The biggest technological innovation that I see having significant consequences for global society is the use of Block-chain technology in cryptocurrencies. Block-chain technology is being used to create digital assets and used for value exchanging services. This is extremely significant because it has disrupted the financial markets. Cryptocurrencies are changing the way that people store their money for the long term. Before the adoption of cryptocurriencies, people stored their money in banks, but now people are using blockchain to store their money. The value of cryptocurrencies also fluctuates, which allows people to invest their money for potential earnings the same way the stock market does. When Bitcoin was first created, a single bitcoin was worth $.008. In December 2017, the value of a single bitcoin jumped to over $19,000. Anyone who had bought bitcoin prior to this drastic increase made a significant amount of money. If a person bought 10,000 Bitcoins when it was first created for $80, after the spike they would have over 190 million dollars. This is important because it is essentially an extreme form of the stock market. Cryptocurrencies fluctuate more than normal currencies because the creators limited the number of currencies that could be created. For example Bitcoin is limited to 21 million Bitcoins. Because of this it has a more variable price than standard currencies.
Globally, cryptocurrencies are a commodity. According to Forbes.com, in Zimbabwe, Bitcoin is trading at above market prices due to the increasing demand. It is important to note that cryptocurrencies will eventually connect financial institutions around the world as technology advances and the world becomes increasingly digital.
The important part about block-chain technology and it’s use with cryptocurrencies, is that it is extremely secure. Hackers cannot hack into block-chain because it is linked throughout multiple sources. Another key feature of block chain is that it is decentralized. It runs on peer to peer networks that are constantly updated which means that a hacker would have to access 51% of the blockchain network to be able to tamper with it. Because of this cryptocurrencies are secure and will soon be adopted in many major industries.