HUNTINGTON — Cryptocurrency has been around since 2008, but with the rise in popularity in recent years, businesses, public figures and governments have started adopting it for everyday transactions.
While bitcoin was the first form of decentralized cryptocurrency to gain traction, electronic currency was attempted in the 1980s and ultimately never progressed. Today, there are more than 5,000 types of cryptocurrencies throughout the world.
Bitcoin and ether have grown the most over the years since they began in 2008 and 2015, respectively.
In 2021, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said he would take his January 2022 paycheck in bitcoin to help cultivate financial expansion. Soon after, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced he would take his first three paychecks in 2022 as bitcoin.
Professional athletes such as Odell Beckham Jr., Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady have said they would be taking either partial or entire paychecks in bitcoin or they would be converting their paychecks to bitcoin themselves.
With the expansion of cryptocurrency, even President Joe Biden signed an executive order March 9 ordering government oversight on cryptocurrency. The order also required the Treasury Department and other financial agencies to study the financial stability of cryptocurrency and national security.
Local investors are taking time to learn about cryptocurrency, and Wayne County resident Travis Thompson hosts a public meeting at 6 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at Creekside Golf Course in Lavalette to teach others about different cryptocurrencies and how to start investing. The next meeting will take place April 12.
Thompson said he started investing in bitcoin in 2020, and he chose to start teaching the cryptocurrency classes so that if bitcoin, or another form of cryptocurrency, becomes widespread, individuals can have some knowledge about the topic.
“I feel like there’s a chance that we will see a financial shift,” Thompson said. “I can’t tell the future, but I feel like if I can provide education for people and people can understand it now, whenever that time, that financial shift takes place and bitcoin is included in that, which I think it will be, people will have a little bit of an understanding of what’s going on. They won’t be blindsided by it.”
Thompson said the monthly meetings are basic, and recommended those interested in investing or holding bitcoin or any cryptocurrency research the topics on their own as well.
Thompson said he spent a lot of time researching how bitcoin works and what risks there are when investing in cryptocurrency. While fiat money, or government-issued money, can be stolen from a person or hacked through banks, there are ways to ensure no one has access to your bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Thompson said.
While cryptocurrency can be stolen while still on exchange websites, individuals can set up passcodes, digital keys and even can get cold storage wallets, which can store bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies without being connected to the internet after they are transferred to the wallet.
In El Salvador, where bitcoin was made a legal tender and businesses were required to accept it as a form of payment in September 2021, some people have reported problems with limited access to bitcoin ATMs, government helplines being slow and the inconsistent cost of bitcoin, making businesses fluctuate between earning and losing money.
Despite the risks, The Associated Press reports that surveys show roughly 16% of adult Americans — or 40 million people — have invested in cryptocurrencies. And 43% of men ages 18 to 29 have put their money into cryptocurrency.
Huntington resident Paul …….