CORE MAGAZINE January 2018 | Page 19

Blockchain News The Crypto- Revolution with a Historical Perspective B itcoin’s rise has been complemented by the rise of Ethereum and a number of other altcoins. Ethereum’s market capitalization is now approximately $80 billion. Bitcoin almost reached $20,000 trading levels before correcting itself while ETH has been trading at over $800 and its price has just about doubled in less than a 2-week period. Not only have bitcoin and Ethereum experienced exceptional success in terms of value, other altcoins like Litecoin, Ripple’s XRP, and Qtum have also had a good run this year. While we are all aware of these impressive numbers, careful observers and critics of the cryptosphere might question what exactly led to this crypto-revolution? The 2008-2009 Financial crisis caused people to lose faith in the banking system and the financial institutions that they supported. People were looking for relief from their financial hardships and coincidentally this was also the time that the bitcoin whitepaper was released. The concept where the middleman (bank) is eliminated and payments can occur directly between sender and recipient were truly appealing. Core Magazine 19