Everything you need to know about crypto in 2023
You have undoubtedly seen something about crypto recently. For example, you can pay with crypto in more and more places, and various well-known football clubs work together with crypto companies. Yet there are still many people who do not know much about crypto. You may be such a person yourself, but the world of crypto seems interesting to you. In that case, be sure to read on, because in this article we will go into it in more detail!
Bitcoin
Let's start with the basics of crypto: Bitcoin (BTC for short). This is of course the most famous crypto coin, because this is the first crypto coin ever. Bitcoin was created in 2008 by one 'Satoshi Nakamoto'. However, no one knows for sure who this Satoshi Nakamoto is. Some people think it's a fictitious name, and that there's a group of programmers behind it. We will most likely never find out. After all, the strength of Bitcoin is that no one 'owns' it, and that it is decentralized.
Bitcoin is also the currency with the most value. For example, the highest value ever measured (also called 'ATH', short for 'All Time High') of one Bitcoin is no less than 56,000 euros! This was on October 20, 2021. Now you may be thinking: I never have enough money to have one bitcoin, do I? Fortunately, you don't have to. You can own small pieces of Bitcoin (called 'Satoshi's'). For example, it is possible to have only € 10 in Bitcoin. With the current price, this amounts to about 0.0002643112 BTC.
Even if you don't have Bitcoin but do own other cryptocurrencies, the price of Bitcoin is very important. When the price of Bitcoin rises, other currencies (the so-called 'alt coins') will generally rise along with it. When the value of Bitcoin drops, other currencies will often fall along with it. But which 'alt coins' are there already?
Alt coins
There are thousands of 'alt coins'. There are many coins with great potential, but also many risky coins that can make you lose money. It is therefore always strongly recommended to do your own research before purchasing an unknown coin. The coins in the top 100 on CoinMarketCap are generally all trustworthy. This top 100 is based on the 'market cap': a number you get when you multiply the price by the number of coins in circulation. Thus, a coin with a high market cap is owned in large quantities by many people.
In addition to Bitcoin, you will find in this top 100 coins such as Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA) and BNB (Binance Coin). Each coin has different uses and values. The well-known 'Doge Coin' is also in the top 100. This is a coin based on a famous photo of a dog. Elon Musk, among others, is a big supporter of this 'meme coin'. You can even pay for Tesla merchandise with Doge Coin these days! Yet there is also a lot of criticism of the Doge Coin, because it was initially created as a joke.
Trading in crypto coins
You trade in crypto coins via 'exchanges'. There are several exchanges to choose from. Globally, the largest platforms are, for example, Binance, Coinbase, Crypto.com and KuCoin. In the Netherlands, Bitvavo and Bitcoinmeester are very popular. These are Dutch platforms, ideal for people who do not speak English well. Each platform works slightly differently. For example, Binance is more advanced than most platforms, so more aimed at experienced users. Beginners often choose Coinbase because of its great user-friendliness.
In addition to using a crypto exchange, it is also possible to store your coins in a 'wallet'. However, this is considerably more complicated than using an exchange, so only for experienced users. For that reason, we will not go into more detail about using crypto wallets in this article.
The crypto rate
The crypto rate is very unpredictable. While cryptocurrencies have experienced significant growth in recent years, past performance is no guarantee for the future. Investing in crypto is similar to investing in stocks. You can therefore lose your investment, so only invest money that you can afford to lose and be aware of the risks. With that said, many experts are optimistic about what crypto has to offer in the future.
To strike
A term you often come across in the crypto world is 'staking'. This is the process of locking up your crypto coins for a certain period of time (often 1, 2 or 3 months) in exchange for a certain percentage of interest. This is therefore comparable to saving in a bank account. If you are already planning to hold your crypto coins for a longer period of time, this is the perfect way to save interest in the meantime!
Crypto in sports
As we briefly mentioned, you can also see crypto in sports more and more. For example, the football club Ajax has a partnership with a crypto platform, and FC Twente is sponsored by the coin 'Floki Inu'. The large crypto platform 'Crypto.com' is also a partner of Formula 1, the Italian football league Serie A and the MMA competition 'UFC'. If you ever watch Max Verstappen or Matthijs de Ligt at Juventus, the observant viewer will probably see crypto advertising. This is a trend that has developed rapidly, especially in 2021. Before 2021 you hardly saw this.
Crypto in big tech
Big tech is also mixing in the world of crypto. For example, Jack Dorsey (former CEO of Twitter) had plans to implement crypto on the messaging platform. Amazon also posted a vacancy online in 2021 for a crypto expert. Amazon is therefore expected to enter the crypto market in 2022. In 2021 it was temporarily possible to pay for your Tesla car in Bitcoin. Because Tesla CEO Elon Musk was concerned about the sustainability of Bitcoin, this has been (temporarily) suspended. Musk did indicate that there is a chance to accept Bitcoin as a payment method again in the near future. After all, the purpose of crypto is to make payments.
The future
What the future of crypto will bring is of course still a surprise. However, the expectations of many experts are high, given the great interest from big tech companies and the sports world, among others. If you are also interested in crypto, it is therefore wise to keep a close eye on developments. There are various forums (such as Reddit), YouTubers, news websites and podcasts for this. So get your information from different sources, so that you are well aware of the latest developments.