South Africa's First CryptoCurrency

Cryptocurrency first and foremost is an online currency, that serves as a basis as an online medium exchange. But what differentiates it from other form of payment systems such as the popular Elon Musk founded PayPal is that it is in fact decentralized and is meant to be used immediately in order to complete purchases.

Cryptocurrencies are also anonymous and utilize peer to peer technology, but what makes the “currency” and I say currency and not share as it would close to impossible to actually define an algorithm that could accurately depict the true intrinsic value of a share is that it is a currency that is not regulated by any organisation such as a reserve bank. This in turn creates competition with reserves banks, and some say that reserves banks are responsible for driving the price of Bitcoin right up before dumping it. However the lack of regulation opens the currency up to traders who are willing to pump and dump the cryptocurrency, and due to herd behaviour people would be looking to buy Bitcoins with no actual intention of using them to purchase anything with leads to the speculation problem. By not utilizing the cryptocurrency straight away, you leave your self vulnerable to pump and dump traders.

Focusing on the future, it does make sense to have cryptocurrency, however I feel that there should be provisions to prevent dumping, a great way to do this would be to implement cool down periods, such as those found in IPOs called Lock-ups. Other measures would be to set a lifespan on the currency forcing it to be used within a specific time frame thus prevent people from trying to “invest” in it.

With regards to the future of cryptocurrency, the two main ones that stand out at the moment are Bitcoin and Doge coin. I also appreciate the idea behind darkcoins, which are not pre-mined meaning that the creator did not create cryptocurrency for themselves before implementing the currency.

Leading Cryptocurrencys:

1.1.1 Bitcoin (BTC)
1.1.2 Namecoin (NMC)
1.1.3 Litecoin (LTC)
1.1.4 Dogecoin (Doge)
1.1.5 PPCoin (PPC)
1.1.6 Mastercoin (MSC)

Up and coming:

1.2.1 Hashcoin (HSC)
1.2.2 Coino (CON)
1.2.3 RonPaulCoin (RPC)
1.2.4 Betacoin (BET)
1.2.5 Nxt (NXT)
1.2.6 Globe (GLB)

It was great to hear that South Africa has come up with its own form of Cryptocurrency. I had been toying with the idea myself, but my programming is nowhere near the level required. The currency is called Funk and can be used to tip musicians online. It is great start for the country and hopefully it grows!

- Kavir Naidoo