If Digital Currencies were Popular Companies

There's no doubt that the technology industry has made its presence in pop culture known load and clear. Gone are the days when only engineers and geeky hobbyists talked about using new software applications or gossiped about the most recent company acquisition.

Though digital currencies may be relatively late to the party, they're certainly making up for the lost time. Thanks to the open source nature of the Bitcoin protocol, anyone with some time and programming experience can create their own uniquely branded digital currency. Now if we were to make some comparison to the most popular digital currencies and their counterpart when it comes to the most successful and popular companies.

Bitcoin would be Google!

Just like how Google is the fact search engine of choice for Internet users, a vast majority of people who use digital currencies are dealing with bitcoin. Bitcoin and Googl'es dominating popularity in their respective industries is not the only similarity between them, though.

Bitcoin has made it this far in part due to its open source development model, which allows developers to build applications that expand on the core protocol. Google has also taken a noticeably open approach to its development.

Litecoin would be Yahoo!

Litecoin was one of the first alternatives to bitcoin for digital currency enthusiasts. Though nearly identical to bitcoin, litecoin distinguished itself with a faster block time of 2.5 minutes (compared to the 10 minutes it takes on the Bitcoin protocol), and has even been declared the "silver to bitcoin's gold".

Though Yahoo! was around before Google, the veteran search engine has fallen behind Google in traffic rankings. In recent years, however, Yahoo! has revamped its marketing approach and has sought out expansion to new verticals, similar to litecoin's quest to use branding to distinguish itself and gain market share from its titan rival.

Ripple would be Uber!

Ripple arrived on the digital currency scene and right away grabbed everybody's attention. Situating itslef more as a payment protocol than an actual currency, Ripple was successful in disrupting the ecosystem of digital currencies that largely consisted of near clones of the Bitcoin protocol.

Like Ripple, Uber made a loud entrance into the world of ridesharing and taxi services when it was founded in 2009. Uber used software to build an app that quickly proved to be disruptive to the taxicab industry.

Dogecoin would be Snapchat!

Aside from bitcoin, dogecoin may be the most buzzed-about digital currency. Members of the dogecoin community are active, loyal, and vocal about their digital currency of choice, There is a lighthearted feel to the dogecoin movement, and supporters of the meme-inspired coin sometimes struggle to be taken seriously by other digital currency enthusiasts.

Selfie-taking teenage users of Snapchat also face some of the same problems of dogecoiners: they're the clear drivers behind their respective movements, but are still scoffed at by peers who consider themselves more mature. Similar to the story of dogecoin, few people expected Snapchat to become so popular in its early days. Both dogecoin and Snapchat have found considerable success!

Source: coindesk.com

World's Largest Company to Accept Bitcoin

DISH Cable Provider Becomes Largest Company to Accept Bitcoin!

DISH Network Corporation is the largest company to accept bitcoin to date, last year they were able to have a revenue of $13.9bn, The company has more than 30,000 employees. Today, DISH Network has announced that will be accepting bitcoin payments, making it the largest company in the world to do so. The company is the first subscription-based TV provider of its kind to make such a venture into the digital currency realm, and will start its new business model in the third quarter.

DISH Network

"We always want to deliver choice and convenience for our customers and that includes the method they use to pay their bills. Bitcoin is becoming a preferred way for some people to transact and we want to accommodate those individuals." Said the company's executive vice president and CEO Bernie Han.

DISH will now use Coinbase as its payments processor to deal with all bitcoin transactions. The company will make the most out of Coinbase's Instant Exchange feature, which converts digital coins into fiat currency.

Coinbase's co-founder, Fred Ehrsam, expressed his feelings towards the partnership.

"We're excited to support DISH and their current and new subscribers for their bitcoin transactions. This is a large step forward in the growing momentum of customers paying companies in bitcoin for things we do every day, like watching premium TV."

Han adds that the payments processing company will allow DISH to easily transition into the digital coin world. DISH customers will have the opportunity to go on mydish.com in order to pay cable bills with bitcoin, in addition to already existing payments methods.

Prior to March 31st, 2014, DISH announced that it provides approximately 14.097 million paying subscribers. As for Coinbase, the payment platform works with over 31,000 merchants to help them become well acquainted with the digital coin economy. DISH's move into adopting bitcoin may very trigger other cable, phone and internet providers into following their lead. If successful, DISH may become the benchmark for where bitcoin takes off in  the entertainment services industry.

Souce: coinreport.net - dish.com

The Cryptocurrencies War!

In other words the war of cryptocurrency is as simple as what is the difference between an HD DVD and a Blu-ray Disc? In a nutshell, one is a lose and the other is a winner. In the late 2000s, the two battled it out on store shelves in what is known as a format war. Which won? Here's a hint: you won't be watching Gravity on HD DVD anytime soon!

The argument in favor of war is like this! If you were to view the cryptocurrenncy format from this perspective, bitcoin would be the clear front-runner. A few other coins- dogecoin, peercoin, and litecoin - would be trailing close behind. There might be other legitimate contenders in the near future.

The wide variety of coins may actually be hindering cryptocurrency rather than helping its cause. When HD DVD and Blu-ray were duking it out to be the industry standard, sales of both were ultimately hurt. Consumers were afraid to buy a player or discs of either one, wary they would commit to the format that eventually lost the fight.

The market for cryptocurrency involves everyone that uses money: it's everyone.

If this thinking holds true for cryptocurrencies, then the availability of so many coins may deter people (especially non-techies) from buying into any single coin. As a result, many will simply adopt a wait-and-see approach, especially as one cryptocurrency is bound to emerge on top.

Source: coindesk.com