Cryptocurrencies have a wonderful world. This wonderfulness will be more tangible when they become woven into the everyday life of people. Perhaps the use of Bitcoin is not that prevalent among common people these days, and its use is more common among governments for economic trades. The fact that these currencies are not yet being used for simple purchases such as buying a couple of eggs or paying for services has made them intangible and incomprehensible for people. Though they have not yet reached this level, this doesn’t mean that they don’t have the capacity for it or that they will never reach it. Undoubtedly when the infrastructure is ready for this level, cryptocurrencies will replace paper money, and they will have their positive and negative implications. Implications that many people now are discussing them.
Launching Bakkt Platform
The New York Stock Exchange announced on August 3, 2018, that it would develop a platform named Bakkt in order to legalize crypto markets. Bakkt, which belongs to the Intercontinental Exchange (which is the owner of the New York Stock Exchange), collaborates with a lot of countries such as Boston Counseling Group (BCG), Starbucks, and Microsoft, in order to develop a platform for buying, selling, storing, and spending cryptocurrency assets.
Currently, the crypto community is very exciting about launching this platform. Bakkt will not only regulate the future physical trades of Bitcoin but also help grow its feedback as well. This platform is set for launch near the end of this year, and cryptocurrency users are eagerly waiting for that day.
Paying for Coffee Will Be Possible with Bitcoin
Paying for a cup of coffee or other goods and services is something that a lot of users are waiting for. Starbucks, the largest coffee giant, has gotten its share and by installing this app in its shops allows customers to make their payments with the most well-known cryptocurrency, namely Bitcoin.
Taxing the Cryptocurrencies
Of course, it should be mentioned that this can turn into a tax hell for cryptocurrency users.
Currently, U.S. perceives cryptocurrencies as an asset, and any trade whether big or small must be registered. This means that anytime users buy coffee with Bitcoin, it must be registered for tax purposes. In the 2014 agenda, the U.S. made it stance clear on the cryptocurrencies and included them in the added income taxation law.
This is only one of the thousand functions and implications that the entering of cryptocurrencies to the layers and different aspects of people’s life would have. Functions as well as positive and negative implications that will undoubtedly change the path of people’s life.
The other aspect that will be touched upon is Bitcoin and its function in providing security for journalists.
Bitcoin Can Be a Safe Haven for Human Rights Foundation Journalists
The tasks of journalists are clear; their main task is training people about incidents and events that impact their lives directly or indirectly, and other responsibilities of the journalists are a part of this responsibility. Part of their daily routine includes conducting interviews, following up on private cases and inspecting scenes for gaining first-hand information. This is exactly this information gathering part that puts them in danger; especially if the powerful are involved.
What Happens to Journalists?
In December 2018, a worrying statistics was published. According to these statistics, 34 journalists were killed for doing their job. Some of these journalists were killed for leaking information or in a car accident. It is not only the statistics of murders and accidents that is worrying; the imprisonment of 251 journalists was at a record high last year.
For this reason, UNESCO condemned the murder and imprisonment of journalists. As a sign of solidarity, UNESCO has dedicated a page to these soldiers that pay the ultimate price for their loyalty to peace, freedom of expression and democracy.
How Will Bitcoin Help the Security of Journalists?
Due to dangers of this nature and the intentional suppression of freedom of the press and above all the freedom of expression, the Human Rights Foundation intends to help the journalists to learn how to use Bitcoin and actually use it to preserve their security and privacy.
Bitcoin as a new coin is safer than older payment channels such as PayPal that may crash at any moment. As a protocol, Bitcoin will lead to more scrutiny and security. Bitcoin is anonymous, but this does not mean complete anonymity, and it can be traced somehow by Blockchain data systems such as Chainalysis and CoinBase’s Neutrinos. All of these are good options that can undoubtedly help journalists to do their job regardless of where they are.
Activists and journalists who use Bitcoin to escape the inspecting eyes of totalitarian governments and corporations should know that what kind of trace they leave behind by using Bitcoin and that doing so will provide their privacy. Though, achieving this awareness takes a lot of effort.
Despite all these positive and negative implications and the long path that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have until infiltrating all aspects of people’s lives, will they get a chance to get to that level?
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