At its core, cryptocurrency is decentralized digital money designed to be used over the internet. Bitcoin, which launched in 2008, was the first cryptocurrency. In the years since, other cryptocurrencies like Tether, Binance, Ethereum, Litecoin, US Dollar Coin, and Solana have entered the field and have amassed market caps in the billions, gaining the respect (and ire) of government regulators, banks, and investors.
These cryptocurrencies are trusted and have value because they have certain advantages over traditional money and purchasing options:
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Transferability Crypto makes transactions with people on the other side of the planet as seamless as paying with cash at your local grocery store.
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Efficiency Crypto makes it possible to transfer value without several middlemen intermediaries.
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Privacy When paying with cryptocurrency, you don’t need to provide unnecessary personal information to the merchant.
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Portability Because your cryptocurrency holdings aren’t tied to a financial institution or government, they are available to you no matter where you are in the world or what happens to any of the global finance system’s major intermediaries.
Crypto is not without its problems:
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Environmental All cryptocurrency relies on blockchain software to provide its security as well as establish consensus over a distributed network - the computing power for his requires a great deal of energy
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Risk The lack of regulation creates a risky environment; legislators and regulators have a hard time keeping pace with innovators (or scammers), leading to rich pickings for those seeking to exploit people's fear of missing out
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Complexity The process of learning about crypto and getting your wallet set up requires a bit of research and determination.
All that said, cryptocurrencies are the first alternative to the traditional banking system and have powerful advantages over previous payment methods. Although we accept most currencies, we prefer to use Solana ourselves, as it has the smallest environmental footprint, is fast, and inexpensive to use.
So if you want to pay with crypto on the Prrl Labs website, just click on "Coinbase Commerce" when you are checking out and follow the prompts. And if you're interested in getting set up with a cryptocurrency wallet, we would suggest checking out the Phantom wallet for Solana here: https://phantom.app/
