What if you owned one millionth of all USD in existence? How much would that be? Well, with about 10 trillion in circulation I believe the answer we're looking for is $10,000,000. It sounds like a lot. It sounds like an unattainable amount that the vast majority of the population could never hope to posses.
However, how much would it cost you to own one millionth of Bitcoin? What about Ethereum, EOS, or Steem? Finding out the answer is easy enough. Simply divide the market cap by a million.
| Blockchain | Market cap | /1000000 |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | $132B | $132,000 |
| Ethereum | $42.6B | $42,600 |
| EOS | $6.5B | $6,500 |
| Binance | $1.3B | $1,300 |
| Steem | $341M | $341 |
| Byteball | $70M | $70 |
Look at that! I already own $40 worth of Byteball simply for having Steem reputation. I was gifted 1/2,000,000th of the entire Byteball economy simply by being here. How crazy is that?
My point is: it's not hard to own a big portion of a crypto in the top 100 market cap. If we define mainstream adoption by a billion people using crypto, Owning a millionth of said crypto automatically puts you in the 99.9 percentile. This number is much higher when you consider the vast uneven distribution of money in general. Any one of us can own a huge portion of this budding economy. I personally own 1/150,000th of all Steem in existence and I'm broke as a joke working a part time job for low wages.
The best part about thinking in these terms is I'll always own this percentage of Steem coins. Even if the value of Steem crashed to ten cents I'd still own 1/150,000th of the entire platform. As a developer: someone who can actually bring value to the platform, this is a very exciting prospect. I could theoretically work for free but still end up receiving mass payouts from investing early in the platform; not to mention all the proof of brain tips that would trickle down to me as a result of my work.
A lot of people out there think that there's no more value left to be squeezed out of cryptocurrency; the bubble has/will burst and will never come back. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. As a community, we haven't even begun to accomplish what we came here to do: come to consensus and develop efficient and corruption resistant models of governance in a decentralized environment. All the while we are creating smart money that acts intelligently and obeys contracts enforced by cryptography. From this perspective, it's easy to see that we're just getting warmed up.
Everyone's focus is on Bitcoin. It has first move advantage, branding, track record, and the highest market cap. Some call it a store of value. Some call it a scam. Very few truly understand how it actually works.
In the end, what practical use is Bitcoin? Sure, it's a currency controlled by no central authority. Inflation and distribution are controlled by the community. It's a "store of value", but then again, doesn't every other crypto share these properties as well? Bitcoin won't be the top coin forever. It won't even be the top coin in five years.
The evolution of cryptocurrency has already far surpassed Bitcoin. It's only a matter of time before the fundamental superiority of other blockchains catches up and surpasses the Brand that Bitcoin has cultivated. This eventuality implies that we are still on the ground floor of a budding technological wonder of the world.
At the end of the day mainstream usage of crypto isn't going to be about sticking it to the man or ending the evil reign of central banks. Those will just be an added side bonus. The drones of the world don't care about our revolution. All they care about is functionality, convenience, and what's fashionable. They'll show off their new crypto like they showed off that new phone or clothes. Are these the people we want to put in charge as this new economy forms?
If we want crytpo to moon we have to come to consensus and put the most righteous people in charge. We need to piece together systems that identify and put into power philosopher kings of the blockchain. Guess what that means? No lambo for you. You were never meant to step on the backs of the poor for personal benefit. The world will not come to consensus to give everyone a lambo. If you want this financial revolution to succeed leave your greed at the door. Engage with the community. Get your coins. HODL!
Crypto isn't about getting some paltry short term gains and cashing back out to the old broken system. It's about sustainability. It's about purging corruption. It's about everyone living a better life and stepping out of the shadow of scarcity. Together we can build a new way of doing business where things work out the way they're supposed to. If they don't, there will be plenty of other decentralized communities we can join that share our ideals.
Welcome to the future.
Soon™
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