The Fundamental Freedoms of Crypto That Fiat Can’t Offer

March 05, 2021 Quick read

When it comes to engaging with financial systems, there are some things that fiat just can’t offer. Luckily, there’s always crypto. 

So, you’re thinking of investing in crypto? Maybe you already have, and outside of buying little bits when the time is right, and holding them in an online wallet, watching your ROI slowly but surely increase– you don’t really know what else to do. Little are you aware, an investment in bitcoin, or another cryptocurrency is actually an investment in the future of finance as we know it. 

Cryptocurrencies offer many of the same financial opportunities that fiat and national currencies do, many of the same trading opportunities that stocks and bonds hold, but more than that– cryptocurrencies offer you to ability to not only engage with the financial world, but interact in such a way where you are your very own CFO. 

Just Like Fiat… 

Thanks largely to recent developments in DeFi, or decentralized finance, platforms– cryptocurrencies can do many of the things that we’ve come to expect from regular banking practices. 

Day Trading 

Just like many other stocks, assets, and bonds that you can invest in on the NYSE, you can also day trade crypto. Day trading is just the investor savvy term for regularly buying and selling small amounts of a given asset in a day. This technique is used to accrue small amounts of returns often, resulting in a much larger ROI than just buying and holding. Something that crypto enthusiasts love to do, especially as crypto markets often offer much more dynamic valuations. 

Savings Accounts

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency minded savings accounts are starting to roll out across multiple platforms, often offering far better interest rates than you could expect from a national bank. Been better than those of certificates of deposits, one of the most common ways to get better interest by locking up funds in centralized systems. All the better, in many cryptosavings accounts, you don’t have to stake, or lock up funds in order to snag some impressive APY. Meaning that all that crypto you’ve been HODLing can finally pay off. 

Legal Tender

Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies are being accepted by more and more major retailers every single day. With even the likes of Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal getting on the crypto pay train recently. While it has yet to be officially recognized as legal tender, there are a number of goods and services that can be easily purchased by using various types of cryptocurrencies. 

Lending 

Crypto lending really took off last year, with multiple firms offering a number of different lending paradigms to investors. Which doesn’t just benefit those in need of a loan, but also helps to put non-liquid assets to work– earning lenders decent returns while freeing borrowers from the often restrictive confines of traditional lending practices.  

Only Better

Cryptocurrencies, coupled with decentralized finance platforms, offer users many of the same benefits of traditional banking strategies, but without many of the exclusionary practices that big banks employ. 

Pseudoanonymity 

Cryptocurrencies are safer. Particularly when it comes to individual anonymity and personal security. This is largely because most cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets don’t require users to submit personally identifying details– and even when they do, these details are never transacted along the blockchain or given to anyone users transact with. In traditional banking practices, large stores of personally identifying information are held on interbank servers, which are susceptible to hacks, which has resulted in millions of people falling victim to identity fraud. 

Borderless 

Cryptocurrencies are a truly borderless form of payment and value transactions. What this means is that bitcoin doesn’t fall prey to conversion fees, exchange rates, or multi bank transaction fees. In traditional banking systems, if you want to send money to another country, you must first send your original sum through a series of different banks, until it finally arrives at an institution that deals directly with the monetary system you are looking to deposit into. This can lead to a stack of fees, deeply cutting into the amount you wish to send. Wire transfers and even online payment platforms like PayPal also charge incredibly high fees to circumvent this process. 

Democratized 

Cryptocurrencies work in nearly all countries across the world. All you need is an internet connection, and a way to transfer money to someone with the cryptocurrency you have your eye on. Which is a godsend for those people that do not have access to traditional banking methods. Allowing them an opportunity to engage with financial services (like savings accounts, online payment services, and lending), without having the need for a bank account. This is especially useful in countries where governments are known for unlawful seizure of assets, or national fiat systems are subject to hyperinflation. 

Decentralized 

The true beauty of cryptocurrency, and what makes it the future of finance for many, is the fact that cryptocurrency systems are fully decentralized. This means that they are not subject to the manipulation and exclusivity that most centralized structures suffer. No middlemen mean no hidden or extortionate fees. It also means that there are no gatekeepers, so anyone that wants to invest in this arena, can.