The advent of the IT revolution has transformed the way we perceived the world. It has been instrumental in bringing up a paradigm shift in the economy, medical science, defense systems, communication, space technology, and security. The creation of Blockchain and digital currency like Bitcoin is a few offshoots of the IT impact.

Blockchain has also emerged as a new catalyst that can impact our lives in various ways. In addition, it has revolutionized the banking system, business operations, health system, national security, and cybersecurity. The blockchain revolution has just begun.

What is Blockchain Technology?

A blockchain is fundamentally a digital ledger of transactions that is replicated and circulated across the whole network of computer systems on the blockchain. Blockchain is a type of DLT in which transactions are recorded with an irreversible cryptographic mark known as a hash.

Blockchain was created by a person or maybe a group who was employed under the pseudo name “Satoshi Nakamoto”. It was initially formulated for the most popular digital currency i.e. Bitcoin. However, technocrats found other avenues in using blockchain for various benefits. Blockchain has the capabilities to develop to be the foundation of the worldwide record-keeping systems.

Advantages of blockchain technology

Blockchain is a fairly recent technology that is evolving in many forms and formats. The application of bitcoin will go far beyond digital currencies like bitcoin.

It can bring more transparency and justness to systems. It is also helping companies to save money and time. Selected applications of blockchain are outlines below.

Ten major application of Blockchain

• Personal identity security
• Real-time IoT operating systems
• Supply chain and logistics monitoring
• Cross-border payments
• Voting mechanism
• Anti-money laundering tracking system
• Cryptocurrency exchange
• Secure sharing of medical data
• The real estate processing platform
• Advertising insights

Advantages of Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology has a bouquet of advantages which are given below.

• Transparency

Blockchain stores data in a transparent way. It stores data on a distributed network. The member shares the same data on the blockchain network instead of individual copies of the matching data which cannot be updated with the agreement from the other participants. In other words, it is next to impossible to modify any information in the blocks where their data is existing.

• Security & Privacy

It is a decentralized system where there is no central authority that has absolute control over data. It implies that the third party can’t tamper with the user data at any point in time.

• Efficiency & Speed

The entire process and all the transactions are taken care of by the members involved. Promptness in processing is ensured as there is no third party involved in the dealings. It is the easiest and quickest way of sharing data or sending money.

• Reduction

It drastically reduces the processing cost as it is fast and fewer stakeholders are involved. There is no third party charges/fees, transaction fees, or any other hidden surcharge. Above all, there is no necessity for maintenance as it lacks any central server.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly blockchain has multiple applications. It has a robust foundation with a decentralized functioning system. Without a third party involvement, the members enjoy the benefits without paying to the intermediaries. The process is fast, efficient, and transparent. In conclusion, Blockchain has a bright future which has just begun!

Toyota Systems, the IT wing of Toyota Motor Corporation, is tying-up with DeCurret. It is a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange to develop a branded Toyota digital currency. On Oct. 26, Toyota Systems made an official announcement to enter into the crypto market. The Toyota- DeCurret team is planning to develop a branded Toyota digital currency.  The wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation is planning to develop and test a digital currency. This is part of a new pilot project with DeCurret.

Sources said this virtual currency piloting is starting a half-year-long company token experiment. They will begin with all staff members of Toyota Systems. Now the newly teamed up duo would initiate their journey. They would experiment with the utilization of blockchain technology and digital currencies. This will be a well-contemplated piloting initiative.

Toyota’s experiment with Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

As per DeCurrent, the pilot would be an extensive experiment involving 2,500  Toyota Systems workforce. The employees will be involved in making blockchain-based payment transactions for welfare benefits. They will also record, and manage collected data and shall focus on automation. The employees have the choice to swap these payments in digital currency for welfare points or gifts. Till now the digital currency cannot be exchanged for Yen. Toyota Systems has planned to branch out the use cases. This will be for virtual currency business dealings and supply chain management.

Supply chains are now being linked with blockchain technology across various industries.

This is not the first time Toyota Motors has made an experiment with blockchain technology. Since, May 2020, the Toyota research institute collaborated with the MIT Media Lab. They have been exploring blockchain technology to transform the mobility ecosystem.

The entry of Big Names continues…

The crypto coin and blockchain have been winning big corporate names in the last few months. PayPal has recently entered the crypto market with its high volume account holder base. Before that, we have seen the embracing of crypto by Square and MicroStrategy.

Toyota is also not the first car maker to explore blockchain and crypto. In October 2020, BMW Korea announced to run a blockchain-based token trial. It will be the first branch in the BMW Group to do so. The full launch is expected to be done by the end of 2020. In early last month, another motor company Groupe Renault started piloting its blockchain project. This was to assist compliance certification of vehicle parts. In September 2020, the US Air Force is planning to buy crypto-linked data from Chainalysis.

Big names like Microsoft, AT&T, Boatsters Black, Overstock, and Takeaway.com are already accepting cryptocurrency payments.

Conclusion

Gradually, Blockchain technology and Cryptocurrency are gaining more acceptance. This is because of their various useful features. The features that attract crypto enthusiasts are easy accessibility, user autonomy, user autonomy, and discretion. The low transaction fees for international payments, mobile payments, and flexibility are other factors. In recent months, we have witnessed the entry of big companies into the crypto market. It is expected that more names like Toyota would gradually enter into the crypto market and use blockchain to their best advantage.

The value of the cryptocurrency has left gold and silver behind it. Bitcoin‘s price (BTC) has crossed the $13,000 mark on 24th October 2020. There was an 8 percent single-day rise which is the 20^th highest single-day rise since October 21, 2019. It is the highest value Bitcoin has seen since July 2019. Although surpassing $13,000 would be taken as a new milestone among crypto enthusiasts, it’s not fairly the largest rally in the past year. On Jan. 15, 2019, bitcoin was closed above $13,000. Crypto enthusiasts might be remembering that after 6 weeks after that day bitcoin reached an all-time high of $19,892.

The rally comes only after few hours of PayPal’s announcement of its entry into the cryptocurrency market. Recently, PayPal has revealed its plan of facilitating to buy, sell, and hold bitcoins, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin BTC Cash.

Why Cryptocurrency is flying?

PayPal’s entry into the crypto market has provided a boost to the acceptance of digital currencies. Recently, Square and MicroStrategy have bitcoin investments. All this good news has resulted in this upsurge in bitcoin price.

This high rise of Bitcoin price implies that the world’s widely accepted cryptocurrency has now surpassed gold and silver to be the best “commodity” among the three. In the last week, the bitcoin price was up by 55% since October 21, 2019. Contrarily the price of silver and gold over the same period has increased by 40% and 27% respectively.

There are still people having skeptic views on cryptocurrencies. Recently Mike Novogratz, the former Goldman Sachs partner, and hedge fund manager has opined that Bitcoin is packed with values similar to “digital gold,” and will not likely be used as transactional currency for the next 5 years.

Positive impact on BTC share values

Blockchain stocks are keeping on rising as Bitcoin carry on mounting. Bitcoin-U.S. dollar prices reached a 16-month high in early U.S. trading this week. Bitcoin (BTC-USD, +4.5%) reached a new high, by breaching the $13.6K mark on 27th October 2020.

Bulls are in strong technical control as prices are in and keep on mounting on the daily chart. Indications are there, it may keep on rising in the coming weeks.

The bright future for BTC

BTC is going to be the digital currency of the future generation! Now the volume of the cryptocurrency market has reached around $397.9 billion. The figure was around $195 billion at the start of the year. To date, bitcoin has been the biggest digital coin with a market cap of $244 billion. Bitcoin has captured around 61% of the total market. Trends show that the worth of BTC is going to increase in the future.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrency has become the most valuable commodity while gold and silver are satisfied with the next two positions. The recent upsurge in the value of the digital currency is believed to be the entry of a few big names like PayPal, Square, and MicroStrategy, etc into the cryptocurrency market. The market analyses anticipate that the Bitcoin price is going to rise in the time to come.

PayPal has put its steps in the cryptocurrency market recently. The money online platform has announced that PayPal account holders now would be able to buy and sell Bitcoin and many other virtual currencies. PayPal Holdings, Inc. is a US-based company operating a global online payment system. It offers financial services like online money transfers, digital payment service, P2P payments, and debit card accounts. It has established itself as an electronic alternative to traditional money transactions.

PayPal has secured the first provisional cryptocurrency license from the New York State Department of Financial Services. To offer this service PayPal has partnered with Paxos Trust Company. It is predicted that by the end of 2021, the retail payments done with Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum by PayPal users could seemingly double and attain USD 50 billion marks. According to CEO Dan Schulman, the expectation for this development is to help nurture the global acceptance of virtual coins and to get ready for the firm for the upcoming digital currencies.

A Boost to Cryptocurrency

Industry experts believe that the entry of PayPal in the cryptocurrency market would boost it. PayPal’s entry implies that the 26 million PayPal account holders can now make cryptocurrency buying using the PayPal platform. After this announcement by Paypal, the market leaped by almost 15% in the BTC price. In addition to that, the other cryptocurrencies supported by PayPal also experienced an average weekly return of 10%-15%.

For the US market, PayPal is scheduling to bringing up buying options for the investors over the next few weeks, and within early 2021 it has a plan to fully rollout. PayPal has is planning to add a bunch of cryptocurrencies to its portfolio. The digital currencies that are waiting in rows are Litecoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash. The company confirms customers can now store all these digital currencies “directly within the PayPal digital wallet”.

PayPal is also aiming to amplify customer awareness around cryptocurrency. They believe this exercise would promote the adoption of crypto among users: They are planning to supply educational content regarding the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Downsides of this PayPal Crypto association

However, it is revealed that PayPal wouldn’t allow its account holders to transfer their cryptocurrency into or out of PayPal. Secondly, they would not have any control of the private keys, a long string of numbers and letters that allow holders to move their digital assets. PayPal plays a kind of dictatorship on what users can do or not do with their cryptocurrencies.

PayPal Competitors

Considering ample opportunities and possibilities that cryptocurrency offer more numbers of big players are gradually embracing digital coins. Before the entry of Paypal, the Robinhood trading app has allowed crypto since 2018. Similarly, Square users have been trading in crypto for quite some time. After the announcement of PayPal’s entry companies like Visa and Ternio has also announced to team up to help crypto companies.

Bottom-line

Cryptocurrency, although consider as the “future currency” of the world, there are many who are still skeptical about virtual currency. But gradually crypto is getting more acceptance from big horses of the financial world. By the entry of PayPal in the fray, cryptocurrency is undoubtedly going to gain a lot in times to come.