Cryptocurrency is the latest trending topic in and around the world. People can't get enough of it and it is the sole topic of discussion across various social media platforms, be it Twitter or Reddit. It has attracted the attention of many famous personalities around the world who have got themselves heavily involved in cryptos. 

The past few months saw an even more rise in the number of people investing in various forms of Cryptocurrency as it is slowly becoming a household feature in almost every part of India. Naturally, it comes to our mind what is the main reason behind this surge in popularity and how people like Elon Musk have played a huge impact on its success.


WHAT IS CRYPTOCURRENCY?

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Firstly let us discuss what exactly does Cryptocurrencies mean. We are currently undergoing a worldwide digitalisation where everything is sold or bought as a digital product. Currencies are also no exception and Cryptocurrencies fall exactly under the category of a digital asset. It is a kind of digital or virtual money that can be used in the same way as physical currencies such as dollars, pounds, yen and rupees.

The most interesting fact about these digital currencies is that it is almost nearly impossible to produce counterfeit cryptos since they are given utmost security through cryptography. This is where blockchains come into play which ensures its integrity and every transaction through cryptocurrency is recorded digitally which ensures the utmost safety.

WHAT IS THE REASON FOR THE RAPID RISE IN CRYPTOCURRENCY?

Cryptocurrency has become a global phenomenon and has caused a stir throughout the world due to a variety of reasons. The fact that it has led people to believe in digital currencies highlights that it must have some strong points which appealed to the common mass as a whole. Let us take a look at some of them.

  • Immune to Government manipulation:

The major factor that has been a strong point in the favour of Cryptocurrencies is the inability of the government to manipulate the market and cause a sudden change in the price of the various Cryptocurrencies available. The main idea behind the creation of Cryptocurrencies was always to form a decentralised network away from the control of the government. This has worked to some extent but has also led to the banning of cryptocurrencies in major countries like China. Although the ban was a temporary one, it affected the price of Cryptos and led to a bearish market.

  • Autonomous and discreet transactions:

Cryptocurrencies saw a rapid shift in control from the authorities to the people buying and using them. Theoretically, buyers will have complete control over how they want to use their Cryptos without the interference of any intermediates like banks. It also provides complete discretion to the buyer and can't be traced back to him easily.

  • Ease of accessibility:

Behind any great product, the efficiency of its accessibility plays a huge role in determining its success. The way Cryptos are available to us just by using our smartphones and computers have raised their stakes even more. People don't have to follow the usual banking system to buy Cryptos and it also doesn't involve any credit cards or other sorts of payment making it relatively simple and easy to use.

  • Avoidance of transaction fees:

Another attractive feature of dealing with Cryptocurrencies is that it completely removes the concept of transaction fees, unlike other currencies. This helps the users to easily transfer their digital assets without having to worry about external charges. Although some sort of charges may be involved in the transactions that are made through the involvement of a third party.

TYPES OF CRYPTOCUURENCIES

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Similar to how we have various forms of currencies available to us, Cryptocurrencies are no exception. There are various types of Cryptocurrencies available and users can choose to deal with any/all of them. Some of the most well-renowned Cryptocurrencies are as follows-

  • Bitcoin
  • Ethereum
  • Cardano
  • Doge
  • Litecoin
  • Matic Network
  • Polka Dot
  • Solana

Out of all these Cryptocurrencies, the most popular one is Bitcoin. Ten years ago, the price of one Bitcoin was just a mere dollar whereas now it is approximately 38593 dollars. Just take a moment and think about how crazy is that. Bitcoin has become a household name as more and more people have invested in this particular cryptocurrency to reap the benefits. Recently, a 10-year-old video surfaced in which a man had suggested people to buy one dollar worth of bitcoin. 

It is safe to say that all those who followed his advice are having a great time now. Apart from Bitcoin, Ethereum is the second-most popular Cryptocurrency and has given tough competition to it with its stake rising rapidly. Some even hold the belief that Ethereum has the potential to overtake Bitcoin as the most valuable Crytpcorrency in the future. The world of Cryptocurrency has also seen the introduction of many meme coins like Doge which we will discuss later.

CRYPTOCURRENCY TRADING IN INDIA

The recent months of April, May and June has seen a rapid spike in the number of people investing in Cryptocurrencies in India for the first time. Although, the timing was not perfect for the people new to the world of Cryptos as the market underwent a decline and the price of Cryptos fell significantly. 

WazirX and Coinswitch are two of the most trusted and popular platforms for Indians to trade in Cryptocurrencies. They have done a brilliant job with their marketing to create a FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) in Indians leading to everyone wanting a piece of Cryptos without even the proper knowledge of what they exactly mean and how to use them.

THE ELON MUSK FACTOR

Elon Musk has played a huge role in the upward surge of Crypto with his company Tesla accepting the payment of cars with Bitcoins. Some other companies also followed suit and made Bitcoins a viable means of exchange. This led to Bitcoin's value attaining an all-time high as it continued to skyrocket. However, in the past few months, Elon Musk took a complete u-turn on his stance and removed the policy of buying Tesla cars with Bitcoins. 

He highlighted the negative impact on the environment as his cause for the change in his mind. This led to a crash in the market as the value of Bitcoin began to rapidly decline causing many people to lose money. As a result, Elon Musk came under a lot of criticism and the question arose how can a single person have so much control over the market and can manipulate it with just a single tweet. Similarly, Dogecoin despite being a meme coin also saw a boost in its value owing to Elon Musk's positive tweets regarding it.

DISADVANTAGES OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES

Similar to how Cryptocurrency has a lot of good points in its favour it also has some drawbacks. Just like the two sides of a coin, we will go through some of its disadvantages that has still kept many people on the fence.

  • High Volatility: One of the major drawbacks of Cryptocurrencies is their high volatility which can lead to people losing a lot of money if they are not educated properly on Cryptos. Most of the new Cryptos that are introduced have the highest risk of volatility which is why people are advised against investing in them right from the beginning.
  • Problems with Cybersecurity: Since Cryptocurrencies are digital assets they have a potential chance of falling into the hands of hackers if they manage to breach cybersecurity. Although they are safely encrypted we can't completely rule away from the possibility of them being hacked.
  • Regulations: Perhaps one of the major negative points in the case of Cryptocurrency is the fact that it has not been recognised by Warren Buffet himself. He has publicly rejected the idea of Cryptos and said that he has no belief in them. He expects them to implode in the future since they have no proper regulations imposed on them.
Conclusion: Despite all the arguments and counter-arguments, one thing is certain. Cryptocurrencies are here to stay. They have the potential to replace physical currencies in the future but whether they will be able to do so or not is completely a matter of time. 

At this moment we can only wait and see how the situation plays out. The one important factor that we must note is that we should not give in to FOMO and must educate ourselves properly before investing any of our hard-earned money into these digital currencies. 
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