It’s an undeniable fact that cryptocurrency stands to shift the very balance of the internet’s infrastructure. Cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, has gotten where it is today through social media. Reddit was one of the biggest influential platforms for Bitcoin. So much so that journalists find their breaking crypto news on Reddit and then transfer the news they read on the forums to other social media networks like Twitter and Facebook. Bitcoin can thank a lot of their success thus far to social media.
So what does this look like for the future? Well, speculation on this topic is ENDLESS. Theories on what the future holds for bitcoin are never-ending. They range from the theory that it could be the currency for online shopping to the idea that bitcoin will become the currency of the world. There are many ideas as to where bitcoin could go, but one central fact remains: bitcoin will change social media, period.
Bitcoin’s invention, blockchain, offers social media networks truly decentralized social content, a more secure social network, and better consumer payment options. With a blockchain form of social media, users will be able to control the content they post with no oversight or central server to deem their content inappropriate or misinformation. No oversight has both advantages and disadvantages; on one hand, the power is in the hands of the content creator; they don’t have to worry about a post potentially disabling their account. On the other hand, there is a lot of room for abuse of power. Another positive is that this type of advantage provides users with a sense of security.
In an interview for the bitcoin conference, The B Word, Elon Musk claimed that, “Government interference, fraud, etc. can be eliminated with things like paypal and bitcoin that solves for scarcity, decentralization (no coercion from the system as a whole), and open ledgers…”
The freedom from fraud and interference in everyday life as a citizen is a big deal, especially for foreign nations with heavy government influence. Blockchain has also offered a solution for bots and fake content. Companies like Safe.press are on the front end of bringing a stop to inaccurate news. Safe.press is a blockchain that is committed to not declaring news as fake or true, but rather authentic. They check that the news is traceable and proven and offer news that they deem authentic with a Safe.press seal of approval. This kind of security also offers a safer transaction for consumers.
Here’s where Bitcoin comes into play. If bitcoin could find a way to become the central payment method for online businesses worldwide, then it could completely revolutionize the way businesses run. Social media would be on the forefront and many businesses would switch to solely running their business on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and potentially even Twitter. Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO and co-founder, suggests that “If the internet gets the chance to have a native currency what would that be? To me it’s bitcoin because of its principles, the community driving it, and the tests it has gone through.” Jack Dorsey has been an advocate for the cryptocurrency and has confirmed that the currency will have a very influential role in Twitter’s future. Forbes highlighted that Bitcoin offers solutions to many of the issues that Twitter faces like:
- Twitter represents a centralized company; Bitcoin promotes decentralization
- Twitter represents a need to try and prevent fraudulent accounts; Bitcoin promotes privacy/anonymity (in some senses)
- Twitter represents a company struggling with how to handle censorship and account suspension; Bitcoin promotes censorship resistance
However, bitcoin does not completely solve all issues, in fact, it creates some more than were previously present. The utmost of these being the environmental ramifications of cryptocurrency. Investopedia found that the usage of Bitcoin requires a copious amount of energy-equivalent to how much energy Argentina uses in a year (121 Terawatt-hours). Furthermore, Bitcoin currently generates 11.5 kilotons of e-waste per year, which has caused great concern for leaders on the potential environmental ramifications the currency could have if used on a bigger scale.“I don’t think there is anything more enabling for people around the world,” Dorsey said. Bitcoin opens up doors for people that have never been opened before. As Cathie Wood explained at the B Word conference in July, Bitcoin serves as a hedge against confiscation of wealth and a hedge against deflation. Bitcoin is the future of money like Dorsey said at the Bitcoin conference last month, “Bitcoin changes everything.”
