<p>Is it true, as naysayers and skeptics proclaim, that crypto serves no purpose, that we’d be better off without it, and that it’s all going to zero anyway?</p><p> The last of those points, that it will eventually lose all value, is reliant on the first point: that it has no purpose. According to crypto critics, you can take an empty proposition and hype it up, but in the end, you’re simply playing a game of hot potato.</p><p> The longer that bitcoin and crypto stick around and grow, the more unlikely that proposition becomes, and it’s startling to see some commentary, thirteen years after bitcoin’s creation when it has a market cap of over $380 billion and is being actively utilized, still making comparisons with tulip mania.</p><p> However, that said, it’s worth emphasizing crypto’s functions, because not only is its utility clearly identifiable, but crypto is in fact an essential and timely creation as we move with increasing speed into a digital era.</p><p>Distinguishing the Different Sectors</p><p>As a catch-all term, crypto works, encompassing all areas of blockchain technology. However, at a more accurate level, it’s necessary to distinguish between the key areas of the crypto world.</p><p>Most prominently, there is Bitcoin, and its staunchest advocates will inform you that Bitcoin is not crypto. This is confusing because bitcoin definitely is a cryptocurrency. In fact, it’s the biggest and most important cryptocurrency, but the purpose of drawing a line between Bitcoin and crypto is to stress a distinction: Bitcoin is so focused on its intent that it requires a category of its own.</p><p><a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/ethereum/" target="_blank"> Ethereum</a> and alternative Layer 1s should then be regarded as connected but separate because they share many qualities with Bitcoin, but also have some different aims. Critically, the <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/e/execution/" target="_blank" id="60010adb-9e25-4bff-9822-c9210deec853_1" class="terms__secondary-term">execution</a> of smart contracts is core to their purpose. This essentially means they can be programmed to behave in certain ways by executing coded functions under set conditions.</p><p> NFTs are a new and widely misunderstood area that is also distinct, in that, as the name (non-fungible) suggests, these are cryptocurrency tokens that are unique, rather than interchangeable, and each NFT can be traded as a one-of-a-kind…
<p>Is it true, as naysayers and skeptics proclaim, that crypto serves no purpose, that we’d be better off without it, and that it’s all going to zero anyway?</p><p> The last of those points, that it will eventually lose all value, is reliant on the first point: that it has no purpose. According to crypto critics, you can take an empty proposition and hype it up, but in the end, you’re simply playing a game of hot potato.</p><p> The longer that bitcoin and crypto stick around and grow, the more unlikely that proposition becomes, and it’s startling to see some commentary, thirteen years after bitcoin’s creation when it has a market cap of over $380 billion and is being actively utilized, still making comparisons with tulip mania.</p><p> However, that said, it’s worth emphasizing crypto’s functions, because not only is its utility clearly identifiable, but crypto is in fact an essential and timely creation as we move with increasing speed into a digital era.</p><p>Distinguishing the Different Sectors</p><p>As a catch-all term, crypto works, encompassing all areas of blockchain technology. However, at a more accurate level, it’s necessary to distinguish between the key areas of the crypto world.</p><p>Most prominently, there is Bitcoin, and its staunchest advocates will inform you that Bitcoin is not crypto. This is confusing because bitcoin definitely is a cryptocurrency. In fact, it’s the biggest and most important cryptocurrency, but the purpose of drawing a line between Bitcoin and crypto is to stress a distinction: Bitcoin is so focused on its intent that it requires a category of its own.</p><p><a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/ethereum/" target="_blank"> Ethereum</a> and alternative Layer 1s should then be regarded as connected but separate because they share many qualities with Bitcoin, but also have some different aims. Critically, the <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/e/execution/" target="_blank" id="60010adb-9e25-4bff-9822-c9210deec853_1" class="terms__secondary-term">execution</a> of smart contracts is core to their purpose. This essentially means they can be programmed to behave in certain ways by executing coded functions under set conditions.</p><p> NFTs are a new and widely misunderstood area that is also distinct, in that, as the name (non-fungible) suggests, these are cryptocurrency tokens that are unique, rather than interchangeable, and each NFT can be traded as a one-of-a-kind…
