Last year, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum made their presence felt in the investment community. Bitcoin wound up rocketing higher by more than 1,300% in 2017, with Ethereum gaining just shy of 9,400%, in what were some of the most impressive 12-month returns Wall Street has ever witnessed. And at the heart of it all has been the emergence of blockchain technology.
For those of you who might otherwise be unfamiliar, blockchain is the digital, distributed, and decentralized ledger that underlies most cryptocurrencies. In considerably easier-to-understand terms, I’ve previously and succinctly described blockchain as: “a brand-new way of transmitting money without the need for traditional banking networks, as well as a means to store data in a transparent and unalterable way.”
This means that blockchain has currency and non-currency applications for consumers and the business world. Let’s take a look at 10 ways the technology behind bitcoin, which is purely currency-based, and Ethereum, which covers currency and non-currency applications, could change your life.
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