Hello world, Siraj here! Let's talk about 5 ways to use Bitcoin.
The first way to use it is to make money transfer faster. The current system of money transfer is centered
around banks. Even though Bitcoin doesn't require a bank account, I'm still a fan of the idea of a bank
I'm not saying all banks are 100% trustworthy, but I am saying I trust mine enough to use it
It provides security as a service. I can put all my money in my bank account and not have to worry that it will be
stolen because they've built that trust. Over a long period of time with many, many people.
I get a debit card and don't have to carry cash on me. And if my card is stolen and fraudulent charges are
made, my bank will refund me. It's great! But one thing that my bank could do better is transfer money faster.
Banks can use the Bitcoin protocol to make money transfer instant. For example, international money
transfer usually takes 5 business days. That's because the banking system was designed pre-internet.
so money has to be routed through a bunch of different checkpoints before it reaches the recipient.
The Bitcoin protocol runs over the Internet. So the recipient will receive your money instantly.
to do this, Banks can create their own internal cryptocurrency pegged to their state currency
since Bitcoin is so volatile. So one bankcoin could equal one US dollar always. And bankcoin could piggyback off
the speed and security of the Bitcoin blockchain. To a user, all transactions would occur in their currency
of choice just like always. They wouldn't even know it. But under the hood, this technology would not only
make money transfer instant. It would also allow you to send money directly to Bitcoin addresses
not just traditional bank accounts. I mean not everyone has the privilege of having trustworthy banks in their
country. Particularly in the developing world. A third of the world's adult population doesn't have a bank
account. In developing countries, financial infrastructure can be totally, totally absent.
People need bank accounts to participate in the global economy. To get paid and access loans and build credit
Bitcoin makes the barrier to entry for getting a bank account zero. Open a Bitcoin wallet and you're good to
go. The Bitcoin protocol can increase the reach of who we can send and receive money from.
Not just people with traditional bank accounts, but people with standalone Bitcoin addresses as well.
Basically anyone with a phone can have what is essentially a bank account in their pocket.
That's pretty cool, right? The second way to use it is to make it easier to earn money online.
Online transactions involving traditional currency involve transfer fees. Which means you can't really
pay people a few cents at a time because the payment would be lower than the fee itself.
Bitcoin allows people to get paid with really really small amounts or micropayments.
Since the transaction fee is almost nonexistent. That means instead of being paid every 2 weeks at your job
you could be able to get paid by the hour, minute, or even second. People could pay each other fractions of
pennies for data. Whether that be images, or videos, or articles. Whatever! So if you were to write a song and
post it on the Internet, you could ask people to give you 1 cent or even half a cent per view. Bitcoin finally makes
this possible. The third way to use it is to help grow your startup. Lets say you want to start a startup,
you create a product and incorporate your company. Now you just need to raise money to get started
crowdfunding could be a cool idea but people might not be as likely to invest in you if all they get is a free t shirt.
what if you could reward people with equity or shares in your company. Using Bitcoin you could create your
own currency with a few clicks. and you could think of your coins as shares in your company.
Each share would be linked to one coin. You can give them out to people who back you early on, or
early adopters. The value of your coin will grow as the value of your company grows. Just like in a traditional
corporation. So not just crowdfunding, but crowdequity. It's like an IPO on day one.
It'll allow you to raise money much faster and since people will be more invested in your company
succeeding, you'd get much more exposure. But the possibilities don't end there. Advances in robotics and
automation technology are increasing at an accelerating rate. Robots are gonna replace a lot of humans for labor
based jobs, and then the need for a social safety net for people will become more apparent.
While micropayments will allow people to get paid for their data, it might not be enough to fulfill their basic
needs entirely. Which brings us to our fourth use. Their could someday be a cryptocurrency that creates a
global basic income.That's right, a cryptocurrency that gives people money for doing nothing.
We'd all be able to do whatever we want while all the robots do all the work. Travel, do research, do drugs, um.
Sorry, no. Anyway, we need to find a way to prove one person could only create one account.
perhaps by verifying existing government IDs? Then it could send everyone who owns coins a small dividend
every week just for existing. And we could call it 'SocialCoin'. There are so many possibilities
i mean there have been many other cryptocurrencies created since Bitcoin. There's Litecoin, and Dogecoin,
and KanyeCoin. 'I am a God' Kanye please you had your spotlight. And all of them have their own unique features
Litecoin has faster transactions. Gridcoin uses the computing power of its miners to solve scientific
research problems. Zerocoin makes transaction history private. The list goes on. Our fifth use is efficiently
connecting all money. The future of money is one where there is a thin layer of software around all currency.
and we can just transact in the currency we're most familiar with and take advantage of different currency
features under the hood. Protocols like Stellar aim to do just that. Two of the biggest problems in the world
War and poverty are directly linked to the uneven distribution of wealth globally.
Bitcoin can help optimize how money is transferred across the planet. And make the world more safe
and equal and free. If you have more ideas on ways to use Bitcoin, please share them in the comments below
I'd love to read them. Thanks for watching!