to the world, especially in countries where there is little or no infrastructure. All that is about to change shortly. Skycoin brings with it a mesh-network that transform the internet and how we interact with it.
This is all made possible by the Skywire miners. These interconnected nodes provide wireless connections, and as the number of access points increases as the network grows and security is enhanced rather than weakened.
Current Blockchain solutions slow down as the number of users increases, hence the more significant transaction fees. This also consumes high amounts of electricity to perform these transactions.
Skywire miners merely provide network access and routing as SKY requires no mining.
A new Blockchain has been developed which is different to the BTC Blockchain and uses a purpose-built algorithm. Obelisk. Here the transactions are performed by network consensus and the web of trust.
All this happens with no network slowdowns and comes with higher amounts of security as the mesh-network becomes fully decentralized so will an end user’s, or businesses data and personal information.
With SKY and Skywire in operation, it can reach areas where current internet infrastructure is seen as nonviable as the number of users can be small.
Skywire bypasses any need for ISP's and can provide many more millions of people with almost instantaneous transactions while paying no fees for the transaction.
Building a new internet that is secure and without restrictions not only changes the world, but it will also improve the lives of many who need it the most.