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The Relationship between Cryptocurrency and Social Media

Social media networks play a vital role in many aspects of our modern lives. Cryptocurrency has had its fair share of interactions with social media, many of them rather unique. The value of Bitcoin lies as much in the idea behind it as the technology that makes it work. Many different forms of social media – from venerable media like Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and discussion forums to the latest apps and sites like Facebook, Twitter, Slack, and Telegram – have helped to spread that idea.

Historical Background

Bitcoin’s emergence attracted plenty of attention and online discussion. The word spread along many channels, including mailing lists, IRC chats, and discussion sites like Bitcointalk.org. Many of the cryptocurrency’s biggest boosters discovered Bitcoin through these social interactions. Community discussion was vital not only to getting the word out but also to managing the Bitcoin network itself.

When Satoshi was first attempting to promote and discuss the idea of Bitcoin, he used forums including the P2P Foundation, the Linux Foundation, and Bitcointalk.org to expand the nascent Bitcoin community. Bitcoin’s first use in a “real world” transaction – a pair of pizzas purchased for 10,000 BTC – was arranged through an internet forum. Sites like this were where individuals first started trading bitcoin. They also fostered new ideas and helped key players discover and incorporate new technological innovations.

The Cypherpunks mailing list also played a key role in the development of Bitcoin. This list had its origins in 1992 as a way for those interested in cryptography and computer science to share ideas. This list ballooned to 2,000 active subscribers by 1997, and the exchange of ideas relating to cryptography, encryption, and electronic currencies flowed fast and heavy.

The Modern Social Media Scene

Bitcoin has exploded into mainstream consciousness, and today there is no shortage of informational channels covering the currency. You can use virtually any social media platform to learn about the latest developments in the world of Bitcoin. Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter are particularly popular platforms for discussing Bitcoin and sharing information. This widespread popularity has helped to popularize a number of different cryptocurrency solutions.

Social media networks play a vital role in the development and operation of cryptocurrencies as well as a way for their users to communicate. Businesses, developers, altcoin teams, and even journalists covering the cryptocurrency beat all use social media tools like Telegram and Slack to coordinate their efforts. These platforms enable widely-distributed teams from across the globe to collaborate effectively. This new, holocratic form of group working has led to new paradigms for how high-tech businesses are organized.

Reddit deserves special mention for its key contributions to the field of cryptocurrency. Subreddits give users the opportunity to organize their information and share the latest news on blockchains, Bitcoin, and every sort of virtual money. This is also a clearinghouse for media publications on the burgeoning cryptocurrency industry, and press stories from both mainstream and industry-insider publications are freely traded. Particularly popular or important news often flows out of Reddit and into other social networks.

Social Media’s Changing Role In The Future

The ever-widening availability of Bitcoin news has created a tremendous amount of interest in the value of the currency, but it also spreads uncertainty. The trading market in the cryptocurrency can fluctuate up and down depending on the character of the news being spread on social media. A widely-shared story that claims an exchange has been hacked, for instance, can seriously depress the price of Bitcoin in fiat currency.

This explains why social media communications play a vital role in pricing and valuing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The speedy sharing of information has even allowed traders in some situations to exit the market before losing too much of their investment in Bitcoin. However, certain tools can result in the purchasing of likes and can skew information.

Today there are even efforts to make use of Bitcoin in order to reward social media users. Specialized platforms using this model include Steemit, Synereo, and the soon-to-launch Yours Network. With the increasing value of social media attention – to advertisers, for example – these new networks may one day be as popular as today’s giants like Twitter and Facebook.

Information sharing is a vital part of developing and running a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. Social media platforms have been a core part of the Bitcoin world since the currency’s inception – if not before. In the future, this trend may well reverse. We could see the next round of social media networks shaped by blockchain technology rather than vice ve

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