The Uses of Crypto Beyond Buying and Selling

There are many uses for cryptocurrencies besides just paying for goods and services.

The storage, transfer, and trading of cryptocurrencies can be done electronically. Current definitions of cryptocurrencies refer to them as "digital representations of value" that aren't issued by public authorities or central banks and are accepted by private or commercial entities for payment purposes. However, it is important to note that they are not considered currencies or money in the traditional sense in most countries. Most often, they are classified as commodities or securities though those designations are still subject to change.

In addition to the specific cryptocurrencies that serve as digital money, they all have market value. Due to blockchain technology's immense potential, new applications beyond conventional financial transactions are emerging at an unprecedented pace. More than just a passing fad, the evolving possibilities are changing the world.

The Bitcoin Revolution - Banking for the Unbanked

According to recent trends, Bitcoin is becoming increasingly popular in regions with limited access to banking or suffering from political instability and hyperinflation.

Globally, over 2 billion people lack bank accounts. In Latin America, 45% of adults do not have a financial account of any kind, according to the World Bank. More than 207 million people in Latin America do not have bank accounts as of 2022 due to poor infrastructure in rural areas. Providing banking services to lowincome families living in remote areas with little or no access to branches of banking institutions has been a significant challenge in many Latin American countries. Then along came crypto.

For the first time, cryptocurrency provides banking services for people without bank access, allowing people without a bank account to send and receive funds across borders quickly while being less expensive than any other means. Crypto is the perfect solution for them.

The number of people with access to or owning mobile phones is increasing in many of these regions, even though economies are still largely cash-driven and people cannot afford transportation to visit banks for registration. Creating a digital wallet for Bitcoin transfers allows people to store value without relying on traditional banks. By using digital wallets, people without bank accounts may be able to participate in finance and create a store of value independent of traditional banks.

Ethereum - a network for applications and smart contracts that is decentralized.

Even though Bitcoin started the crypto revolution, Ethereum was the one that made it a true industry. Because of its unofficial status as the "world standard" for decentralized applications (DApps), smart contracts, and the introduction of the ERC20 token standard, Ethereum is currently the most popular

distributed computing platform in the world.

The building blocks of Ethereum applications are smart contracts. On the blockchain, they are computer programs that allow traditional contracts to be converted into digital ones. The structure of smart contracts is extremely precise, based on an if this, then that logic. This means they behave exactly as programmed and cannot be altered.

Blockchain-based assets like utility tokens, which give holders the right to use DApps or preferential access to services offered by cryptocurrency ecosystems, online games like CryptoKitties, and security tokens, which transfer investors' shares in the company issuing the token, are based on the ERC20 standard and smart tokens.

IOTA - a platform for connecting IoT resources and services.

IOTA is the first distributed ledger built for the IoT - "Internet of Things" - a network for exchanging value and data between humans and machines. Using smart contracts, physical devices connected to the internet can make payments and other transactions. An example of a reallife use case for IOTA is its partnership with a prominent car manufacturer to test its "smart wallet" technology in connected car services. Mobile phones can be used to pay for road tolls, smart charging, or parking fees using credits earned by drivers. Various entities, such as highway departments, road maintenance authorities, and others, receive these credits by enabling their vehicles to report on road conditions.

Digitizing precious metals with assetbacked tokens

The intrinsic value of asset-backed tokens is directly linked to the physical assets backing them up, unlike utility tokens. Tokenization enhances the market liquidity of physical assets, making it easier for people to trade and invest.

Liquidity refers to the ease and speed with which assets are bought and sold. Purchase processes can be made much more efficient and quicker by digitizing real-world assets like real estate or cars. The digitization of assets also opens

markets to investors who weren't previously able to participate. In contrast to traditional financial institutions, tokenizing physical assets allows for an extremely high degree of fractionalization - that is, the asset can be divided into numerous small pieces.

Investing in fractional ownership of an asset allows all parties to benefit from their investments in proportion to the fractions they own and requires only a small amount of funds. Traditional financial institutions generally restrict clients with insufficient funds from making investments, but tokenization allows people to start investing with as little as $100.

Stablecoins- Connecting crypto to fiat.

The purpose of stablecoins was to eliminate the volatility of traditional cryptocurrencies by maintaining a consistent value. Typically, stablecoins are tied to the US dollar or Japanese yen and are referred to as "fiat-backed" stablecoins. Stablecoins may also be pegged to other cryptos called "crypto-backed," or physical items are known as "commodity-backed."

A regulated financial entity should hold the fiat currency or asset backing up the stablecoin. Traders use stablecoins like Tether and USD Coin, pegged to the US dollar, to move quickly between cryptocurrencies.

Stablecoins have the benefits of cryptocurrencies without the volatility of prices since their value fluctuates alongside the value of another asset. Stablecoins are mainly used by cryptocurrency traders who want to quickly switch between volatile cryptocurrencies and stable assets.

If you wanted to trade Bitcoin for Ethereum without losing too much value, you'd need to exchange it without losing too much value. In anticipation of the Bitcoin price dropping, you exchange your Bitcoins for a stablecoin such as Tether or USD Coin. In addition, stablecoins can also provide people living in areas marked by economic turmoil, unstable domestic currencies, and insufficient access to banking with a means of transferring value.

Technology and investment democratization are driving forces behind the blockchain industry. It will be crucial for cryptocurrency use cases to succeed in the future for global regulators and industry professionals to work together to promote the adoption of digital assets in everyday life.

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Crypto's Undeniable Use Case

In this episode of Empire, Jason and Santi are joined by Erik Voorhees, the founder of Shapeshift and OG of the crypto industry.

Erik believes crypto can change the world, and this episode explores his thesis on Bitcoin's future, on-chain maximalism, DAO structures and crypto's path to adoption.