Digitized Money
I’m normally writing about digitizing documents, but this is a timely topic that I’ve recently taken a keen interest in.
Since the dawn of time, coins and currency have existed in some form to help facilitate transactions.
The invention of coins is still shrouded in mystery, but the first known physical coins were made of electrum, an alloy of silver and gold. It appears that many early Lydian coins were minted by merchants as tokens to be used in trade transactions. The Lydian state also minted coins, most of the coins mentioning king Alyattes of Lydia. Where was Lydia? Basically, it was located in Turkey. Although these coins were minted in the 6th century BC, it took a long time for coins to be accepted as currency, so they really weren’t used for another 300 or so years.
The creation of coinage in Lydia played a large role in the economic development of the world and still plays a factor in today’s society. Coinage encouraged a movement from the barter system to a system of money. The introduction of coins allowed for a standard currency to be made so that all merchants, political systems, and rulers could make transactions less difficult.
Paper bills were first used by the Chinese, who started carrying folding money during the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907) — mostly in the form of privately issued bills of credit or exchange notes — and used it for more than 500 years before the practice began to catch on in Europe in the 17th century.
But I like to talk about coins, and If you would be interested in seeing a list of the top 9 valuable US made coins please visit my website Blog: www.advancedimagingsolutions.com
Now we have new players in the field of money. In 2008 Satoshi Nakamoto published his invention in a research paper called “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. Transactions are made with no middle man- in other words NO banks. As part of the implementation, Nakamoto’s group also devised the first blockchain database. The software and the currency it allowed was called Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a digital asset, and along with many others such as Etherum and Ripple they are now called cryptocurrencies.
There are key differences between Bitcoin (cryptocurrencies) and blockchain. Blockchain is a digitized, distributed and secure ledger that guarantees unchangeable transactions and solves the trust problem when two parties exchange value. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin rely on blockchain to conduct transactions. Yet blockchain transcends cryptocurrencies and offers many solutions that are likely to disrupt numerous industries with some profound implications. One big name claiming to jump on board soon is Amazon. I have read they may accept cryptocurrencies in the near future.
Bitcoin’s promise was to bypass the centralized economic system and enable peer-to-peer exchange of value using the digital currency. But with the fluctuating price of Bitcoin, it is very hard to buy a cup of coffee or an album online. It is also impractical given the delay required to complete time-sensitive transactions. In fact, since Bitcoin’s astronomical rise in December 2017, the number of Bitcoin transactions has dramatically plunged.
Bitcoin may go down in history as a great technological invention that popularized blockchain yet failed due to its design limitations. Just like the industrial revolution was fueled by the combustion engine, Nakamoto’s most valuable contribution is the blockchain engine that will further accelerate innovation in the post-information age and immensely affect our lives.
Consider bitcoin as the car and blockchain as the engine. The engine runs the car no matter the brand on the body. The possibilities of blockchain seem endless and in my opinion profitable in the world of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin was the first “car”, and now there are over 1,600 new models. Most of them aren’t really relevant, but about 20 of them are relevant and likely to become the gold standard as this currency progresses.
Am I investing in cryptocurrency technology? You can bet your boots I am! There is rare opportunity today to get in on the bottom floor of such a world changing event such as this one. In fact, my small investments are paying me an 8% monthly compounded rate of return. Is your bank doing that for you? Laugh Out Loud! We can talk about this further, but I don’t really sell investments. I can however help you to save money by digitizing your valuable business documents!
Kathryn Smith, CDIA+ is the founder and owner of Advanced Imaging Solutions, Inc. Since 1998 AIS has been providing document/drawing/book/microfilm scanning services locally, nationally, and internationally. Call me if you would like to us to give you a free quote on pick- up and delivery, or onsite services to preserve your valuable records.
kathrynsmith@advancedimagingsolutions.com
225-216-1999
www.advancedimagingsolutions.com
