Coming soon to the USA! While our services may not be available yet, sign up now to stay in the loop as we bring our innovative crypto solutions to America.

It’s a small, small world

August 15, 2019
Luke at CoinJar
AuthorLuke at CoinJar
It’s a small, small world

Bitcoin promised to do to money what email did to communication. Is it any closer to achieving the dream?

I still remember the strange thrill I felt when I first read about bitcoin . (And before you ask, no, I’m not obscenely rich; 26-year-old me decided that US$19 was a bit much to pay for a made-up currency.) Never before had I thought deeply about money as a cultural construct: what it meant, how it operated, how it could be broken. More than anything, bitcoin showed in stark relief the fundamental artificiality of money – and suggested the possibility that a new, different way of exchanging value might exist.

Growing pains

Back in those early days, amid the burned-out afterglow of the GFC, it was all too easy to believe that bitcoin would soon displace traditional finance altogether. Why would we even need these corrupt establishment gatekeepers when value could be transferred anywhere in the world with the ease of clicking a button? Crack out the Guy Fawkes masks, comrades. It’s Molotov time.

Eight years on and it’s probably safe to say that the revolution has been, if not cancelled, then significantly postponed. It turns out it’s not as simple as email displacing the letter, or the MP3 putting two bullets in the back of the CD. Money is complex, abstract and has a few millennia worth of vested interests trying to keep it exactly as it is. And so, even as e-commerce has become the new backbone of the retail economy, money has stayed under the control of the same banks and credit card companies that have handled things since the days of the gold standard.

Change is a-coming

But there’s reason to believe that we might be approaching an inflection point. Bitcoin’s nascent could scale bitcoin’s transaction processing power indefinitely. Smartphones are experimenting with and Facebook’s Libra project offers the prospect of introducing 2.7 billion people to an alternative, digital-only financial system. (The CEO of Huawei is pushing China to .) The central banks of at least 40 countries have or are actively exploring the creation of , while a growing suite of volatility-resistant stablecoins are already there.

The technology is early, but the trend seems inexorable. The artificial barriers that inhibit the free flow of money around the world are slowly disappearing. And while it might not produce the wholesale revolution envisaged by bitcoin’s earliest proponents, it still could open billions of people to the power and privileges of financial control. And that’s something we want to be part of.

One more thing

It’s been a big week for . First, he cancelled a $4.6 million charity lunch with Warren Buffett due to “kidney stones”, only for rumours to surface that he’d actually been detained by the Chinese authorities. Sun posted a video from a San Francisco high rise to prove he was OK, but then followed it up with a long, apologetic note to Chinese regulators on Weibo, which he promptly deleted. Justin, blink twice if you need us to send help.

Dear CoinJar…

You ask, we answer. Covering your most pressing crypto questions, one block at a time. If you have a question you’d like answered, send us an email.

What’s this bitcoin “Halvening” I keep hearing about? Does it affect me?

Every four years or so the reward that bitcoin miners get for cracking a “block” halves. When bitcoin began in 2009, the reward for each block was 50 BTC. In 2012, it dropped to 25. In 2016, 12.5. It’s expected that somewhere around May 18 2020 the reward will be reduced once again, so that each block only produces 6.25 bitcoin. This process will continue until the final bitcoin is mined in 2140.

Essentially reward halving is a safeguard against inflation. By making new bitcoin scarcer as demand for the currency increases, it helps to maintain, if not increase its value. The last halving occurred when the price of a bitcoin was US$652; 18 months later it was US$20,000. Will history repeat in 2020? Only time will tell.

We are not affiliated, associated, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with any business or person mentioned in articles published by CoinJar. All writers’ opinions are their own and do not constitute financial or legal advice in any way whatsoever. Nothing published by CoinJar constitutes an investment or legal recommendation, nor should any data or content published by CoinJar be relied upon for any investment activities. CoinJar strongly recommends that you perform your own independent research and/or seek professional advice before making any financial decisions.


Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high‑risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 minutes to learn more: .

Cryptoassets traded on CoinJar UK Limited are largely unregulated in the UK, and you are unable to access the Financial Service Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service. We use third party banking, safekeeping and payment providers, and the failure of any of these providers could also lead to a loss of your assets. We recommend you obtain financial advice before making a decision to use your credit card to purchase cryptoassets or to invest in cryptoassets. Capital Gains Tax may be payable on profits.​​

CoinJar’s digital currency exchange services are operated in Australia by CoinJar Australia Pty Ltd ACN 648 570 807, a registered digital currency exchange provider with AUSTRAC; and in the United Kingdom by CoinJar UK Limited (company number 8905988), registered by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Cryptoasset Exchange Provider and Custodian Wallet Provider in the United Kingdom under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, as amended (Firm Reference No. 928767).

On/Offchain

Your weekly dose of crypto news & opinion.

Join more than 150,000 subscribers to CoinJar's crypto newsletter.

Your information is handled in accordance with CoinJar’s .

More from CoinJar Blog

Opinion

September 25, 2024In 2006, I, a teenage girl, was really into Christina Aguilera. So much so, I listened to her latest album on repeat, to the detriment of my family's sanity.  Anyway, it was...
Opinion

September 11, 2024Even outside of crypto, Gen Z has adopted being delusional as a coping mechanism, delulu denoting someone who, despite evidence to the contrary, holds on to idealistic...
Company & Product

September 11, 2024Sometimes, it can be inefficient  and costly to do USDC transfers on the Ethereum network. Lucky for you, CoinJar now offers USDC transfers on the Solana network, providing an...
CoinJar
Company
Support
Legal
Crypto on CoinJar
App storeApp store

Your information is handled in accordance with CoinJar’s .

Copyright © 2023 CoinJar, Inc. All rights reserved. The products and features displayed on this website are representative of our Australian and UK services and certain features may not be offered to customers residing in the United States, depending on applicable state and federal regulations.

Google Pay is a trademark of Google LLC. Apple Pay and Apple Watch are trademarks of Apple Inc.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the and apply.

CoinJar logo
CoinJarGet the app.
Install app