Special |Cryptocurrencies, NFT and metaverso, what are they and how can you benefit?

Cryptocurrencies have changed the way of making financial transactions in the United States and worldwide;They shortened the procedures and commissions to send money from one country to another safely.The technology behind these digital currencies can serve as a basis for many more products, including NFT or non -fungible tokens, but there is still ignorance and suspicion in much of the population.

Sergio Urzua, economist and professor at the University of Maryland, explained to El Tiempo Latino that the innovation of cryptocurrenknown.

If, for example, you bought 1 bitcóin at $ 69 thousand when its price was at the maximum, in November 2021, and sold it this week, when it fell to $ 36 thousand, it will have lost $ 33 thousand.But if he acquired the bitcóin when he was at $ 25,000 and sold it when his value touched $ 69 thousand, he would have earned $ 44,000.

The previous one is an illustrative drastic example, but that could occur in real life.The value of most cryptocurrencies can vary pronounced from one day to the other.This shows the speculative nature of digital currencies.Keep in mind that it can be investigated from a few dollars to thousands of dollars in cryptocurrencies.

The Bitcóin, the largest cryptocurrency in the world, fell briefly below $ 33 thousand on Monday, January 24, its lowest level since July 2021. It has recovered above $ 36, but there is still 50% perUnder a record.At the same time, other cryptocurrencies have seen considerable value losses.

The cryptocurrencies came to stay.Exclusively for Latin time, Sergio Urzua considered that they will continue to be used, but warned that they are far from replacing common currencies such as the dollar or the euro.

"You can lose 10 % or 15 % in a day thing (with cryptocurrencies) and that compared to a currency like the dollar does not occur," said the Chilean economist.

Between May 12 and 13, 2021, Bitcóin fell approximately 12% after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, refused to accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment for its electric vehicles.The entrepreneur has also uploaded the Dogecoin cryptoactive with only tweeting in his favor.

Then, on September 24, China declared illegal all transactions with cryptocurrencies and the price of bitcóin fell by more than $ 2,000.Those are two examples of how you can fluctuate your value.

But not everything is said.There are stable tokens whose value is equivalent to 1 dollar and maintain the same price over time, among them the Tether (USDT) stands out.These cryptocurrencies also serve as a means of payment and savings, stand out in countries with high inflation.

Thus the risk of losing money is avoided by the volatility of other cryptocurrencies.The United States Federal Reserve currently analyzes the risks and benefits of creating its own “digital dollar”.

From an economic point of view, cryptocurrencies allow to expedite transactions in a cheaper, fast and safe way through blockchain technology, also known as block chain.

The blockchain is the basis of cryptocurrency and NFT operations, which we will talk about later.Urzua stressed that block chains are what has allowed these two technological developments;and in which "is the interesting part."

What is the blockchain?

In simple words, it is like an immense database in which records (blocks) are intertwined and encrypt in order to maintain the safety and privacy of transactions between users.They give cryptocurrencies the possibility of being decentralized and not administered by a company, organization or government.

Blockchain transactions do not necessarily have to be economical."Like these innovations there will be other things that we cannot imagine yet," said Urzua.

Block chains are not a novelty.In fact, they were created in 1991, to store information in a compact and safe manner;In 2009, Bitcóin was born and in 2015 cryptocurrencies have an impulse from Ethereum, Aaron Olmos, an economist, teacher and researcher Venezuelan explained.

And just as stable cryptocurrency such as Tether was created, another group of people decided to create a way of storing information that represents other things: the NFT or non -fungible Token was born.

NFT, art by cryptocurrency

Is a cryptocurrency the same as an NFT?No. While cryptocurrencies serve as an investment vehicle or means of payment, non -fungible tokens are a way of selling things that were not priced, Urzua explained.

Aaron Olmos, who is also director of Olmos Group Venezuela, specified that NFTs are digital data that allow to significantly sign (they cannot be changed or altering) and only digital assets, be it an image, a photograph, a sound, a sound, apartition, among others.

The NFTs are located within a database and give the owner a unique asset in the world.They are related to the world of art and photography and any person can participate in that market, on platforms such as Opensa or Rareible.

The collection of 10 thousand Nft´s by Bored Ape Yacht Club, in OpenSea, is one of the most popular on the web.They are unique digital collectible images and diverse public figures have illustrations in the form of monkeys, such as presenter Jimmy Fallon, rapper Post Malone and basketball player Stephen Curry.

Only 16% of American adults claimed to have invested, exchanged or used cryptocurrencies, according to a survey conducted by the PEW Research Center during September 2021.

Even so, 86% of Americans acknowledged having heard at least a little about cryptocurrencies such as bitcóin or Ether;And 24% said they heard a lot about cryptodivises.

The chances of listening to cryptocurrencies were greater in the population between 18 and 29 years old, according to the survey.Just 13% of the people consulted denied having heard about cryptocurrencies.

A 2015 PEW Research Center's survey, focused only on Bitcóin, showed that 48% of adults said they had heard about that specific cryptocurrency.

In 2015, only 1% of the interviewees claimed to have mined, marketed or used bitcóin, which shows an advance in the popularity and use of cryptocurrencies.

Cryptodivises gain more and more land in the day -to -day economy.The most recent survey revealed that approximately three out of ten Americans, from 18 to 29 years old, have had access to cryptocurrencies such as bitcóin or Ether.

The experience

Among the people who have used cryptocurrencies are Katheryne Patino, who has been traded for two years and resides in Miami, Florida.

In a conversation with Latin time, Patiño considered that the cryptocurrency market and everything related to digital businesses is accessible to almost any person with a smartphone.But attention, prior education is indispensable "because it is an investment after all."

Patiño has managed Ether and explained that the key is to maintain long -term cryptocurrencies, for about 10 years, to be able to see a benefit.That is, if you have savings but plans to spend them in a short or medium term, it is not a good idea to buy cryptocurrencies.

Although he has heard about the NFT, Patiño is focused on his work area.She added that for now she has not entered that market.

How to avoid scams?

As in any digital area, Olmos stressed that there are hackers, crackers, people with deceptive scams or using ignorance who want to steal others.That will also be present in metavers.We leave you three keys to protect yourself.

1.No invest in anything that is not known.The first recommendation is technological and financial education.

2. Star on information, the news.

3. Always doubt any project.Verify transparency.

“How do you prevent someone from stifling you with cryptocurrencies?Learning from cryptocurrencies, validating the information, knowing who is the person who offers you the project.If someone is offering you something that is very transparent does not have to bother if you request additional information, for example, ”added Olmos.

Discharge of responsibility: This text was written for informative purposes and does not offer financial advice, or any investment on cryptocurrency platforms or NFT.