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Cryptocurrencies podcast series
- Part one: What cryptocurrencies are and how they work
- Part two: The security, future and value of Bitcoin - LISTEN BELOW
- Part three: Bitcoin for business
While 80% of the total supply of bitcoin (close on 21 million) has already been created and the supply of bitcoin halves every four years, there is more than enough to go around, according to Chris Becker.
Becker explains that this is because one bitcoin can be divided up into 100 million Satoshi (the smallest fraction of a bitcoin that can transact in), which means the true supply of bitcoin is actually 21 million multiplied by 100 million.
A new paradigm
Just as email now knows no borders, Becker says that cryptocurrencies represent a whole new paradigm of borderless money and bring up the issue of who controls the global cash system – governments or individuals?
Talking about the potential rise of the new “barons of finance”, Becker believes that bitcoin could be the “biggest wealth transfer in the history of the world to people who understood the tech early”.
Listen to podcast: Chris Becker on the future of Bitcoin
Scroll to the topics that interest you using the time codes below
00:30 How the supply of bitcoin works
02:13 How mining devices work
03:02 What is filecoin, a new blockchain network?
04:00 How cryptocurrencies will create a new paradigm of money
04:33 How to stay secure when trading bitcoins
07:40 When organisations are held ransom by hackers demanding payment in bitcoin
09:49 Why there will be enough bitcoin to go around
10:20 How bitcoin transaction fees are calculated
11:35 What the future of cryptocurrency holds
12:12 Regulations and ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings)
15:10 Distribution of wealth and the future value of bitcoin
Stay secure
While the blockchain technology that underlies cryptocurrencies is seemingly unhackable, Chris explains that an individual’s vulnerability lies in the downloading and log-ins for your online wallet.
When you download a wallet, you are given a kind of email address that is publically shared and you also have a password and private keys stored in your wallet that can be used to access your account if they fall into the wrong hands. “All the infrastructure hasn’t be built out yet to keep people safe,” says Chris.
The future of crypto
While it is still in its early days, Becker says that “We haven’t scratched the surface around what this technology can do,” and that the cryptocurrency “ecosystem is developing in leaps and bounds”.
The success of cryptocurrencies lies in how widely it becomes adopted by the masses and how it will be regulated. If it follows the same exponential growth curve of the internet and mobile phones, it has the potential to reach at least 50% of the market in the US, says Chris.
About the author
Chris Becker
Blockchain technologies lead
Chris commercialises decentralised blockchain technologies and digital assets for the benefit of Investec Private Banking clients. In his previous role, he was an economist and strategist conducting research for large corporates, asset managers and hedge funds for a decade before entering blockchain technologies full time in 2017.
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Disclaimer
The opinions and views expressed are for information purposes only and are subject to change without notice. They should not be viewed as independent research, recommendations or investment advice of any nature.
