Curious about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Just get some...

Probably preaching to the choir on Steemit but this rant I wrote earlier this year got a good response on LinkedIn and thought it would be good to share and kick off my Steemit account...

Happy new year! If your family (direct and extended) is anything like mine you probably spent the last few weeks of 2017 eating too much and washing it down with alcohol at various BBQs and banquets. I also imagine, some conversations were had about cryptocurrencies, which permeated more and more into the mainstream during the second half of 2017. No doubt resident family gurus and skeptics enjoyed a debate or two over lunch turned dinners.

As we kick off 2018 I find it strange that there are still quite a few people I speak to in tech who are outside looking in when it comes to cryptocurrencies, turned off by the talk of doom and gloom or the complexities which underpin its mechanics. However when removing the monetary concepts, Bitcoin and other block-chain based cryptocurrencies are presenting us with a whole new technological paradigm. One, which investing some real coin (just some) into is the best way to understand its principles and potential.

Before I go on, I'll stress that I'm no expert on block-chain or in cryptocurrency. This piece is not about whether or not you should get involved as a means to invest, spend or store your hard-earned via cryptocurrency exchanges but rather a suggestion to anyone working in the tech space that they invest a little time to get some first hand experience with them to better understand the concepts therein.

Why invest money?

Investing money will not only provide you the means to buy cryptocurrency coins, tokens, credits etc but by having a financial investment (even if only small) you will be motivated to pay a little more attention to the news-cycle, research the technologies, learn about the philosophies behind Bitcoin and read up on what different startups are trying to do (with various degrees of success) in the emerging space.

Personally, I've found that actually owning some "crypto" has given me a better understanding of how and why they are valuable and what is possible with this emerging and disruptive technology. While I was familiar conceptually with it all before investing, it wasn't until I was transferring funds onto an exchange, buying cryptocurrencies and transferring them to a USB wallet that I really started to appreciate how big a deal this all is.

While mainstream talk focuses on the financial implications, it is the technology which Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc are built upon and the fundamental concepts which are just as, if not more intriguing. However the topic is hard to broach without discussing money and tech professionals who are reluctant to get involved may well be justified. Therefore, I'd suggest thinking about this as upkeep with technology, associating any costs to learning rather than investing.

Disrupting money and innovation

If you want a good introduction with real-world analogies regarding how Bitcoin, et al are already changing the world and will probably do so more in the future, Andreas M. Antonopoulos' book The Internet of Money is a great read in which he stresses that the currency should be treated as secondary and that the technology itself, "a dumb network", is the real gem.

The underlying philosophy around dumb networks allowing for smart devices to connect around the edges is one that the internet itself has proven to nurture innovation because anyone can join from the outskirts and create all the things you use online everyday without a central authority.

When looking at block-chain as the natural progression in major disrupting technologies, it's important as software professionals that we at least take a peek. We may find ourselves working with the technology one way or another, sooner or later, and having some experience will be beneficial.

For designers, if cryptocurrencies really take off, then there will be a lot of work to do to make experiences around them more user friendly. Another reason for people not getting in on the action is they mystery that seems to surround getting your hands on some. The user-friendliness is getting better but the UX is still rooted in current monetary thinking which is not natural to cryptocurrency concepts at all. It could be that the fact it is presented and executed like Forex trading which actually puts people off and perhaps why, those in finance seem much more open to jumping on-board?

So which cryptocurrency to buy?

Whichever you want really? The future may not be about which one cryptocurrency will win, but which value added technology or services using block-chain (therefore generating a token of some sort) will gain traction.

Companies leveraging block-chain technology are not just striving to replace fiat currencies. Bitcoin's goal of decentralised peer-to-peer banking is not the only thing going on in the space and we could end up with payment processing in various contexts through various cryptocurrencies.

This is where it gets interesting, as examples, Reddcoin (RDD) focuses on Social Media, with their tokens used as micro donations to content creators. GameCredits (GAME) on the other hand focuses on in-game purchases. All the while, your "money" can be stored wherever you want, including under your bed, literally, thanks to USB wallets such as those from Ledger Wallet.

There are so many cryptocurrencies available, I'd suggest getting whatever coin(s) appeal to your interests or beliefs. Some are really cheap too, just don't expect them all to be the next Bitcoin and give you that retirement money.

In the end, more than one currency can remain relevant if they are divided by context, as an example I'll use real world casino chips. Casino chips always retain value inside a casino but probably won't get you a loaf of bread. Now, imagine if every casino in the world accepted the same chip rather than having their own. Of course that's not how casino chips work, they are centralised by the casino and valued 1:1 against the fiat currency of the country they are in. But, they one day could, if they were "crypto casino chips". And yes, I'm sure there's already people working on that...

I predict, based on my (albeit limited) understanding of the current state-of-play regarding block-chain and cryptocurrencies that we may end up with an infinite number of currencies (one for each system we use). Whether this future comes true or not, we are in the age of disruption and money was never going to immune and getting your hands on some cryptocurrency really is the best way to demystify the cryptic vision presented in a lot of media.

Where to start?

Get an account on an Australian exchange: You can use BTC Markets (a Melbourne based exchange) to buy the more established coins in AUD. It will take a few days for you to get setup and verified and they keep things sensible with their limits too which is good. They exchange (both ways) Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Ripple and LiteCoin.

For a wider range of cryptocurrencies on an Australian exchance, you can use CoinSpot however they only accept deposits in BitCoin and AUD. You'll need to keep that in mind if you take your coins off their exchange and then want to put them back (this limitation will make more sense if and when you get that far). Again, verification takes some time, so get that process started while you're researching which coins you are interested in.

Get yourself a USB wallet: Once you purchase some coins you will probably want to store them in your own personal bank. Storing your coins on a wallet is an interesting process and safer than leaving them on an exchange unless you plan to trade of course. Ledger Wallet have some great products and their Nano S can store quite a range of different cryptocurrencies (but check it can store yours before you buy).

Keep track of values and news: Blockfolio is a cool app for monitoring your portfolio performance as well as breaking crypto-news.

Spend them: If you purchase Bitcoin, you will find many services which allow you to spend it directly however there are also services which allow you to do things like load up pre-paid Visa-debit cards and spend it that way.

Listen to some experts: Again, I recommend reading and listening to Andreas M. Antonopoulos (whether you buy coins or not). He does a really good job of explaining this complex topic and how it applies to the real-world with very interesting insights and theories on finance, disruption and design.

I'll leave you with this passionate statement from his book:

"As we move into this world where money is a content type, the gatekeepers of the old payment systems will cling to the illusion that traditional banking is quality. That the gatekeepers are the quality. That the quality is inherent in the gatekeeping—in the control, in the censorship, in the limitations. But that's not where the quality is. We're moving on and opening up the range of expression that is possible with money to unimaginable levels, to things that have never happened before. They'll still cling to their ideas of gradiosity: the great old banks with the vaulted ceilings and the chromed vault that are empty..."