Up until now, cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have been a toy for tech geeks, futurists and libertarian idealists. While cryptocurrency has gained value over the last few years, many have wondered whether it would forever remain a cult echo chamber or if it had the chance to actually break out into the mainstream.
This past week two major developments happened that bode well for a mainstream awakening. First, Overstock.com announced that it would be accepting over 40 different blockchain coins. What’s the big deal? Now you can convert your bitcoin into real products, shipped straight to your door. This could be a huge gamechanger, although it could also be a huge flop. Time will tell. If Overstock.com executes this successfully, expect more online retailers to follow suit (Amazon anyone?). And if that happens, we can safely say that cryptocurrency is the future.
An additional development that bodes well for the stability and trustworthiness of the cryptocurrency markets is that Russian is effectively mining Bitcoin as a reserve currency. This is a big deal. A major nation state is looking to bitcoin as the future and put a great deal of confidence in the long term value of cryptocurrency and the blockchain.
The next few years should be a wild ride.
