The Road to Consensus – Exploring Cryptocurrency and the Future of Global Finance
– By James McFadden –
Having spent the last two years learning everything I could about cryptocurrency and this new forum for global finance, I felt it was time for me to start sharing with our readers exactly what I have learned and just how relevant cryptocurrency has become, no matter what opinions you or I might currently have or previously had. So, with that in mind, I applied for a press pass to attend one of the biggest annual cryptocurrency conferences here in the U.S., and well… I’m excited to say I’m heading to Consensus!
I love this word and its definition; consensus. I seek it in everything I do, from discussing politics and religion, to how I’ve chosen to raise my family. Reaching consensus is vital to progress, improves your chances for success, and can enhance the harmony and peace we experience in our everyday lives.
Consensus (the conference) is the world’s largest, longest-running, and most influential gathering of the crypto, blockchain, and Web3 communities. Since its inception in 2015, it has helped to cultivate collaboration among thousands of differing stakeholders across the cryptocurrency industry; leaders, investors, builders, creators, brands, founders, innovators, and more.
My journey and experience with cryptocurrency started just about two years ago when I discovered a data-storage company, SiaTech, that had developed a way for consumers, designers, and software developers to store their data on decentralized nodes. By encrypting and storing data across 30-60 data nodes, or servers, stored data is not held at any one location or by any one individual or corporation who can turn an account off or hold that data hostage. As it turns out, their system not only operates on cryptocurrency, it’s a mechanism for earning and using it as well. But this is where things can get a little more complicated, and I’m not interested in complicating this conversation at the moment. Nevertheless, I found what they are doing both fascinating and exceptionally brilliant. So much so that I currently run a node on the system myself…
Just as this data storage system decentralizes the management of data, the purpose of cryptocurrency is to decentralize the storage of your finances and wealth. Decentralization is at the heart of what cryptocurrency seeks to achieve.
That said, over the next six weeks, as I prepare to attend Consensus, I will dive into the various aspects of cryptocurrency and why I have come to embrace this technology as a vital facet for the management of finance.
In my next article, I will focus on this concept of decentralization and how cryptocurrency is changing how we look at finances, and how essential it is in our ability to access global marketplaces.
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