Talking about crypto with friends and family – Graeme Blackwood

My answer usually begins something like this:

Imagine a type of money used by anyone with a phone, in any country. An international, digital cash.

We could go anywhere in the world without needing to buy local currency, carry different cards or pay expensive exchange fees… And pay for things as though we were locals.
Likewise we could be sat at home and pay anyone — the other side of the world — instantly. No more international bank fees. No 5-day wait times.

This is not just about you and me buying stuff with our phones.

Anything with an internet connection can use cryptocurrency.

When the internet was born, the creators agreed a bunch of rules or “protocols” around how devices exchange information. But they didn’t think about how to exchange value.

Ethereum is emerging as the financial cornerstone of the internet that we didn’t realise we needed.

Earn while you sleep

That computer you have plugged in but not used 50% of the time? You could rent out its spare computing power and earn crypto in your sleep.
One day, anything that has a small computer in it will be able to do this — TVs, fridges, even lights could earn you money!

“No-loss Lotteries” – Get your money back if you don’t win

With PoolTogether everyone’s lottery money is pooled and earns interest for a week. Then one person wins all the interest and everyone gets their money back!

Receive your salary as a “stream”

And pay your bills bit-by-bit too! Payroll in real-time, not once a month. Smooth out the bumps. No more payday loans.

No more passwords!

Imagine you didn’t have to “sign up” for every different service or website online. All the information is on your Ethereum account, and you have a digital signature (just a button press) to share what they need each time.

Own unique game assets

Provably unique game assets, which in some cases can have enormous value when resold to collectors.

Crowd-fund your house refurbishment

Rather than going to a bank to get a mortgage, what if you could use the value of your home to raise money from people all over the world? You borrow and agree to pay interest to shareholders until you pay them back.

Musicians and artists will be able to live off their work

Most musicians and artists are famously poor. They scrape a living off gigs or commissions. Platforms like Spotify and Apple music take your subscription fee and give it to artists you never listen to. Your money never makes it to the barely known artist you love and play on repeat.

Cryptocurrency will change that. Musicians (or any content creator) will be paid as their work is being listened to or watched.

And a painter or sculptor could receive a percentage every time their art is resold.

The most amazing thing about all of this is that you don’t need permission to take part in this or build on this new “financial internet”.

It is designed to be distributed around the world, open. “Decentralised”.

Banks and countries can go bust, but your money is yours alone. And safe.

All you need is an internet connection and an app.

Where should I start?

Argent of course!

Please add to this list!

What else can you imagine? Or is already possible today? What in particular, is possible with crypto / blockchain that is just not possible?

Published at Mon, 23 Dec 2019 13:36:02 +0000

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