Bitcoin: the future or a bubble?

If your life is anything like mine (or not), you too would have heard several stories from friends and family about how they were offered to buy bitcoins at a very low amount a while back and now regret losing that opportunity since the value has hiked so much. Bitcoin is everywhere these days – it’s on the news, all over social media – everyone you know seems to be interested in this one thing. But is it really all that?

Bitcoin holds a dark side not many of us are aware of. A huge majority of bitcoin users right now are law abiding citizens that just want to increase the amount of money in their pockets, but that doesn’t mean that big shady transactions don’t take place through this virtual currency all the time. The anonymity that bitcoin offers allows for utmost convenience for crimes to take place. From drug trade to organ trade to human trafficking to an actual ransomware attack, bitcoin is increasingly being used by dangerous crime groups and serious criminals for their benefit.

It’s important to understand that as attractive as the investment seems, there isn’t even an identity attached to the person that created all of this. You will basically be giving your hard earned money to a system where you have no legal recourse, which was created by individuals you (or anyone, really) don’t know at all. In case you lose all this “money” you’ve “earned” in a scam, there will be no way for you to take any legal action towards anyone, thanks to the absolute inability to track bitcoin users.

Apart from all of this, it is also just very volatile. It is known to have drastic ups and downs in its value. It has hiked a few times in earlier years (2010 & 2013), right before experiencing a crazy fall right afterwards.

source: https://blockchain.info/

And in the end, bitcoin is neither a tangible asset, nor a form of fiat money. Owning 1000 bitcoins is virtually a lot but in reality it is nothing. Everyone is investing in bitcoin with the assumption that someday someone else will give them cash in exchange or that bitcoin will become the go to currency for everything. And this speculation is leading to more and more people investing in bitcoins without any research or information (Sounds like many other speculative bubbles, that all burst at some point).

Maybe, rather than trying to entirely ban or halt bitcoin activities, governments can find solutions to use such an advanced technology to their advantage? Maybe there is a reason they haven’t done it yet? Either way, as individuals – it’s better to be safe, than sorry. Just as Warren Buffet said, “If you don’t understand it, don’t invest in it!”

Tell me what YOU think about the bitcoin.

Technology impacts on Globalization

Although there is no singularly agreed upon definition, globalization is often understood as the process through which products, people, ideas, culture, and capital, are transferred around the world creating a system of global integration. Whereas in the past some nations or societies could stand alone and be self-sufficient, today all nations and almost all people are part of an interdependent global order.

One of the main driving forces of globalization, or at least the thing that highly facilitates this global interdependence, is technology. Because of computers and advances in the transportation of people and data, goods and services can be seamlessly and easily transferred around the world. With the technological capabilities we have today, people in countries far away do not have to wait days or weeks to communicate with each other and exchange items. These sorts of global transactions can occur instantly, in real time.

To understand both the complexity of globalization, it may be useful to consider whether globalization is making the world smaller or larger.

As a study done by the world-famous Economist it seemed to be suggesting that the world was getting smaller to the extent that old and local ways of doing things were giving way to more. They would agree that there is a “compression of the world” such that people across the globe share many of the same things.  As a specific example, they mentioned how we are moving from “numerous national and local literatures” to a “world literature.”

But, when its come to literature its signals the ascendancy of a global culture. As an example, If you have ever travelled, you know that you are likely to find certain products such as McDonalds, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Apple, and Microsoft, in all corners of the world. As we knew a hungry man who is traveling would likely stop at a local restaurant and sample some of the specialized delicacies. But, Today the same traveller is often choosing between chicken Nuggets from McDonalds, fried chicken from KFC, and a chicken sandwich from Subway—the exact same choices the traveller has back in his home country.

On the other hand, we can make an argument that the forces of technology on globalization have opened the world up to such an extent that the world is larger than it’s ever been. With advances in telecommunications and transportation, the world has become a huge and inviting landscape for exploration and engagement with each other. Now, traveling to each part of world has become so easier, we can communicate with people from foreign cultures and locales, and we can pursue new opportunities for professional and business growth.

It is not an exaggeration to say that globalization and technological advances are impacting our lives every day. however, i9t’s true that the effects of globalization and that we realize also how these effects are occurring so rapidly and regularly and effecting our life.