Ten years ago this week, cryptocurrency debuted for the first time in the world. Let’s look at how the cyber-currency has been evolved over the past decade and what impact it has on our lives.
For the past decade, 3,000 cryptocurrencies were created, but one-third of them or 1,000 cryptocurrencies were driven out of the market, according to the CoinMarketCap report. The latest cryptocurrency Dragon token was traded at $1.47 on Oct. 24.
The BitcoinMarket.com became the first cryptocurrency exchange when it was launched in 2010. Now there are 226 cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide. The Japan-based Binance cryptocurrency exchange processes $750 million orders for 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap report.
According to the Crypto Fund Research, people invested $7 billion in more than 600 cryptocurrency funds worldwide. Out of the total, 400 funds were launched since 2017. Cryptocurrency wallet users have reached 29.6 million. Notably, the number of wallet users exploded since late last year.
Cryptocurrency-related jobs have increased. About 1,775 cryptocurrency-related jobs were created in the United States, a 2.5-times jump in less than a year. Average annual income for the cryptocurrency-related workers amounted to $84,884, about 60 percent more than the average salary of the American middle class.
Optimists and pessimists coexist on the future of the cryptocurrencies. Many people predicted that Bitcoin price would reach $25,000 by late this year. Some even predict the price would surge to $250,000 by 2020. But some pessimists say the price would plunge to zero. Predicting Bitcoin’s price is everybody’s guess.
