One of the most exhilarating aspects of blockchain technology is that it is entirely decentralized, rather than stored in one central point. This removes the need for powerful central authorities and instead hands control back to the individual user. Here we will examine how this system works, what it means for our future and why it is so revolutionary.
Decentralized technology has now rooted its feet in the market and it has been widely accepted as a new generation investment option. The wide awareness among the people and acceptance has opened doors to multiple opportunities.
The decentralized nature of blockchain technology means that it doesn’t rely on a central point of control. A lack of a single authority makes the system fairer and considerably more secure. The way in which data is recorded onto a blockchain epitomizes its most revolutionary quality: its value of decentralization.
Let us now take a look at the current situation around crowdsale and ICOs and how they have changed the investment scene.
Bitcoin Grabs Attention
However unbelievable it may now look Bitcoin too had a humble start and it wasn’t even an investable asset at that time, raising funds from it was out of the question. In those days there were no exchanges, and the only way to obtain Bitcoins was through mining. In 2010, the first exchange BitcoinMarket.com appeared, and only a few months later, Laszlo Hanyecz made the first real-world transaction when he bought the infamous pizzas for 10,000 BTC.
Bitcoin then gained popularity and saw a sudden rise in its price and demand. It then became one of the most popular and sought-after investment options. It then opened doors for the new promising opportunities.
In 2013, the first initial coin offering or ICO appeared. Mastercoin raised 4,700 BTC ($5 million at the time) in Bitcoins in exchange for their tokens.
The Rise of ICOs
For the first time in history, we could see a cryptographically secure way to prove ownership of an asset available for pretty much anyone & everyone in the world. This decentralized ledger opened a pool of opportunity for companies to store shareholder registries on the blockchain. Initially, companies and projects like Mastercoin were performing crowdsale and storing information about contributions and ownership on the Bitcoin blockchain. Then Ethereum came into the picture that further expanded capabilities by enabling token issuance and allowing you to collect funds via a smart contract.
Ethereum opened the floodgates and popularized this new fundraising mechanism, the initial coin offering (ICO). Ethereum itself ran a successful fundraiser in July 2014 through an ICO and obtained 31,591 BTC which at the time was worth $18.4m. Since then, over the past four years, there has been an incredible growth in the total amount of money raised by projects (decentralized and not really decentralized) via an ICO.
Another plus point being, it helped projects raise a small amount of money from a big number of highly engaged individuals. Unlike traditional investment opportunities available to retail investors, here you could invest in a project at the initial stage. You don’t need to know the founders or angels or have any particular connection to invest in it.
Investments were democratized. However, there was a tradeoff. Everyone could invest in high return investments early in the project.
Considering the high rate of return and growing popularity it is only advisable to invest in cryptocurrency and earn a lucrative return.